UNIT 10

UNIT TEN

SPORTS AND HOLIDAY

Ⅰ

.Sports

ll

t

sports

Ⅱ

.Religious holidays

mas

n

Ⅲ

.National holidays

Queen’s birthday

Ⅳ

.Holidays in England

e Night(Guy Fawkes Night)

Ⅴ

.Holidays in Northern Ireland

Orange March

Patrick’s Day

Ⅵ

.Holidays in Scotland

ay

Burns Night

een

Ⅶ

.Holidays in Wales

dfod

Ⅰ

.Sports

lls

(1)Origin

①

Football was invented in Britain.

②

Legends

sugg

est

that

football

derived

from

the

“sports”

of

ancient

warriors

celebrating victory by kicking around the decapitated head of an enemy.

（

2

）

Football today

①

It is the most popular sport in England and in Europe.

◆

Over twenty million tickets are sold to Football Association(FA)games each season.

◆

The FA is the league or association that the major teams complete in,for a trophy

title known as the FA cup.

②

Football is played in winter and early spring.

The

idea

of

sports

having

seasons

comes

from

the

natural

rhythms

of

an

agricultural society.

③

Violence is still associated with football.

◆

The violence associated with football is reflected by “Football hooligans”.

◆

“Football

hooligans”

are supporters of rival

teams.

They sometimes clash before,

during

and

after

matches

and

occasionally

run

riot

through

the

town,

breaking

windows and beating each other up.

(1)Origin

①

Tennis was invented in Britain.

②

Tennis owes its origins to the church.

Church

records

indicate

that

by

the

mid-15th

century,

people

were

a

game

of

bouncing a ball off

The side of their local churches or cathedrals, first using a hand, and later a racquet.

(2)Wimbledon

①

Wimbledon is the name of a London suburb.

②

“Wimbledon fortnight”

◆

Wimbledon championship

In

Wimbledon,

the

world’s

best

players

gather

to

compete

in

the

annual

international

tennis

championship.

It

is

one

of

the

major

events

of

the

British

sporting calendar and probably the most famous tennis events in the world.

◆

Besides

actually

watching

the

tennis

matches,

other

activities

closely

associated

with

the

“Wimbledon

fortnight”

are

eating

strawberries

and

cream,

drinking

champagne and hoping that it doesn’t rain.

t

(1)Distinctive features

①

The rules of cricket are as obscure as the language.

②

The players wear white trousers and appear quite formally dressed.

③

Matches do not last just a few hours and they can go on for days.

④

British English is full of references and phrases to cricket.

◆

To be “on a sticky wicket”is to face difficulties.

◆

”Playing with a straight bat”is being

honest.

(2)”Fair play”

①

Cricket was one of the first team sports in Britain to have organized rules and to be

played according to the same rules early as 1787 ,the rules were fixed.

②

The reasons that fixed rules were applied to cricket so early on was a financial one:

◆

Aristocrats loved betting on cricket matches and if people were going to risk money

on a game ,they wanted to ensure that the game would be played fairly.

◆

In the 19th century,it became a kind of a “snob”game played by boys who

attended

public schools.

◆

As

generations

of

public

school

boys

grew

up

to

become

the

civil

servants

and

rulers

of

the

UK

and

its

colonies,cricket

became

associated

with

a

set

of

moral

values,in the particular the idea of “fair play”which supposedly charact

erized British

government.

(1)Golf was invented by the Scottish.

(2)There is a world famous golf course in St Andrews,not far from Edinburgh.

sports

(1)Horse racing

①

A royal sport

◆

Horse racing is the true sport of British Kings and Queens.

◆

Organized national horse races have been held throughout British for hundreds of

years.

②

Two kinds of horse racing

◆

Flat racing

Horses and riders complete on a flat,oval track.

◆

Steeplechasing

This

means

either

racing

across

the

countryside,or

around

a

course

designed

to

represent the obstacles you might encounter in the countryside.

③

Horse racing events

◆

The Grand National is the world’s most famous steeplechase.

◆

The Royal Ascot there is the biggest social event associated with horse racing.

(2)Equestrianism

It can involve riding skills such as jumping and carriage driving,as well as speed.

II

．

Religious holidays

1. Christmas:

It

is

the

biggest

and

the

most

popular

British

holiday,It

is

a

Christian

festival.

(1) Date

December 25th

(2) Meaning

To commemorate the birth of Jesus Christ.

(3) Three Christmas traditions in Britain

①

The Christmas Pantomime

◆

It is comical musical play usually based on a popular tradition children’s story.

◆

There

are

two

main

characters

in

the

play:the

main

male

character,”the

principal

boy”,is

played

by

a

young

woman

and

“the

Dame”,often

an

ugly

woman ,is played by a man.

②

Boxing Day

◆

It falls in the day after Christmas.

◆

Tranditionally,it was on Boxing Day that peple give Christmas gifts or money

to

their

staff

or

that

most

British

people

do

not

have

servants,this custom is no longer observed.

◆

However,a new Boxing Day custom has emerged,in the cities:

open

up

to

sell

off

all

their

Christmas

stock

decorations,food,cards

and

gift

items at low prices.

③

Another Christmas traditions is to hear the Queen give her Christmas message

to her realm over the television and radio.

2. Easter

Easter

is

the

most

important

Christian

festival

for

churchgoers.

⑴

Date

The

first

Sunday

following

the

full

moon

that

occurs

on

or

next

After

march

21.