Task 2. Check if these words and word combinations are known to you. If not,

try to memorize them:

staple n основа

alongside adv. бок о бок; рядом

goose-riding гусиные забеги

cock-fighting петушиные бои

curling n керлинг

slide v (slid) скользить, кататься

stone n камень

ancestor n предок

vigorous adj. энергичный

draw v (drew, drawn) привлекать, привлечь

draw up cоставлять, составить; оформить

flock v собираться группой

code n кодекс, свод законов; нормы

urban adj. городской

embrace v обнимать

govern v управлять

governing body руководящий орган

government n правительство

employer n работодатель

fair-minded adj. справедливый

expansion n расширение, экспансия

distinguished adj. выдающийся

Task 3. Read Text 4 B to know the British sporting traditions:

Text 4 B. From the History of the Sporting Traditions

Games and sports had long been a staple of life in the British Isles. Alongside goose-riding and cock-fighting there were also early versions of more familiar activities. Curling, the sliding of stones over ice – was played on Scottish lochs, from at least the 1500’ s. Hurling – an ancestor of modern field hockey – was very popular in Highland Scotland and the west of Ireland. In Wales there was “cnappen” a vigorous variant of the old – age game of street football.

There was also a long tradition of watching sport. Even in the 18^th century cricket drew large crowds. Some 10,000 spectators attended the Artillery Ground, Finsbury for a match in 1743. People flocked to watch classic horse races such as the St Leger (established in 1776) and the Derby (1780). And from 1829 supporters lined the banks of the Thames to enjoy the annual Boat Race between Oxford and Cambridge Universities.

By 1860 Britain had become a highly industrial mainly urban country. Established activities like racing, boxing and cricket were reorganized. Ancient forms of football and tennis were completely transformed. New codes of play were drawn up and regulatory organizations formed. These transformations enabled sportsmen or teams to compete with others from all over the country.

Sport in turn helped to mould a new kind of popular culture, embracing both players and spectators. By 1890 for example, there were 203 amateur football clubs in Liverpool and professional football matches were attended by millions of Englishmen through the year. National governing bodies such as the Football Association (1863), the Rugby Union (1871) and the Amateur Athletic Association (1881) were founded by former public schoolboys.

At that period governments, employers and trade unionists played a surprisingly small part in the organization of competitive British sports. Most of the initiative came from private individuals of every social class, and from the clubs, associations and governing bodies which they founded.

Organized sport was an essential part of the 19^th century public-school curriculum. Schoolmasters made use of sport to teach both discipline and morality. Team games in particular were believed to develop cooperation and fair-minded competition. Love of healthy sport and exercise was a good way to each pupil not only to control themselves but also to govern others.

With the expansion of the British Empire, there were increasing numbers of people to be governed. Imperial officers and administrators spread organized sport wherever they were posted. So the era of modern international sport began, a continuing era of more than a hundred years during which British sportsmen and women were to play a large and distinguished part.

Post-reading exercises

Ex.1. Find in the text the paragraphs describing:

– old-age games and sports in the British Isles;

– a long tradition of watching sports;

– the Great Victorian transformation of sports;

– the apperance of the first national governing bodies;

– organized sport at the 19^th century public schools;

– the spread of the English sports and games with the expansion of the

British Empire.

Ex.2. Choose any of the 2 paragraphs from the text and translate them in

written form into Russian.

Ex.3. Write questions to the following answers:

• Curling, hurling and cnappen were early versions of sports and games in the British Isles;

• Watching sports has a long tradition in Great Britain;

• Cricket matches and horse races drew large crowds of spectators;

• ­The annual Boat Race-between Oxford and Cambridge Universities was organized in 1829;

• Sporting activities like racing, boxing, cricket, football and tennis had been reorganized and transformed by the beginning of the 20^th century;

• New codes of play and regulatory organizations enabled sportsmen and teams to compete with others;

• Sport helped to mould a new kind of popular culture in Great Britain;

• Sport was used by schoolmasters to teach children discipline, morality and cooperation;

• British sportsmen and women played a large and distinguished part in the

• development of modern international sport.