Parkour is a sport with the aim of moving from one point to another as smoothly, efficiently and quickly as possible using chiefly the abilities of the human body. It’s more similar to martial arts (武術(shù)) than to a sport. Parkour focuses on how any obstacle is dealt with, whether the obstacle is either physical or mental.
Inspiration for parkour came from the “Natural Method of Physical Culture” developed by Georges Hebert in the early twentieth century. French soldiers in Vietnam were inspired by Heber’s work and created what is now known as parcours du combatant (障礙訓(xùn)練課程). David Belle, who was introduced to this method by his father Raymond Belle, a Vietnamese soldier who had practiced it, had taken part in activities such as martial arts and gymnastics, and sought to apply his athletic skill in a manner that would have practical use in life.
After moving to Lisses, David Belle continued his journey with others. “From then on we developed,” says Sebastien Foucan, who helped to spread parkour, “and really the whole town was there for us; there for parkour.”
Over the years as devoted practitioners (實踐者) improved their skills, their moves continued to grow in scale, so that building-to-building jumps and drops of over a storey(樓層) became common in media description, causing much misunderstanding on the nature of parkour.”
Although many practitioners say parkour isn’t an extreme sport, it does carry risk with it. The practice of running, jumping, and leaping from a variety of urban structures (roof tops, staircases, raised surfaces, walls, etc.) and landing on concrete, of course, carries the potential for injury. Some of the most common injuries include sprained (扭傷的) ankles and injuries to the knees.
According to one practitioner, “One of the biggest differences between parkour and other so-called ‘extreme’ sports is that it is not concerned only with physical skills, but also with one’s mental and spiritual pleasure.”
1. The second paragraph is mainly about _______.
A. Belle’s devotion to parkour B. the origin of parkour
C. the use of parkour during wartime D. the practical use of parkour in life
2. What do we know about David Belle?
A. He used to be a French soldier in Vietnam.
B. His attitude toward Hebert’s work was negative.
C. He and Foucan held different views on parkour.
D. He attempted to make full use of his athletic skill in life.
3. What do we infer from the passage?
A. The practitioners think parkour is worth the risk.
B. Parkour needs specially designed training places.
C. The practitioners are often blamed by the media.
D. Parkour was developed in the early twentieth century.
4. Parkour requires _______.
A. only the abilities of human body
B. move from one point to another
C. the ability to deal with mental problems
D. the ability to remove obstacles physically and mentally
5. According to the passage, which of the following is parkour?
A.
B.
C.
D.
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