THE LANGUAGE OF SPORT (2)

Sports facilities and athletics 

1.  Put each of the following words or phrases in its correct place in the passage below.

                                  officials   pools    courts   stadium   rink   field   events 

                          athletes   rings   pitches   scoreboard   spectators   track   events

There's a big new sports centre near my home. There are football (a)______ , tennis and basketball (b)__________ , swimming (c)________ , a sports hall with two boxing (d)__________ and even a skating (e)_________ .There is also a separate athletics (f)___________ , where 20,000 (g)________ can watch the (h)________ on the track and the (i)_________ , such as jumping and throwing, in the grass centre. The (j)______________ get ready in modern changing rooms and the (k)____________ time and measure the events with modern equipment. A huge electronic (I)_____________ shows the results.

Football

2.  Instructions as above.

                               draw   tracksuits    captains    match    referee    amateurs 

                              team    toss a coin    players     crowd    gymnasium    train

I play football for my local (a)_________ against other sides in the area. Of course the (b)._______ aren't paid, we're just (c)__________ . But anyway we (d)______ very hard in the evenings and we're lucky because we can use the (e)_______ of a local school. On the day of the (f)____________ we arrive early, change, and put on (g)___________ to keep warm. Then the (h)______ , dressed in black, calls the two (i)___________ to the centre to (j)______ to decide who will play in which direction. Not many people come to watch the game. We usually have a (k)_____________ of only one or two hundred. But we enjoy it, whether we win, lose or (I)______________ .

3. Explain the difference between . . .

(a) amateurs and professionals 

(b) a winner and a runner-up

(c) to win and to beat
(d) a hurdle race and a relay race





4.  Put one of the following words in each space in the sentences below.

                               on      for      of      at       in     between

(a) Which team does he play__________ ?
(b) She put_______ her tracksuit.
(c) There's an exciting race taking place____________ the track.
(d) I'm not very good________ running.
(e) She's the best player_________ the team.
(f) There was a crowd_________ 50,000_______ the stadium.
(g) The result_______ the football match was a 2:2 draw.
(h) The match was England and Scotland.
(i) A runner-up comes second___________ a race or competition.

5.  Which sports are played in these places? Write the names of the sports. The number in brackets shows the number of sports.

• pitch (4)                        cricket, American football, soccer, rugby
• track (2)
• court (2)
• course (2)
• pool (1) 
• slope (1)  
• ring (1)

6.  Match each word below with the correct phrase

                              (a) team  (b) player  (c) amateur  (d) professional (e) spectator 
                                               (f) crowd  (g) referee  (h) match (i) score 

(1) someone who plays a sport, e.g. a footballer 

(2) number of goals or points each player or team has 
(3) group of sportsmen who play together, e.g. eleven footballers 
(4) person who controls a game 
(5) someone who plays a sport as a paid job 
(6) game, e.g. of football  
(7) someone who plays a sport only for enjoyment, not money
(8) group of people who watch a sporting event   
(9) person who watches a sporting event 
 

                         1____ 2____ 3____ 4____ 5____ 6____ 7____ 8____ 9 ____

7.  Put each of the following verbs in the correct space in the passage below.

                                     win     lose     draw     train     beat     play     score

I love football. I don't just like to watch it. I like to (a)_________ , too. I belong to a team. Of course it's not my job. We're just amateurs, not professionals. Not many people come to watch. We just have a small crowd. In fact, there are sometimes more players than spectators! We have a game every Saturday, but we (b)__________ together every Tuesday and Thursday evening to prepare and keep fit. We're quite a good team. We (c)_______ most matches. We only (d)_________ a few, and sometimes we (e)________ (for example, last Saturday the score was2:2). Next Saturday our match Is against a very good team, but I think we'll (f)_____ them, and if I'm lucky I'll (g)________ a goal or two. Oh, we have a problem. Do you know much about football? Would you like to run up and down in a black shirt and shorts? Our referee has broken his leg. Would you like a job?

8.  In most sports, a score of 0 (zero) is called 'nil', but in tennis and table-tennis it's called 'love'. A score of 1:1, 2:2 etc. (a 'draw') is called 'one all', 'two all' etc. How do we say the following scores?

                                          football   tennis/table tennis

(a)   2:0 

(b)   30:0
(c)   4:4 

(d)  15:15
(e)  0:0 

(f)   0:15