Sport in great britain

Great Britain is the birthplace of many popular kinds of sports such as football, rugby, cricket, field hockey, tennis, boxing and others. Sport is an important part of Englishmen's daily life. Most Englishmen regard themselves as sportsmen, and when they are neither playing nor watching games they like to talk about them. The Britons are lovers of competitive sports. But of all sports two have won the greatest popularity: these are soccer and cricket. Football in particular has a vast number of supporters. It originated more that 200 years ago and in honour of its 200th anniversary there was a memorial game in Britain in 1963 where our legendary goalkeeper Lev Yashin took part and even was the captain of the symbolic All-World Team. It is played in winter. In all parts of Britain 25 million people attend matches during the football season. Most boys` schools as well as factories and offices have their own teams which usually play on Saturday afternoon. Professional football is big business in Britain. Professional soccer teams hold their finals at Wambley Stadium.

Rugby football is another popular game in Great Britain. It^’s played at public schools and universities. Rugby is played by 2 teams of 15 players each with an oval-shaped ball which may be carried and thrown but not forward.

Cricket is the game that English people like to play in summer. Field hockey is a popular winter game which both men and women play. Tennis is also one of the favorite games in England. Wimbledon is the centre of great international festi­vals held every summer, at which tennis players from all over the world compete. The Wimbledon Cup for men and women is the most important tennis event.

Golf is more popular in the US though the game originated in Scotland.

In recent years English people have become especially interested in athletics and the appearance of a great runner or a jumper at the White City stadium in London, always draws a great number of spectators. Also popular are boxing and wrest­ling, weightlifting, gymnastics and some newer sports such as judo, and karate.

England is situated on the British Isles and has a long coast line. That's why water sports are also popular here. Sailing is particularly popular and the Royal Yachting Association has over 1,500 clubs throughout the country. Other popular water sports include canoeing, rowing, water-skiing, surfing. Rowing is popular at the universities and public schools. The annual boat races between Oxford and Cambridge crews have become almost a national festival. Swimming is usually taught at school and millions of people in Britain enjoy this sport. Diving, under­water swimming and water polo are also popular. Riding and other equestrian sports are still traditionally popular in Great Britain. English winter is not severe as a rule, so people don't offer have a chance of skiing, skating and tobogganing. Ne­vertheless figureskating is rather popular and some Britain's figure-skaters are known all over the world. Winter is a great time for hunting too. In Scotland winter sports centers have been established in several parts of the highlands. Britain has about 350 indoor sports centers.

ПРИМЕЧАНИЯ К ТЕКСТУ:

originator - создатель

supporter - сторонник

coast line - береговая линия

highlands - высокогорье

soccer - футбол

all-world team - сборная мира

Royal Yachting Association - Королевская Ассоциация Парусного Спорта

LONDON

London is the capital of Great Britain, its political, economic, commercial and cultural center. It`s one of the largest cities in the world. Its population is about 8 million.

London is one of the oldest cities in the world. It`s more than 2000 years old.

London is divided into 4 parts: the City, Westminster, the West End and the East End. The heart of London is the City, its financial and business center. Numerous banks, offices and firms are situated there, including the Bank of England and the Stock Exchange. Few people live here but over a million come here to work. There are some famous ancient buildings in the City: St.Paul`s Cathedral, the greatest of English churches and the Tower of London. It was used as a fortress, a royal palace and a prison. Now it is a museum.

Westminster is the governmental part of London. Here you can see the Houses of Parliament, the seat of the British Parliament. The Clock Tower of the Houses of Parliament, famous for its big bell is known as “Big Ben”. Buckingham Palace is the official residence of the Queen. The colourful ceremony of changing the Royal Guard before the Palace is of great interest for people. This tradition is more than 200 years old. Westminster Abbey is one of the finest monuments of architecture. It was built in 1249. Nearly all English kings and queens were crowned there. Many outstanding statesmen, scientists, writers, poets and painters were buried there: Newton, Darwin, Chaucer, Dickens, Tennyson, Kipling and others.

The West End is the richest and the most beautiful part of London. It is the symbol of wealth. The best hotels, shops, restaurants and theatres are situated there. There are splendid houses and lovely gardens.

Trafalgar Square is the geographical centre of London, named so in memory of Admiral Nelson`s victory in the battle of Trafalgar in 1805. The tall Nelson`s Column stands in the middle of the square. Not far from it there is the British Museum, which is famous all over the world. Its library has 6 million books.

The East End is the poorest district of London. There are a lot of factories, workshops and docks there. The streets here are narrow and there are fewer parks. It is densily populated by working class people.

ПРИМЕЧАНИЯ К ТЕКСТУ:

the Houses of Parliament - здание Парламента

Westminster Abbey - Вестминстерское Аббатство

Trafalgar Square - Трафальгарская площадь

Buckingham Palace - Букингемский дворец

the West End - Уэст Энд

the East End - Ист Энд

the City - Сити

the Tower - Тауэр

OXBRIDGE

Oxford and Cambridge, known as Oxbridge, are famous for the oldest and most prestigious universities. Oxford University was founded in the middle of the 12^th century. At that time the relationship between the students and the citizens were unfriendly and there was often fighting in the streets. Nowadays there are

12 000 students and 1 000 teachers. Outstanding scientists work at the numerous colleges of the University. Many prominent political figures of the past and present times got their education at Oxford.

The story of Cambridge University began in 1209. That was the year when several hundreds of students arrived in the little town of Cambridge from Oxford. Once a student accidentally killed a man of the town. The Major orderd to arrest some students and hang them. In protest they left Oxford. The University was only for men until 1871, when the first women`s college was opened. Another was opened two years later and the third in 1954. In the 1970s most colleges opened their doors to both men and women. Nowadays almost all colleges are mixed.

Many great men studied at Oxbridge, such as Newton, Cromwell, Byron, Darwin and others.