Task 2. Read the text and focus on the British values, which are reflected in their attitude to sports.

Sport is a very important part of life in Great Britain. The list of sports invented by the British includes football, golf, lawn tennis, badminton, cricket, rugby, squash and some others. Frequently as in the case of football the British did not invent the game itself, they formulated the rules. Nowadays, thousands of people devote their leisure time to outdoor and indoor games: athletics, mountain climbing, boxing and other sports.

Outdoor games are team games such as football, cricket, and hockey, and games in which individuals or couples try their skill, for example golf. Team games are part of the old public school system of bringing up. Sport is supposed to develop character and team spirit. Among the sports “essentially dear to the English nature” Anthony Trollope, a famous novelist, includes the traditional gentlemen pursuits: hunting, shooting, rowing, and horse racing.

In recent times, though, team games are becoming less popular, while sports for individuals, like swimming, cycling, snooker, motor racing, golf are rising in popularity. Television has had an enormous influence on sport. Darts, snooker, golf and cycling have found regular places in TV programmes. Thanks to television, darts has become an international game, played by professionals. Darts also remain associated with British pubs. People frequently come to local pubs to watch the more important football games and play darts.

Football. Although Englishmen played a kind of football from the middle age or even earlier as an organized game it dates back from just over a century ago. Football matches get big crowds. The Cup Final is one of the most important football matches of the year in England; it is always played at the Wembley stadium, in London. There is no British Football team. England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland compete separately in European and World Cup matches. British fans are notorious for their violent behaviour. Football hooliganism was at its worst in 1985. The worst incident occurred at a European interclub game in Brussels. A number of spectators were killed in the panic caused by the violence of a group of British football supporters.

Rugby. One type of football, in which the players carried the oval ball in their hands, appeared in 1859 at Rugby School. That is why the name took the name of Rugby. The rules of the game are different from football (soccer). The ball can be carried and passed to other players by throwing or kicking. Points are won by carrying the ball to the opponents’ end of the field or by kicking it over an H shaped bar. Informally rugby football is called rugger. Rugby is a rough, hard game.

Cricket. Cricket is England’s national summer game. Nobody knows exactly how old the game is, but some forms of cricket were played in England in the 13^th century. The rules of the game have changed over the years.

The oldest series of international matches is between England and Australia, and the team that wins takes home a famous trophy called The Ashes. And even today for cricket lovers in England and Australia winning The Ashes is like winning The World Cup for football!

In England cricket is played in schools and universities, and almost all towns have their cricket teams, which play regularly at least one match a weak during the season – from May to September. There are thousands of cricket grounds all over England. The Marylebone Cricket Club is the most important authority on cricket in the world. The club is situated at Lord’s cricket ground in London.

Lawn-tennis. The number of people who play lawn-tennis is great. The tennis championships held at Wimbledon for two weeks at the end of June and at the beginning of July are the main event of the lawn-tennis season in Britain and, in fact in the world. These championships in which men and women of many nationalities complete, gather large crowds.

Swimming. Many children in Britain learn to swim at school, or during the holidays at the seaside, and swimming pool as a summer pastime is enjoyed by millions of people. There are also indoor swimming pools, which makes swimming possible all the year round. Swimming championships and competitions are widely reported in press and on TV. Attempts to swim the English channel have been made by swimmers of many nationalities every summer. Some of the attempts are successful. The numerous rivers afford excellent opportunities for swimming and rowing.

Rowing. The Oxford and Cambridge boat race, in which crews from these two universities compete take place every spring on the Thames. The high point of the rowing season is the Royal Henley Regatta. Each July the pretty town of Henley-on Thames is flooded by boating enthusiasts. This annual event began in 1851. Although the regatta was designed for amateur rowers, participants had to belong to the correct social class.

During the autumn and winter shooting and fox-hunting are the great sports in Great Britain for the upper classes.

Polo is another aristocraticpursuit. Polo is a team sport with each player filling a specific role and supporting the team effort on both offense and defense. The outdoor polo field is the area of 10 football fields. The indoor polo arena is only about 100 yards long and 50 yards wide. Three players instead of four are used on a team. There are between four and eight chukkas (periods of play), depending on the standard of the match (usually four in low goal up to eight in world class matches. Each chukka lasts seven minutes. Chukka comes from the Indian word for a circle or round. The shaft of the mallet or stick is usually made from bamboo cane and the head from a hard wood. The wide face of the mallet head is used to strike the ball. Players use a fresh pony for each chukka. Although termed 'ponies' they are usually horses. Two mounted umpires (one for each side of the field) who regulate the game. They usually wear striped shirts. There are many polo clubs in England: Ascot Polo Club, Cowdray Park at Midhurst, Guards’ Polo Club, Cirencester [‘saierenseste] Park Polo Club in Gloucestershire.

