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21
SECTION A

Sport and
competition

Quiz

8 What is the name given to fishing when it is done

Choose the correct answer.

1 Before the 1970s, when amateur cricketers were called
gentlemen, what were professional ones called?
A players
B staff
C workers

2 Which of these sports is the most popular in Britain?

A cricket
B football
C golf
3 In which of these sports are Yorkshire, Lancashire, and
Middlesex top-class teams?
A cricket
B rugby league
C rugby union

9 Which of these has been called the sport of kings?

A athletics
B greyhound racing
C horse racing
10 If someone asks Who won the 3.30 at Chepstow?, to
what sport are they referring?
A athletics
B football
C horse racing

11 Which of these names is not used for people who

4 In which of these sports are test matches played?

A cricket
B football
C golf
5 In England, which of these sports was traditionally
confined to the middle classes?
A cricket
B rugby league
C rugby union

organize gambling on sports events?

A bookmakers
B card markers
C turf accountants

12 How many times has a British team won the football

World Cup?
A never
B once
C twice

13 If a British person thinks that something is unfair or

6 In England, at which of these sporting events is crowd

trouble a possibility?
A a cricket match
B a football match
C a rugby match

unjust, what might they say?

A Its not cricket.
B Its not football.
C Its not sporting.

14 Which two national teams often compete for the

7 By what name is the practice of killing birds with

guns generally known?
A tracking
B rifling
C shooting

competitively?
A angling
B baiting
C reeling

Ashes?
A England and Australia
B England and Scotland
C England and the USA

Oxford University Press 2009

SPORT AND COMPETITION

SECTION B

Sporting associations

Match each of the items 120 with one of the sports in the box.
boxing

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20

cricket football

horse racing

rugby

tennis

the Ashes
the FA
the Grand National
Hampden Park
Lords
on the ropes
oval ball
the Oval
Pacific islands
racquet
Royal Ascot
saved by the bell
the Six Nations
steeplechase
a straight bat
Twickenham
village green
Wembley
wicket
Wimbledon

SECTION C

British words and phrases

Find the word or phrase in chapter 21 of Britain which is used to mean or

describe:
1 the achievement of doing something three times in a row or within a certain period
(e.g. scoring three goals in the same match)

2 football (the word used in America, but also sometimes in Britain)

3 in a difficult situation (from cricket)
4 a reliable person (from sports involving a ball)
5 a long life (from cricket)
6 a low-ranked team or player who beats a high-ranked team or player very unexpectedly
7 a person who is good at cooperating in a group
8 a person who goes to watch sporting events
9 people (sometimes dressed in silly costumes) who take part in sporting events such as the
London Marathon in order to raise money for charity

Oxford University Press 2009

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SPORT AND COMPETITION

SECTION D

Extension

Fill in the gaps in this text with the words from the list below.
Midway between England and Ireland lies the Isle of Man. Far back in prehistory, when sea travel was
much easier than land travel, it was at the centre of a 1
stone-age world. But for the last
two millennia, it has been a largely 2
lump of rock in the Irish Sea. It has just 72,000
inhabitants except, that is, for two weeks each year in early summer, when the population of the island
increases by over 50%. At the same time, it plays host to around 13,000 temporarily 3
motorcycles. It is the time of the 4
TT (tourist trophy) races, when the Isle of Man
becomes the centre of the motorbike racing world.
There are road signs all over the island in French, German, and Italian, reminding bikers to drive on
the left. But in general, the police take a 5
attitude to the invasion, allowing bikers,
6
at the prospect of a complete lack of any speed limit outside built-up areas, to
indulge their fantasies.
The first ever TT race was won at an 7
speed of 61 kph. But things these days are a
little different. The 8
record for the 60-kilometre lap is around 200 kph. The course
is not a specially made one. It is just 9
streets passing houses, shops, and fields. As
you see, the TT races are not exactly 10
. An average of two and a half people die
there every year. But the danger seems to be part of the attraction, because every year the numbers of
competitors grow.

annual excited imported present safety-conscious

average ignored ordinary relaxed thriving

Now answer these questions.

About how many people visit the Isle of Man for the TT races?
Are the TT races dangerous? What is done about safety during the time of the TT races?

SECTION E

Talking points

1 In general, and especially to watch, sports such as football, rugby, and cricket are more
popular than sports such as athletics, cycling, golf, or tennis in Britain. Why do you think
this is?

2 In the 1970s, the manager of Liverpool football club once said: Football is not a matter of
life and death to me its more important than that. What do you think he meant? Is his
comment typical of the British attitude to sport?

3 Would you say that sport has the same public importance in your country as it has in
Britain? Does it play the same kind of role?

4 A big problem for cricket is that it cannot be played during or immediately after rain
because the grass is too wet. To solve this problem, somebody once suggested that, instead
of grass, cricket should be played on plastic surfaces, so that play could begin again as
soon as the rain had stopped. English cricket enthusiasts were horrified at this idea. One
member of the MCC (Marylebone Cricket Club, the organization which partly controls
the game in England) commented The man must have been drunk when he thought of it.
How do you explain this extreme reaction?
Oxford University Press 2009