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 15th 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.

Task 3.4. 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?

9. Cricket is a very long game, isn't it? How long does the cricket match last?

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

Task 3.5. Read the text

Asian Winter Games

The 2011 Asian Winter Games was a multi sporting event that was being held in Astana and Almaty, Kazakhstan and that began on January 30, 2011 and ended on February 6, 2011. It was the first time that Kazakhstan hosted such a large event since independence from the Soviet Union. The documents for the hosting city were signed in Kuwait on March 4, 2006.

Kazakhstan won the same amount of gold medals on the first day of the competition as it did in the entire 2007 games, topping the medal table for the first time. Iran and Kyrgyzstan won their first ever Asian Winter Games medals, Iran in ski orienteering and alpine skiing and Kyrgyzstan in bandy. 8 countries won medals the most ever at an Asian Winter Games.

Astana Mayor Imangali Tasmagambetov announced venues being built include a multipurpose Sports Palace which will seat up to 15,000 spectators, a ski jump complex, a biathlon stadium, and an athlete village.

Upgrades to existing venues included modernizing the Central Stadium, the B. Sholak Sports Palace, Medeo Skating Rink, and Shimbulak Ski Resort. The ski area was increased fivefold from the current 5 km to 65 km. In 2008 a gondola lift from Medeo Skating Rink to Shymbulak Ski Resort was planned to be completed, however, only in the summer of 2010 construction really started and was under serious time pressure. The Medeo Skating rink is an outdoor rink located in the Tian Shan Mountains, about a 30-minute drive away.

Kazakh Minister of Sports Temirkhan Dosmukhambetov notes the USD 726 million for construction and renovation comes from the 2008 state budget. The Olympic village, on the other hand, will be financed by private investors. Overall, Kazakhstan is spending over $1.4 billion to get the area ready to host the games.

Upgrades to the Almaty airport were finished by December 2008; transport issues are also being reviewed. Millions of KZT are being earmarked for work on main transportation corridors, overpasses, a ring road as well as investment in light rail transit between Talgar, Almaty, and Kaskelen. The plan also included purchases of city passenger buses, taxis, and possibly the construction of a subway.

Almaty also upgraded its power supply network of substations and transmission lines. Expansion and reconstruction of heating systems was also recommended. A portion also got into environmental stabilisation.

In 2008, both Medeo and Shymbulak Ski Resort were rebuilt in preparation for the Games. Vladimir Smirnov, deputy head of the national ski federation, said that the resort would soon be one of the largest in the world, which would increase the chances of a successful bid to host the Olympics.

Date: 2015-12-17; view: 1648