Unit 7 Traditions and Customs

I. football in Britain
---Football was invented in Britain. It is a rough fast game played in winter and early spring. Legends hold that it derived from the “sport” of ancient warriors celebrating victory by kicking around the decapitated head of an enemy. Today, it is one of the most popular sports in Britain. Millions of people watch the FA Cup games. But in recent years, people are much concerned about football violence.
--- the FA Cup: is the trophy title for a series of games played by major member teams of the Football Association. Over 20 million tickets are sold to FA games each season. And sometimes, supporters of rival teams clash violently before, during and after the matches.
II. tennis
--- a more gentle sport played by people in early summer. It was invented in Britain and owes its origins to the church. As early as the mid-fifteenth century, people were playing a game called “tenys” around their local churches or cathedrals. The most famous tennis event in the world, the annual international tennis championships, takes place in Wimbledon every year. There are also a lot of social activities during the “Wimbledon fortnight”.
---Wimbledon: is a suburb in London. It is the place where 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 event in the world. There are a lot of other social activities associated with “Wimbledon fortnight”, such as eating strawberries and cream, drinking champagne and hoping that it doesn’t rain.
III. Cricket
--- a most popular sport in summer. It was also one of the very first team sports in Britain to have organized rules and to be played according to the same rules nationally. As early as 1787, the rules were fixed. It is a quite distinctive sport in many ways—1) the players wear white trousers and appear quite formally dressed; 2) matches do not last just a few hours and they can go on for days— and has much influence on British people’s life. Cricket is often believed to be associated with a set of English moral values such as “fair play”.
* British English is still full of references and phrases to cricket, such as
---to be “on a sticky wicket”: to face difficulties
---to “throw a googly”: to act unpredictably
--- what you are doing is “not cricket”: you are not behaving ethically or honorably in a situation
--- you are “playing with a straight bat”: you are an honest man
IV. golf
--- a game invented by the Scottish. And there is a world famous golf course in St Andres, near Edinburgh. By the 16th C., golf was already very popular in Scotland and royal members like Mary Queen of Scots took great interest in it.
V．horsy sports
--- horse racing
---The true royal sport in Britain is horse racing. Organized national horse races have been held throughout Britain for hundreds of years. There are two kinds of horse racing: flat racing and steeplechasing. The Grand National is the world’s most famous steeplechase. And there is also the biggest social event associated with horse racing: the Royal Ascot.
--- the Royal Ascot: the biggest social event associated with horse racing. People dress up and go to show off their fashionable clothes as well to watch the races and place their bets. Women especially wear very elaborate and exotic hats. This event gets much attention from the media and the public.
--- equestrianism: another horsy sport associated with the aristocracy. It can involve riding skills such as jumping and carriage driving, as well as speed. (Princess Anne likes it.)
--- hunting
hunt saboteurs: hunting is a sport enjoyed by many wealthy and aristocratic families. But many animal rights groups find this an unacceptable and cruel recreation. So “hunt saboteurs”, people of extremist animal rights groups, make efforts to prevent the hunt from proceeding by laying false trails to distract the dogs which track the quarry and by making noise to scare the horse.
---chasing an animal across the countryside on horseback
VI. fishing / angling
--- combines sport, the tranquility and beauty of being outdoors, and sometimes the joy being able to eat the catch.