Goal!
I'm not a huge fan of football but every now and then I take an interest in the sport. I noticed during the World Cup that not many people talked about it after Poland lost to Ecuador, and most of the flags disappeared after Germany triumphed two-nil. Then what I expected happened and England lost in the quarter-finals.
Still, I'm not too upset because I support a different team in a different sport, further away than Germany or England. I'm a Metalurg fan, as I once lived in their city, Magnitogorsk, and ice hockey is the only sport I have seen live at the professional level.
The great thing about ice hockey for me is that it is so much faster than football. That's why the players wear so much padding for protection. Also, all the violence is on the rink rather than among the spectators. I did see one slightly violent argument but within ten seconds the Militia (the Russian police) removed the two people before any blood appeared.
The speed often means you get more goals per game than in football. It also means the referees use video recordings to check controversial decisions. If you can understand the offside rule, you will see why this is a useful idea.
The metallurgy team (as their name translates into English) were the top team last year. I think they only lost four matches. However, most people don't support a team because of their talent. In the UK, football fans choose one when they are young and stick with the same team even when they score nothing for weeks and weeks. There was a story in a newspaper about a person who threw away his season ticket because his team had played so badly. Someone picked it up and posted it back to him (season tickets have your address on them). With the ticket was a message: 'If I have to put up with this rubbish, then so do you!'
Glossary
huge = very big
nil = zero
upset = unhappy
padding ochraniacze
a rink lodowisko
a spectator kibic
to put up with something znosić coś
In this wordsearch there are five pieces of equipment and the five sports they go with. Can you find them and put them in the right pairs?
J L I R F P G Y L W S R G Z H
S I G W U B P S K I R Z F U D
C V L G A K W O N H F X D W C
S B X D B Q I N T O V Z Y M M
C I M A L L E T Y L O Z T Y T
R O X B V T C W R X I K H G A
I X C O E A K E P G X J E L U
C G R L N S E Y Y Y D L M R J
K R B X V C V V O M D X B K O
E A O K V W I T W D O Y F X O
T E U Q C A R W A X T J K J E
Z P G N U B A P F F S G D U F
H Q T C E E H S L N S S D U J
O I F E D R T E U D N M Q U I
W D H X Z J D D I Q V U O R V
KEY
bat – cricket
racquet – tennis
cue – snooker
paddle – table tennis
mallet – croquet
Odd one out
Which word does not belong to the others?
ice skating bungee jumping hiking volleyball
KEY: You play volleyball, but you go ice skating, bungee jumping and hiking.
Germany Scotland England Argentina Poland
KEY: Scotland is the only country that has never reached the quarter-finals of the football World Cup, ever. Never mind. Maybe next time!
fencing boxing wrestling judo
KEY: Boxing is the only sport where the aim is to harm your opponent. Of course, you can get harmed in a lot of sports, but this is the only one where that is the whole point.
West Germany East Germany Scotland England France
KEY: Scotland is the only country that has never reached the quarter-finals of the football World Cup, ever. Never mind. Maybe next time!
Sumo wrestling Pistol shooting Chess Water polo
KEY: Sumo wrestling is possible without any equipment. Technically you can play chess without equipment, if you are good enough (chess masters can play it with their eyes closed). By the way, I tried playing water polo once but my horse drowned.
The Netherlands Poland Scotland England The Soviet Union
KEY: Scotland is the only country that has never reached the quarter-finals of the football World Cup, ever. Never mind. Maybe next time!