Horse-racing is also a great national sport. There are several races that attract special attention. The Grand National is England’s main steeplechase (race over obstacles) held in March or April in Aintree, near Liverpool. The course is over seven kilometres and includes thirty jumps, of which fourteen are jumped twice. It is one of the most difficult and dangerous races in the world. The National Hunt Festival is held in Cheltenham in March. There are twenty races there. The Derby [da:bi] takes place at Epsom, a famous racecourse to the south of London. It is England’s leading flat race. The Royal Ascot is held in June near Windsor and it is one of the highlights of the English social season. For a week in June racegoers, gamblers, socialites, the royal family make their way to Berkshire and the Ascot racecourse. The racecourse was built in 1711 by an order of Queen Anne. It is not only a sports event, it is a great social event when the upper classes gather to see the Queen who always attends. Women traditionally invent unusual and inimitable hats. Men wear top hats.

Toe wrestling is a new kind of sports recently invented in England and gaining popularity. Its rules are similar to arm wrestling.

The game of Golf was invented in Scotland and enjoyed by the nobility as early as the 15th Century. Golf was enjoyed by James IV, James V and Mary Queen of Scots (who is said to have popped out for a game after successfully plotting to murder her husband, Lord Darnley). James VI was also an avid player and encouraged the game in London when he became King of England in 1603. The first rules of the game were laid down in 1744. The Royal and Ancient Golf Club (known as the R&A), was founded in 1754. It is the world governing body for the game and is based in St. Andrews, along with the "Old Course" - perhaps the world's most famous golf course. The Old Course is a public course (a tradition widespread in Scotland, where the City Council owns and maintains the course) and as such is open to locals and visitors for a modest fee.

Curling started in Scotland in the 16th century, at least, and the earliest stone dating back to 1511 is held in Stirling at the Smith Institute. The outdoor game was obviously well established by the 17th century. The National Bard, Robert Burns, as a farmer probably played the game, and certainly wrote knowledgeably about it in his poem ' Tam Samson's Elegy'. Since the first indoor game took place in Glasgow in 1907 the outdoor game is now very infrequently played apart from 'The Bonspiel' or 'Grand Match' traditionally played on the Lake of Monteith in Perthshire. Scotland not only invented the game, wrote the rules, gave the game to the world but also makes the best curling stones. The Gold Olympic success should greatly increase interest in the game, which in turn should benefit the Scottish manufacturer of curling stones. Nearly all the curling stones in the world are made from Scottish granite from Ailsa Craig - also known as Paddy's Milestone - the famous rocky outcrop off the Ayrshire coast.

Shinty is another Scottish game. It is recognised that Scotland is one of the world warrior nations. Although renowned as one of the friendliest and welcoming of countries, the Scots love nothing more than watching, or taking part in, a good going "stramash" (fight).
If there was ever a game that helped Scots develop their courage, speed, stamina and weapon handling skills, it is the game of shinty. It requires a lot of mental and physical strength.
The earliest documented rules of play were recorded by the Aberdeen University Shinty Club who in 1861 became the first constituted shinty club in Scotland. The Camanachd Association was formally instituted in 1893 with the first final for a national trophy - the Camanachd Cup – taking place in 1896.

In Ireland the national game is hurling. Players use sticks called 'hurleys' to strike the ball. The part of the hurley used to strike the ball is known as the 'bas'. At its widest point the bas shall not be more than 13cm. The ball in hurling is known as a 'sliotar'. The sliotar weighs between 100g and 130g. The circumference of the ball is between 23cm and 25cm. Championship hurling matches last 70 minutes and league matches last 60 minutes.

Another popular game is Gaelic Football. A Gaelic football team consists of 15 players and a number of substitutes, who may be called into the game at any stage. The team's manager chooses his starting 15 and substitutes from a 'panel' of players. Only three substitutes can be used in one match. Every football team has a goalkeeper, six defenders, two midfielders and six forwards. In Gaelic Football there are two methods of recording scores. A 'point' is scored when the ball is played over the crossbar between the posts by either team. A 'goal' is scored when the ball is played over the goal line between the posts and under the crossbar by either team.

In Wales rugby is very popular, though it was born in England. There are two forms of rugby: Rugby Union and Rugby League. In Wales they play Rugby Union. There are 15 players in each team. Rugby Union is played internationally. It is thought of as a middle class game. Rugby League is a professional game played mainly in the north of England and Australia.