The Bolt Phenomenon

His childhood
Usain Bolt was born in Trelawny, Jamaica, on 21 August 1986. He lived with his parents
Jennifer and Wellesley Bolt, a brother, and his sister Sherine. His parents had the local
grocery store in a rural area, and Bolt played cricket and football in the street with his brother
when he was a child.

His country
Jamaica is a small island situated in the Caribbean Sea between South and North America,
home to Bob Marley and reggae music. The capital city is Kingston and the national language
is English.

His performances
Usain Bolt is a giant at 1.96 m but also the world’s fastest man in the world, and has been
nicknamed "Lightning Bolt". On August 16, 2009, he easily broke his own record, with a time
of 9.58 seconds at the world championship in athletics in Berlin. Four days later, he also
broke the 200-meter world record with 19.19 seconds.
He was the outstanding athlete of Berlin, of course, establishing these new world records at
100 and 200 metres that smashed all previous ideas about the limits of human performance.
Bolt is the best sprinter of his generation. His running style in the races was so fluid and
casual that he looked like he was just popping down the shops to get some bread and milk.
"I'm on my way to becoming a legend," said the Jamaican, who won his third gold medal of
the world championships in Berlin when the Jamaican team won the men's 400-metre relay.
After winning a race, He usually dances and makes his lightning gesture. He is as much
showman as superhero.

His earnings
Bolt got €115,000 for his victory in Berlin - €40,000 for gold and €75,000 for setting the
world record. Big contracts with sponsors are also being lined up. Until now he has done
advertising campaigns for Puma, Digicel and Sun Island. His manager Ricky Simms is sure
that Bolt will become the first track athlete in the world to earn over €10 million.

Lexique
outstanding : exceptionnel to set : établir
to smash : balayer to line up : s’empiler
casual : décontracté advertising : publicité
to pop down : faire un saut, aller
 WORKSHEET 2009

A) Complete with information from the text.

surname
first name
nickname
place of birth
date of birth
age
nationality
family
height
accomplishments / achievements

B) Right or wrong? Justify your answers.

1. When he was a child, Bolt lived in the city of Kingston.

2. Bolt’s parents owned a shop.

3. Bolt was a sporty child.

4. Last August, he broke his record in Jamaica.

5. He won a gold medal in August 2009 in Berlin.

6. He had difficulty in winning the 100 and 200-metre races.

7. Bolt earned little money for his performance in the world championship.

C) Complétez ce texte afin de présenter Usain Bolt.

Usain Bolt is a famous ……………………………… whose nickname is
…………………………… because he …………………………. faster than any other man in
the world. He won …………………………… gold medals at the world championships in
athletics which took place in ……………………………… in 2009. Bolt is young, he is only
……………………………… and many people say he could even go…………………………
in the 2012 London Olympic games

D) Complétez le tableau suivant.

FRENCH ENGLISH FRENCH ENGLISH

une épicerie sembler, avoir l’air
an area (l. 3) gagner (compétition)
lieu de naissance to get (l. 15)
un éclair his earnings (§4)
battre un record faire
later (l. 10) gagner (un salaire)

D) Un journaliste interroge Usain Bolt. Complétez l’interview.

Journalist - ……………………………………………………………………
Bolt - In Jamaica on 21 August 1986.

J - ………………………………………………………………………………
Bolt - Yes, a brother and a sister.
J. -
Bolt - Cricket and football.

J. - ……………………………………………………………………………….
Bolt - 1.96 metres.

J. - …………………………………………………………………………………
Bolt - Two.

J. - …………………………………………………………………………………
Bolt - 115,000 euros.

J. …………………………………………………………………………………..
Bolt - Ricky Simms.

Superlatives

1. Usain Bolt is the fastest man in the world.

2. He is the most popular sprinter.

adjectifs Superlatif de Superlatif les irréguliers

supériorité d’infériorité
Courts: 1 syllabe et 2 Courts: THE + adjectif +EST Courts et longs : •
syllabes se terminant par The least + adjectif
Longs: THE MOST + adjectif
‘y’ ( y → i )
•
Longs: 2 syllabes et plus

A) Regroupez ces adjectifs par paires de sens contraire et traduisez – les.

large – safe – cheap – clever – light – ugly – late – poor – hard-working – cold – dangerous –
full – hot – clean – beautiful – boring – old – early – stupid – expensive – young – lazy –
empty – slow – quiet – interesting – heavy – dirty – noisy – wealthy – fast – small

C) Utilisez un superlatif pour compléter les phrases suivantes.

1. He is ___________________________ boy in the class. funny
2. This is __________________________ match I’ve ever seen. bad
3. Zidane is __________________________ football player in France. famous
4. Tony Parker is _________________________ French basketball player. good
5. Chinese is _________________________ language in the world. spoken
6. Mount Everest is _________________________ mountain in the world. high
7. Alaska is ____________________________ American state. cold
8. Rugby is one of ____________________________ sports in England. popular
9. Bolt’s ____________________________ dream is to become a legend. big

D) Traduisez en anglais. Utilisez un superlatif.

1. Le pire match 4. La journée la plus chaude
2. Le plus haut gratte-ciel 5. La plus jolie fille
3. Le livre le moins intéressant 6. La ville la plus dangereuse

E) Mettez les adjectifs suivants au superlatif de supériorité. 3 pts

Adjectif convenient large easy far tired furious

Superlatif
de
supériorité
F) Mettez les adjectifs entre parenthèses à la forme appropriée (comparatif ou
superlatif) en fonction du contexte.
Playing sports is probably the ( _________________good ) way to relax and stay in good shape.
No doubt football is the ( popular) sport in the world. Tennis is also popular, but it is
( _______________expensive ) than football. In big cities, people prefer going to a fitness club
because it is ( ___________________easy ) even if it is not ( __________________cheap). But
the ( ______________________comfortable) and ( ______________________ tiring) way to
enjoy a sport is certainly to watch it on TV!