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SECTION 3 Popular Sports in Britain and in Russia

SECTION 3

50 Listen to the text and complete

the sentences.

1. Most British people enjoy ... .2. The British national sports are ..., ...,

cricket and racing.

51 Listen and repeat the words. Guess

the meaning of the words that sound

similar in English and in Russian.

biking, swimming, skating, skiing, jog-ging, boxing, motor racing, horse racing, boat racing, football, volleyball, darts, basketball, rugby, golf, cricket, tennis, ice hockey, badminton

52 Study the pie chart. Find out what

sports are more and less popular among

British people.

Example: British people are fond of ... .... is not so popular in Great Britain.

53 Read the texts. Match them with

the photos.

A Tennis is very popular in Britain. This game first appeared in England. Every June the biggest competition in the world takes place at Wimbledon. This world cen-tre of tennis is located not far from the center of London. ... Lots of fans and tourists come there to watch games be-tween famous players. Millions of people watch the Wimbledon Championship on TV.

B The English also like all kinds of racing. Horse racing, motor racing and boat racing are very popular in England. The most famous boat racing in England is between Oxford and Cambridge. It first started in 1829 and has been held almost every spring since 1836. A lot of people come to watch this competition between the two leading English universities. ...

C Most people think that the British invent-ed football. ... The game is very popular there.Most British towns and cities have a foot-ball team. There are four football champi-onships: in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The strongest football team in the British Isles is Manchester United, although Arsenal and Chelsea in London are also very good.

D The national English game is cricket. ... Cricket is a summer game: it is usually played in schools, colleges and universi-ties. Cricket is a very long and slow game. There are two teams. Each team consists of eleven men. The ‘bowler’ throws the ball, and a ‘batsman’ hits it with his bat.

Popular sports in Great Britain

Tennis 17 %

Swimming 10%

Football 35 %

Motor racing 8%

Boxing 9%

Golf 4 %

Cricket 7%

Darts 2 %

Badminton 2 %

Skiing 6 %

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UNIT  4 Section 3

54 Work in pairs. Decide which texts these sentences have been taken from1.

Complete the texts.

1. But it is also popular in Australia, India, Pakistan and Southern Africa.2. It is not true because similar games were played in different countries. The Eng-

lish suggested the laws of the game in 1863.3. It takes place on the River Thames and it usually lasts 15—20 minutes.4. It is the oldest competition and the only one where the players still play

on grass.

55 Complete the questions. Answer the questions.

Use: What country? What kinds of? Where? When? What? How many?

1. ... is the birthplace of tennis?2. ... does one of the largest world tennis competitions take place?3. ... racing are popular in England?4. ... did the most famous boat racing first start?5. ... football championships are held in the UK?6. ... are the best football teams in Great Britain?7. ... is cricket played nowadays?8. ... are the rules of cricket?

56 Work in pairs. Discuss what sports are more / less popular in Russia. Why?

Use: I think / I believe, be popular among all age groups, become popular long ago, be popular throughout the world, children can develop their physical abilities, Rus-sian national sports, the biggest competition takes place, a lot of people come to watch it, people can do it all the year round.

1 have been taken from — были взяты

43

21

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UNIT  4 Section 3

57 a) Rank the kinds of sports. Put numbers from one (the most popular) to 12

(the least popular).

b) Work in groups. Share the information with your classmates.

Find out and say which sports activities are the most popular in your class.

basketball cycling figure skating football

ice hockey karate roller skating skateboarding

skiing swimming tennis volleyball

58 Listen to the interview with Oleg Petrov. Say what sports he does.

59 Work in pairs. Match the questions with the answers. Read Oleg Petrov’s

interview and say what kind of winter / summer sports he likes.

Oleg

Correspondent

1.  What sports games are popular in Russia?

2. What do you do to keep fit?3. Is sport important for your family?

A. Yes, it is. My family takes sport seri-ously. My father is fond of volleyball. My mother likes swimming. My elder sister is a student at medical college and hasn’t got too much time for sport. That’s why she tries to get fit at home. She has a lot of books and CDs with in-structions how to do home exercise programmes. My father and I like to watch football, ice hockey and chess championships on TV. My mother and my sister prefer to watch figure skating competitions on TV.

B. Various sports. But I think football, ice hockey and figure skating are the most popular sports in Russia. Other popular sports are basketball, volleyball, car racing and skiing. A lot of fans go to lo-cal stadiums to support their favourite teams and sportsmen.

C. Although I like sports, I do not want to go in for sport professionally. Besides swimming and karate. I like skating in winter. Skating is a popular activity among my friends. There are a number of skating rinks in our town. And we often go there at weekends. In summer and spring I often roller skate in the park.

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UNIT  4 Section 3

60 Read the other questions

from Tracey Stock, the correspondent

of the British Youth Sport magazine.

Answer the questions.

1. What sports are popular with you and your friends?

2. What sports can you play?3. What sports competitions do you like

watching?4. What sports facilities do you have in

your school?5. What do you like to do in your free

time?

WORD FOCUS

61 Read, remember and use

the following phrases.

Giving your opinionI think that ... .I believe that ... .

AgreeingYes, I agree.That’s an excellent idea.

DisagreeingDo you really think so?I’m not so sure about that.

62 Work in pairs. Imagine that one of you is from Britain, but now he / she

is spending a term in a Russian school. Interview him / her about sports

popular in Britain.

Student 1 Student 2 (from Britain)

Mike (Sophia), I’m doing a presentation about sports that are popular in the English-speaking countries. Could you help me?

Of course. What do I need to do, Olga (Denis)?

Just answer some questions.

OK. I’m ready.

Ask two questions about sports popular with British people.

• Answer the questions using ‘I think that ... / I believe that ...’ .

• Say that it is important to do sports no matter where you live.

• Agree (or disagree) with your friend (Yes, I agree / I’m not so sure about that).• Say why you think so.• Invite your friend to take part in the

football / volleyball match tomorrow.

Agree to take part in the game.

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UNIT  4 Section 3

63 a) Read the short texts. Match the games with the texts.

Example: The first (second, third, fourth) rule is for ... .

b) Listen and check if you were right.

64 Work in groups. Write an article for your school website about your last

school sports event (a football / hockey match / a skating competition, etc.).

Follow the plan.

1. When it took place.2. Where it took place.3. Who took part in it.4. Whether it was interesting / exciting / boring.

1 The ball is usually controlled with the hands or arms, but players can legally push the ball with any parts of the body.

2 Players can carry the oval ball with their hands. The players can move forward only by running with the ball or by kicking it.

3 A player cannot run with the ball. The player must throw it from the spot where they received it. The ball must not be held in the hands. The arms and body must not be used for controlling it.

4 A player can’t use his hands to push or to throw the ball. He can play with his feet and head only.

basketball

volleyball

football

rugby