VI. Make a list of phrases from the text depicting the manner of playing football.

VII. Translate the sentences into Russian. Explain the use of the modal verbs:

1. Based on this description we can conclude that harpastum was the forerunner of both rugby and football.

2. The owners of shops and houses had to close the windows of the ground floor with shutters or wood panels.

3. These lines might be compared with the gate line in modern football.

4. Afterwards Cromwell managed to exterminate football so that it could revive only in the Restoration age.

VIII. Agree or disagree with the following statements and prove your opinion:

1. Football seems the least popular sport entertainment in the world.

2. In Britain a ball game originally was an entertainment during the Christmas holidays.

3. There were numerous attempts to abolish football in the history of Great Britain.

4. English people refused to play football because of its forbidding.

5. The aim of the FA was to establish a single unifying code for all ball games.

IX. Answer the questions:

1. What is kennutt? Where was it played?

2. What were the rules of the Roman game harpastum? What was this game the forerunner of?

3. Where and when was a ball game played in Britain? How long did the game last? What was used for the ball?

4. Why were there numerous attempts to abolish football?

5. What was the reputation of football?

6. When was the Football Association established? What is its aim?

Tennis

Some people believe that the ancient Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans played different versions of tennis. Drawings and descriptions of any tennis-like games have not been discovered, but a few Arabic words dating from ancient Egyptian times are cited as evidence. The theory goes that the name “tennis” derives from the Egyptian town of Tinnis alongside the Nile and the word “racquet” evolved from the Arabic word for palm of the hand, rahat.

Aside from these two words, evidence for any form of tennis preceding the year 1000 is lacking, and most historians credit the first origins of the game to 11th or 12th century French monks, who began playing a crude handball against their monastery walls or over a rope strung across a courtyard. As the game became more popular, courtyard playing areas began to be modified into indoor courts, where the ball was still played off the walls. After bare hands were found too uncomfortable, players began using a glove, then either a glove with webbing between the fingers or a solid paddle, followed by webbing attached to a handle, essentially a racquet. Rubber balls were still centuries away, so the ball was a wad of hair, wool, or cork wrapped in string and cloth or leather, then in later years, hand-stitched in felt to look something like a modern baseball.

The nobility learned the game from the monks. The game became such a popular diversion; both the Pope and Louis IV tried unsuccessfully to ban it. It soon spread to England, where both Henry VII and Henry VIII were avid players who promoted the building of more courts.

The early tennis courts were quite different from the current day lawn tennis courts. The early version of the game is now called “real tennis” and England’s Hampton court built in 1625 is still used presently. The court was a narrow indoor court where the ball was played off walls. The net was five feet high on the ends and three feet high in the middle.

The theory which revolves around the tennis scoring history states that the scoring has its origins in ancient numerology. In medieval times, the number 60 was considered auspicious or “complete” in a similar manner to which the number 100 is considered to be a “complete” figure now. The medieval adaptation of tennis thus considered 60 to be the “game” with steps of four points like 15, 30, 45 (or 40 as it is today) and finally 60.

The game's popularity dwindled almost to nothing during the 1700s, but in 1850, Charles Goodyear invented a vulcanization process for rubber. Players began to experiment with using the bouncier rubber balls outdoors on grass courts. An outdoor game was, of course, completely different from an indoor game played off walls, so several new sets of rules were formulated.

In 1874, Major Walter Wingfield acquired the patent rights for the equipments and rules for the game which bore close resemblance to the modern tennis. In the same year, the first tennis courts emerged in the United States. The game soon spread to different parts of the world like Russia, Canada, China and India.

The first Wimbledon tennis championship took place in 1877. The event was initially held to raise money to fix a broken roller at the private club but instead, has evolved to become the most prestigious tennis event in the entire world. The only event at the first Wimbledon Championships was the men's singles; women weren't permitted to play until 1884. That first year, the players wore hats and ties and were admonished to wear shoes without heels. Serves were played underarm and the tennis balls were hand sewn. The colors of Wimbledon have always been purple and green with the players wearing almost all white. Strawberries and cream is the traditional food fare at Wimbledon. The Wimbledon Championship is still played on grass; the only grand slam event to have that distinction.

Tennis is a test of skill, accuracy and agility. There is a huge amount of prize money to be won and a name to be earned for oneself. The game is popular with billions of people around the world.

Tasks:

I. 1) Learn the verbs from the text:

to cite, to derive, to evolve, to credit, to promote, to dwindle, to revolve, to mature, to diverse, to invent, to emerge, to permit.

Дата добавления: 2015-08-03