Sports in Great Britain

Sports in Great Britain

British people are very fond of sports. Sport is part of their normal life. When they are neither playing nor watching games they like to talk about them. Many of the games we play now have come from Britain.

The two most popular games in Britain are football and cricket.

Football or soccer was invented and first devel­oped in England. Now it is spread all over the country and the world. British national teams compete with each other every year. True fans

travel from one end of the country to the other to see their team play. The two best teams play in the Cup Final at Wembley Stadium in London in May.

Cricket is the English national game. It is often played in schools, colleges, universities and by club teams all over the country. Summer isn't summer without cricket. It is played by two teams of eleven men each. One player at a time tries to hit the ball with a bat. It is known that people played cricket in England as early as 1550. Cricket is a very long game. International cricket matches last for 5 days. When Englishmen consider anything unfair, they sometimes say: "That isn't cricket."

One of the oldest British sports is boxing. It existed even in Saxon times.

Lawn tennis was first played in Britain in the late 19th century. Now a great number of people play and watch tennis.

The first championship at Wimbledon took place in 1877. Nowadays every summer in June the British hold this International Tennis Champion­ship. It is known all over the world.

Horse-racing is very popular in Britain, too. A lot of people are interested in the races. They risk money on the horse which they think will win. The Derby is the most famous single sporting event in the whole world.

Golf is the Scottish national game. It was first played in the 15^th century.

Rugby football is also very popular, but it is played mainly by amateurs.*

The British also like to play baseball, hockey, grass-hockey. There are many popular sports in Britain such as swimming, boating, sailing and the traditional fox-hunting.

   Vocabulary

•    Answer the questions.

1.  British people are very fond of sports, aren't they? Can you prove it?

2.  What are the most popular games in Britain?

3.  Where was football invented?

4.  What can you say about the English fans?

5.  Where and when is the Cup Final played every year?

6.  What is the English national game?

7.  How is cricket played? How many players are there in each team? What are the rules?

8. Do you know when the British began to play cricket?

f9. Cricket is a very long game, isn't it? How long

does the cricket match last? 3. What do the Engshishmen say when they con­sider something unfair?

11.  What is one of the oldest British sports which was known in Saxon times?

12.  When was lawn tennis first played in Britain?

13.  When and where was the first tennis champi­onship held?

14.  When is the International Tennis Champion­ship held in Britain every year?

15.  Is horse-racing very popular in Britain?

16.  What is the most famous horse-racing sporting event in Britain?

17.  What Scottish national game do you know?

18.  When was golf first played in Scotland?

19.  How many players are there in the rugby foot­ball team? What ball is rugby played with?

20.  What other sports popular in Britain do you know?

*It is played with an oval ball which may be carried. There are fifteen players in each team. ,

Read and learn it by heart. Role play uk dialogue.

Tory:      Hello, Martin!

Martin:   Hello, Tony!

Tory:      Martin, can you skate?

Martin:   I can, but very little.

Tony:      Can you help us?

Martin:   With pleasure. In what way?

Tony:      You must take part in the hockey match on Wednesday, that is tomorrow. Martin:   I can skate, Tony, but I can't play hockey. These are two different things!

Tony. Don't worry! If you can skate it's easy. You don't need to skate much there. We want you to be the goal-keeper. Mark, our goalkeeper, is ill. He can't come to the match tomorrow.

Martin:   Oh, it's difficult to be a goal-keeper.

Tony: Please, help our team. It is going to be a very important game. We must win.

Martin:   If you ask me, Tony, of course, but...

Tony:      Thank you. Good luck to you!

Read and learn by heart the dialogue. Then act it out.

Olga:   Do you know that our school team will have the final match against Brighton Club team next Tuesday?

Kate:   Really? My brother plays for our team. He is a forward.

Olga:   Do you think our team will win?

Kate:   I'm sure of it. It's a very good team. My brother scores a goal in every match.

Olga:   How many goals has he already scored this season?

Kate: I don't know, but I'm sure he's scored a lot of goals already.

Olga:   What teams have they played against?

Kate: From Scotland and Cambridge. The sta­dium was full. They won those games. I see that you are a fan of our team.

Olga:   Yes, you are right.

Kate:   Bye, see you later at the stadium.

Olga:   OK.