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| Sport in the UKp> ANIMALS IN SPORT Traditionally, the favourite sports of the British upper class are
hunting, shooting and fishing. The most widespread form of hunting is
foxhunting — indeed, that is what the word ‘hunting’ usually means in Killing birds with guns is known as 'shooting' in Britain. It is a minority pastime confined largely to the higher social classes; there are more than three times as many licensed guns for this purpose in France as there are in Britain. The birds which people try to shoot (such as grouse) may only be shot during certain specified times of the year. The upper classes often organize 'shooting parties' during the 'season'. The British do not shoot small animals or birds for sport, though some farmers who shoot rabbits or pigeons may enjoy doing so. But 'game birds', mainly pheasant, grouse and partridge, have traditionally provided sport for the landowning gentry. Until Labour's election victory of 1964 many of the prime ministers of the past two hundred years, along with members of their cabinets, had gone to the grouse moors of Scotland or the Pennines for the opening of the shooting season on 12 August. Since 1964 all that has changed. Now there are not many leading British politicians carrying guns in the shooting parties, though there may be foreign millionaires, not all of them from America. Some of the beaters, whose job is to disturb the grouse so that they fly up to be shot, are students earning money to pay for trips abroad. But there is still a race to send the first shot grouse to London restaurants, where there are people happy to pay huge amounts of money for the privilege of eating them. The only kind of hunting which is associated with the working class is hare-coursing, in which greyhound dogs chase hares. However, because the vast majority of people in Britain are urban dwellers, this too is a minority activity. The one kind of ‘hunting’ which is popular among all social classes is
fishing. In fact, this is the most popular participatory sport of all in Apart from being hunted, another way in which animals are used in sport
is when they race. Horse-racing is a long-established and popular sport in The chief attraction of horse-racing for most people is the
opportunity it provides for gambling (see below). Greyhound racing,
although declining, is still popular for the same reason. In this sport,
the dogs chase a mechanical hare round a racetrack. It is easier to
organize than horse-racing and ‘the dogs’ has the reputation of being the INFORMATION: Famous (horse) race meetings The Grand National: at Aintree, near Liverpool, in March or April It is England's main steeplechase (race over fences). The course is over seven kilometres and includes thirty jumps, of which fourteen are jumped twice. It is a dangerous race Jockeys have been hurt and horses have been killed. The Derby: at Epsom, south of London, in May or June. It is England's leading flat race (not over fences). Ascot: near Windsor in June. Very fashionable. The Queen always attends. As I have mentioned horse-racing, I think it will be good to draw attention to racing in hole.
There are all kinds of racing in England — horse-racing, motorcar racing, boat-racing, dog-racing, and even races for donkeys. On sports days at school boys and girls run races, and even train for them. There is usually a mile race for older boys, and the one who wins it is certainly a good runner. Usually those who run a race go as fast as possible, but there are some races in which everybody has to go very carefully in order to avoid falling. There is the "three-legged" race, for example, in which a pair of runners have the right leg of one tied to the left leg of the other. If they try to go too fast they are certain to fall. And there is the egg-and- spoon race, in which each runner must carry an egg in a spoon without letting it drop. If the egg does fall, it must be picked up with the spoon, not the fingers. Naturally animals don't race unless they are made to run in some way, though it often seems as if little lambs are running races with each other in the fields in spring. Horses are ridden, of course. Dogs won't race unless they have something to chase, and so they are given a hare to go after, either a real one or an imitation one. The most famous boat-race in England is between Oxford and Cambridge. The University boat-race started in 1820 and has been rowed on the Horse racing is big business, along with the betting which sustains it. Every day of the year, except Sundays, there is a race meeting at least one of Britain's several dozen racecourses. Nine-tenths of the betting is done by people all over the country, by post or at local betting shops, and it is estimated that a tenth of all British men bet regularly on horse races, many of them never going to a race course. Horse racing accounts for about half of all gambling, dog racing for a
quarter (after increasing by 27 per cent in 1987-88). The total gambling
expenditure is estimated at over three billion pounds a year, or nearly 1
per cent of the gross domestic product - though those who bet get about
three-quarters of their stake back in winnings. There is no national
lottery, though premium bonds are a form of national savings, with monthly
prizes instead of interest. About half of all households bet regularly on
the football pools, although half of the money staked is divided between
the state, through taxes, and the operators. People are attracted by the
hope of winning huge prizes, but some winners become miserable with their
sudden unaccustomed wealth. Bingo sessions, often in old cinemas, are
attractive mainly to women, and have a good social element. More popular
are the slot machines in establishments described as 'amusement arcades'.
