You might have seen athletes gracefullybending and leapingin rhythm with melodies. This is rhythmic gymnastics, a sport often mistaken for artistic gymnastics. However, the two are distinct in focus and presentation.
Artistic gymnastics focuses on strength, flexibility, and balance, with athletes performing solo on various equipment. They are scored based on the difficulty of their movements, their execution of certain skills on each apparatus, and their ability to combine multipleskills into different movements. Rhythmic gymnastics, on the other hand, emphasizes style and presentation, with athletes often performing in teams. Moving in harmony with music, they use different items like balls, hoops, ribbons, and clubs. This creates a performance that looks like a dance but with athletic skills.
Another significant difference between artistic and rhythmic gymnastics is that only women are allowed to competein major international rhythmic gymnastics events. This has been the case since the sport’s beginning. Rhythmic gymnastics dates back to 19th-century Europe and started to gain international popularity during the mid-20th century. By the 1980s, it was formallyincluded in the Olympic Games for women. Although the sport is largely associated with female athletes, there are also men who practice rhythmic gymnastics. However, male versionsof the sport have yet toreceive official recognition.
Currently, two styles of male rhythmic gymnastics are on the rise. One of them, known as the Japanese school, is characterized bydynamic and powerful tumbling elements. While group routines don’t usually use equipment, individual routines use clubs, ropes, double rings, and sticks. The Spanish school is more similar to traditional rhythmic gymnastics and has developed alongside it. Its rules mirror women’s international rhythmic gymnastics. Male rhythmic gymnastics might not be represented internationally yet, but its current growth levels suggest a promisingfuture for the sport.
1. From (A) to (F) below, choose the descriptions that are true about artistic gymnastics.（多選題）
(A) It features athletes performing alone.
(B) It can be traced back to the 20th century.
(C) It was added to the Olympic Games in the 1980s.
(D) It’s a new sport that rose in popularity a decade ago.
(E) It requires athletes to be balanced, flexible, and strong.
(F) It was invented in Japan and quickly spread across Spain.
While rhythmic gymnastics is mainly seen as a sport for female athletes, men also participate in it. Nevertheless, the male versions of the sport have not been officially _____.
3. How does the team event in Japanese men’s rhythmic gymnastics differ from the individual event?
（簡答）
_________________
4. Why is the Spanish school of male rhythmic gymnastics said to resemble traditional rhythmic gymnastics more closely?（簡答）
