The British are known to be great sports-lovers, so 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.
One of the most British games is cricket. It is often played in schools, colleges, universities and by club teams all over the country. Summer isn’t summer without cricket. To many Englishmen cricket is both a game and a standard of behavior. When they consider anything unfair, they sometimes say “That isn’t cricket”.
But as almost everywhere else in the world, the game which attracts the greatest attention is football, or soccer. Every Saturday from late August till the beginning of May, large crowds of people support their favourite teams in football grounds. True fans will travel from one end of the country to the other to see their team play. International football matches take place at Wembley.
Rugby is also very popular, but it is played mainly by amateurs. Next to football, the chief spectator sport in British life is horse-racing. A lot of people are interested in the races and risk money of the horse which they think will win. The Derby is perhaps the most famous single sporting event in the whole world.
Britain is also famous for motor-car racing, dog-racing, boat-racing, and even races for donkeys. The famous bout-race between the teams of Oxford and Cambridge attracts large crowds of people.
A great number of people play and watch tennis. Tennis tournaments at Wimbledon are known all over the world. The innumerable tennis courts of Britain are occupied by people between the ages of 16 and 60 who show every degree of skill – from practically helpless to the extremely able.
The British also like to play golf, baseball, hockey, grass-hockey. Various forms of athletics, such as running, swimming, boxing are also popular. You can sometimes hear that there are no winter sports in England. Of course the English weather is not always cold enough to ski, skate, or toboggan, but winter is a good season for hunting and fishing.
Questions
1. Are the British fond of watching sport games?
2. What kind of sport is especially associated with Britain?
3. What is cricket for an Englishmen?
4. What is the most popular game in the world?
5. Where do the Cup finals take place?
6. Is rugby played by professionals?
7. What kinds of racing are popular in Britain?