Even if they are not taking part or watching, British people like to
be involved in sport. They can do this by placing bets on future results. When, in 1993, the starting procedure for the Grand National did not work properly, so that the race could not take place, it was widely regarded as a national disaster. The Ј70 million which had been gambled on the result (that's more than a pound for each man, woman and child in the country!) all had to be given back. Every year, billions of pounds are bet on horse races. So well-known is this activity that everybody in the country, even those with no interest in horse-racing, would understand the meaning of a question such as 'who won the 2.30 at Chester?' (Which horse won the race that was scheduled to take place at half past two today at the Chester racecourse? The questioner probably wants to know because he or she has gambled some money on the result.) The central role of horse-racing in gambling is also shown by one of the names used to denote companies and individuals whose business it is to take bets. Although these are generally known as 'bookmakers', they sometimes call themselves 'turf accountants' ('turf is a word for ground where grass grows); Apart from the horses and the dogs, the most popular form of gambling connected with sports is the football pools. Every week, more than ten million people stake a small sum on the results of Saturday's professional matches. Another popular type of gambling, stereotypically for middle-aged working class women, is bingo. Nonconformist religious groups traditionally frown upon gambling and their disapproval has had some influence. Perhaps this is why Britain did not have a national lottery until 1994. But if people want to gamble, then they will. For instance, before the national lottery started, the British gambled Ј250,000 on which company would be given the licence to run it! The country's big bookmakers are willing to offer odds on almost anything at all if asked. Who will be the next Labour party leader? Will it rain during the Wimbledon tennis tournament? Will it snow on Christmas Day? All of these offer opportunities for 'a flutter'. Apropos of the Wimbledon tennis tournament: Wimbledon is a place to which every tennis-player aspire. And I want to write some words about it. WIMBLEDON People all over the world know Wimbledon as the centre of lawn tennis. In 1875 they changed the name of the Club to the "All-England Lawn The Wimbledon championships begin on the Monday nearest to June 22, at
a time when England often has its finest weather. It is not only because of
the tennis that people like to go there. When the weather is good, it is a
very pleasant place to spend an afternoon. The grass is fresh and green,
the players wear beautiful white clothes, the spectators are dressed in the
latest fashion, there may be members of the Royal Family among them, and
there are cool drinks in the open-air cafes next to the tennis courts. OTHER SPORTS Almost every sport which exists is played in Britain. As well as the sports already mentioned, hockey (mostly on a field but also on ice) is quite popular, and both basketball (for men) and netball (for women) are growing in popularity. So too is the ancient game of rounders. Rounders This sport is rather similar to American baseball and ancient Russian
lapta, but it certainly does not have the same image. It has a long history
in England as something that people (young and old, male and female) can
play together at village fetes. It is often seen as not being a proper However, despite this image, it has recently become the second most popular sport for state schools in Britain. More traditional sports such as cricket and rugby are being abandoned in favour of rounders, which is much easier to organize. Rounders requires less special equipment, less money and boys and girls can play it together. It also takes up less time. It is especially attractive for state schools with little money and time to spare. More than a quarter of all state-school sports fields are now used for rounders. Only football, which is played on nearly half of all state- school fields, is more popular. The British have a preference for team games. Individual sports such
as athletics, cycling, gymnastics and swimming have comparatively small
followings. Large numbers of people become interested in them only when Scottish Highland Games, at which sports (including tossing the caber, putting the weight and throwing the hammer), dancing and piping competitions take place, attract large numbers of spectators from all over the world. These meetings are held every year in different places in the Scottish The features common to Highland Games are bagpipe and Highland dancing
competitions and the performance of heavy athletic events — some of which,
such as tossing the caber, are Highland in origin. All competitors wear Highland dancing is performed to bagpipe music, by men and women, such as the Sword Dance and the Reel. No one knows exactly when the men of the Highlands first gathered to
wrestle, toss cabers, throw hammers, put weights, dance and play music. The Conker Contest and British Marbles Championship Every year, usually on the Wednesday nearest to 20th October, about a hundred competitors gather to take part in the annual conker competition in a chosen place. The conkers are collected by children from an avenue of chestnut trees. The conkers are carefully examined and numbered on their flat sides, then bored and threaded on nylon cord. Each competitor is allowed an agreed number of "strikes", and a referee is present to see fair play. There are prizes for winners and runners-up. The contest usually starts at about 7 p. m. It is said that in Elizabethan times two suitors for a village beauty
settled the matter by means of a marbles contest. What is now the Marble INFORMATION CONCLUSION At the end of my course paper I want to make a short review of what I have already written and write what I haven’t written. Many kinds of sport originated from England. The English have a
proverb, "All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy." They do not think
that play is more important than work; they think that Jack will do his
work better if he plays as well, so he is encouraged to do both. Golf is Scotland's chief contribution to British sport. It is worth noting here an interesting feature of sporting life in Britain, namely, its frequently close connection with social class of the players or spectators except where a game may be said to be a "national" sport. This is the case with cricket in England which is played and watched by all classes. This is true of golf, which is everywhere in the British Isles a middle-class activity. Rugby Union, the amateur variety of Rugby football, is the Welsh national sport played by all sections of society whereas, elsewhere, it too is a game for the middle classes. Association football is a working-class sport as are boxing, wrestling, snooker, darts and dog-racing. As far as fishing is concerned it is, apart from being the most popular British sport from the angle of the number of active participants, a sport where what is caught determines the class of a fisherman. If it is a salmon or trout it is upper-class, but if it is the sort offish found in canals, ponds or the sea, then the angler is almost sure to be working-class. Walking and swimming are the two most popular sporting activities, being almost equally undertaken by men and women. Snooker (billiards), pool and darts are the next most popular sports among men. Aerobics (keep-fit exercises) and yoga, squash and cycling are among the sports where participation has been increasing in recent years. There are several places in Britain associated with a particular kind
of sport. One of them is Wimbledon — a suburb to the south of London where
the All-England Lawn Tennis Championships are held in July (since 1877). Having written my course paper I think that I have proved sport’s deserving attention. Especially sport is a very interesting theme concerning the United Kingdom. Of course, I couldn’t illustrate all Britain sports, but which I still do reflect Britain’s life with all contradictory combinations. Both life is calm and exciting, and sport is calm with golf’s followers and exciting with football’s fans. QUESTIONS THE LIST OF LITERATURE Britain, loved by the world», 2001, №13, p.2 University Press, 1997 1997 1. Levashova V.A. «Britain today» A nation of gamblers In 1993 a total of Ј12.7 billion was wagered by the British - that's In Britain in 1993, there was one betting shop for every 3,000 adults. There were also:
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