Contents: • Part One: Sports • Part Two: Holidays and Festivals
Part One: Sports • 1. Introduction • 2. Football • 3. Tennis • 4. Cricket • 5. Golf • 6. Horsy sports
Introduction • Q: How do modern British people spend their free time? →having a drink at the pub →going for a walk in the country →working in the garden →watching sports on the TV • Religion has great influence on sports and leisure activities.
Football --Football was invented in Britain. --It is a rough fast game played in winter and early spring. • The forming process of football / legends • People’s attitude to football
Football --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. ◆ “Football hooligans”
Football --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. *football (US) American football 美式橄榄球 (UK) soccer(英式足球) rugby(英式橄榄球) *football pitch/ ground/field
Football American football soccer rugby
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.
Tennis ◆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.
Tennis tennis racquet tennis court
Cricket --a most popular sport in summer. --It was one of the very first team sports in Britain to have organized rules and to be played according to the same rules nationally.(financial reason) As early as 1787, the rules were fixed.
Cricket --It is a quite distinctive sport in many ways: 1) the players wear white trousers and appear quite formally dressed; 2) the rules of cricket are obscure (difficult to understand); 3) people watch the game in a very relaxed way; 4) matches do not last just a few hours and they can go on for days;
Cricket 5) Cricket has much influence on British people’s life and is often believed to be associated with a set of English moral values such as “fair play”.
Cricket * 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 ethicly or honourably in a situation --you are “playing with a straight bat”: you are an honest man
Cricket cricket bat
Golf --a game invented by the Scottish. --there is a world famous golf course in St Andrews, near Edinburgh. --By the 16th C., golf was already very popular in Scotland and royal members like it very much.
Golf golf club
Horsy sports • ①Horse racing →The true royal sport in Britain. →Organized national horse races have been held throughoutBritain for hundreds of years. →There are two kinds of horse racing: flat racing and steeplechasing.
Horsy sports ◆the Grand National --It is the world’s most famous steeplechase. --It is popular amongst many people who do not normally watch or bet on horse racing at other times of the year. --It is also one of the most controversial, due to the high profile given to injuries and fatalities suffered by the participating horses, making it a target for animal rights groups who have campaigned to have it banned.
Horsy sports ◆ the Royal Ascot --one of the world's most famous horse race competitions. --the biggest social event associated with horse racing. --takes place at the Ascot Racecourse in England. --The course is closely associated with the British Royal Family, being approximately six miles from Windsor Castle, and owned by the Crown Estate.
--There is a strict dress code and British style is covered more than the race itself. --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.
Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh arrive at Ascot Racecourse on June 18, 2008, in Ascot, England.
Horsy sports • ②Equestrianism →another horsy sport associated with the aristocracy. →It can involve riding skills such as show jumping and carriage driving, as well as speed.
Horsy sports • ③Hunting →Hunting is the practice of pursuing animals for food, trade, or recreation. →chasing an animal across the countryside on horseback. →In modern use, the term refers to regulated and legal hunting, as distinguished from poaching, which is the killing, trapping or capture of animals contrary to law.
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.
Part Two: Holidays and Festivals • 1. Introduction • 2. Religious holidays • 3. National holidays • 4. Holidays in the 4 nations
Introduction • Different holidays reflect the religious, historical, social and cultural diversity of their country. • Some holidays are celebrated throughout the country, and others are based on local custums and traditions. • Holidays provide an opportunity for families and friends to get together to visit, eat, exchange good wishes and enjoy each other’s company and hospitality.
Religious holidays • (1)Christian festivals: ① Christmas →the biggest and the most popular British holiday celebrated on December 25th. →to commemorate the birth of Jesus Christ. →People usually decorate homes with evergreen plants, Christmas trees and ornaments. →They exchange gifts and Christmas cards.
Three typical British traditions on Christmas are: the Christmas Pantomime, the Queen’s speech and the Boxing Day.
the Christmas Pantomime: a typical British Christmas tradition. It is a comical musical play usually based on a popular traditional children’s story. There are two main characters in the play: “the principal boy”, played by a young woman, and “the Dame”, played by a man. It is a play with songs and jokes which can be enjoyed by both adults and children.
the Queen’s speech: the Queen gives her Christmas message to her realm over the television and radio, talking about the year that has passed and expresses her hopes for the future.
Boxing Day: a typical British tradition celebrated on the day after Christmas. People used to give Christmas gifts or money to their staff or servants on this day. And now they mostly do shopping, pay visits, enjoy eating or just relax.
Religious holidays ② Easter →the first Sunday following the full moon that occurs on or next after March 21. →This festival occurs in the spring, which commemorates the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ. →It is the most important Christian festival for many church-goers.
→The Easter egg, originally a Christian symbol of new life, is the main symbol of Easter for most people. Rabbits and chicks are also animals traditionally associated with Easter and widely appear in chocolate form around this time.
Religious holidays • Christmas and Easter have been adopted and celebrated by non-Christian people who emphasise the secular rather than the religious aspects of the holidays.
Religious holidays • (2)Islamic festival: Ramadan: a traditional Islamic festival, a fast which lasts 29 days during which nothing can be eaten or drunk between dawn and nightfall, and ends with a festival.
National holidays • the Queen’s birthday →one of Britain’s most impressive and colorful festivals. →celebrated officially on the 2nd Saturday in June by “Trooping the Colour”.
Trooping the Colour: an official celebration for the Queen’s Birthday on the 2nd Saturday in June around Buckingham Palace in London. This ceremony of the Queen inspecting her troops derives from old military traditions in which regimental flags were paraded before the monarch. Early in Victoria’s(1819-1901) reign, it was decided that this ceremony should be held on the sovereign’s birthday.
Holidays in the 4 nations • (1) England • (2) Northern Ireland • (3) Scotland • (4) Wales
England • Bonfire Night /Guy Fawkes Night: --a truly English holiday celebrated on November 5. --It originates from the 1605 Gunpowder Plot—a plan to blow up the British Parliament, kill the Protestant King and replace him with a Catholic king.