It seems that the Englishman just cannot live without sports of some kinds. A famous French humorist once said that this is because the English insist on behaving like children all their lives. Wherever you go in this country, you will see both children and grown-ups knocking a ball about with a stick or something, as if in Britain men always remains boys and women girls! Still, it can never be bad to get exercise, can it?
Taking all amateur﹙业余的﹚ and professional﹙职业的﹚sports in Britain into consideration, there can be no doubt that football is at the top of the list. It is called soccer in the US. The game started in Britain and was played in the Middle Ages or even earlier, though as an organized game, or association football, it dates only from the beginning of the 19th century.
The next is rugby, which is called football in the US. It is a kind of football played by two teams of fifteen players rather than eleven. In rugby, an oval-shaped﹙椭圆形的﹚ball is used which can be held by hand as well as kicked. It is a pretty rough game.
In summer, cricket is the most popular sport. In fact, it has sometimes been called the English national game. Most foreigners find the game rather slow or even boring, but it enjoys great popularity among the British.
Tennis rates high on the list, too. It was introduced into England from France in the 15th century, but it was from England that it spread to almost every country in the world.
Table tennis, or ping-pong, surely is not played as much as it is in China and Japan. Basketball and volleyball were introduced into Britain during the late 19th century from America and are gaining popularity. Horse-back riding, swimming, rowing and golf all attract a lot of people.
小题1:What’s the main purpose of Paragraph 1? ﹙no more than 11 words﹚
小题2:What are the differences between football and rugby from the passage? ﹙no more than 10 words﹚
小题3:According to the passage, which games were never played in Britain until the late 19th century? ﹙no more than 3 words﹚
小题4:What is the best title for this passage in your opinion? ﹙no more than 4 words﹚
