Read the text and number the paragraphs

□ The clay fighting ring is itself a sacred shrine. On entering it, the enormous wrestler first claps, to attract the god`s attention and indicate his own purity of heart. Having done that, he shakes his apron to drive away evil spirits, and raises his arms to show he carries no weapons.

□ The fight itself is brief and brutal and consists of a thunderous collision that rarely lasts more than ten seconds, which ends when one giant is pushed to the ground or outside the circle.

□ The history of Sumo wrestling goes back over 2000 years. Its origins are connected to the Japanese belief in Shinto, the “way of the gods”, where winning gains favour with the gods. This is why the ritual of a sumo match is taken so seriously.

□ Next comes his most dramatic gesture. With his left hand on his heart and his right arm extended to the east, the huge fighter raises his right leg as high as possible – to send it crashing down with all his force. Then he performs the same earth-shaking stamp with the other leg. After that, he purifies himself and the ring by throwing salt, wiping himself, and rinsing his mouth with water. Finally, the opponents spend three or four minutes trying to intimidate each other with grimaces and threatening postures.

Notes:

· shrine – место поклонения, святыня

· stamp – топанье, топот

· intimidate – пугать, устрашать

· collision - столкновение

A sporting disaster.