9. Insert prepositions or adverbs where necessary:

1. Cricket, the national game, is very popular … England and as a sport is to be seen best of all …the games … small clubs and village teams. The main matches played between countries last for up to three days, with six hour’s play … each day.

2. Cricket demands sunny weather, plenty … time to spare and a comfortable seat … the spectator.

3. The exact date … the origin of the game is not known but it was played already … the 16^th century.

4. Football Association … Britain was formed … 1863.

5. There are plenty … amateur associations (known as “soccer clubs”), but professional football is big business.

6. A lot … people support their local clubs … matches … Saturday afternoons or watch matches live … television.

7. In addition … public facilities … such sports as tennis, golf, basketball, softball, swimming, etc. all sorts … fitness and health clubs continue to spring up all … America.

8. Racket sports have become extremely popular … recent years … America. Tennis remains very prominent … recreational pursuits.

9. Squash was originally found mainly … the north-east part … the USA but is now slowly gaining a foothold … other parts … the country.

10. Hockey, which has traditionally been played … the world … either ice or grass, is now played … the USA … roller blades … asphalt rinks using a ball.

11. Rodeo is a kind … extreme sports.

12. Being tremendously popular, car racing, motor sports and horse racing attract attention … many people.

13. The most popular sport in Ukraine is … no means football.

14. The Kyiv Dynamo football team enjoys constant popularity … its fans.

15. Masters … Ukrainian calisthenics have always been on the top … the winner’s stands of prestigious tournaments. … a word, the Ukrainian school … callisthenics holds its tradition high, it is recognized the world … .

10. Fill in articles where necessary.

Lawn Tennis

Lawn tennis is … comparatively modern … sport. It is based on … ancient game of … court tennis, which came from … Egypt or … Persia some 2500 years ago.

Major Walter Wingfield thought that … people can play .. court tennis outdoors on … lawns, and in … December, 1837, he introduced his new game, which he called … sphairistike. … sport became popular very soon, but … people did not use … difficult word sphairistike. They called it … lawn tennis.

By 1874, English soldiers played … game in … Bermuda, and in … early months of that year … young woman called … Mary Outerbridge came back from … Bermuda to … New York. She brought … equipment for … new game with her. With … help of one of her brothers she organized … court on … grounds of … Staten Island Cricket and Baseball Club, and there, in … spring of 1874 … Miss Outerbridge and some of her friends played … first game of … lawn tennis in … America. And just two years later, in … 1876, … first American lawn tennis championship took place at … Nahant near … Boston.

11. Agree or disagree with the statements. Give your reason. The following phrases may be helpful:

As I see it...; In addition ...; To my mind...; That depends...; Furthermore ...; In my opinion ...; To tell the truth ...;

(Not) quite so ...; I don't think so ... The thing is that.. On the contrary .. Putting it mildly.. Strictly speaking .

As a matter of fact...; Generally speaking ...; I can't agree with you ...; I fully agree with you ...; I'm of the same opinion ...; I should say it's only partly true ....

1. All necessary facilities are provided for people who are fond of sports and games: stadiums, sport grounds, swimming pools, skating rinks, skiing stations, football fields.

2. People all over the world are fond of sports and games.

3. There is no difference between the words game and sport.

4. Swimming, rowing, mountain-climbing, running and jumping are games.

5. Ice hockey is a game played with a ball by eleven men in each team.

6. The least popular outdoor winter activities are shooting, tobogganing, hunting, hockey, snow-skating, skiing.

7. Sport is paid much attention to in our educational establishments.  Physical culture is a compulsory subject at schools and colleges.

8. Shooting, wrestling, boxing, football, cricket, horse-racing and boat-racing are very popular in Great Britain.

9. In Britain cricket is played only in winter.

10. Baseball is the most popular game in the US; basketball, American football and hockey are very popular games in the United States too.

11. Among indoor games the most popular are billiards, table tennis and some others, but the great international game is chess.

12. Greece was the first home of the Olympic Games. These famous games were held every four years from the 8th century BC to the 4th century AD.

13. The Olympic Games have come to be regarded as a major international event in which only European countries participate.

14. Beginning in 1924 a Winter Olympics was included to be held at a separate cold-weather sports site in the same year as the Summer Games.

14. Since 2008, host cities are contracted to manage both the Olympic and the Paralympic Games.

15. Nowadays the Olympics shifted away from pure amateurism to allow participation of professional athletes.

16. Ukraine first participated at the Olympic Games as an independent nation in 1998, and has sent athletes to compete in every Summer Olympic Games and Winter Olympic Games since then.

17. Ukrainian sports are well developed. Evidence of this is found in the Olympic results.