нашла в одном старом англ учебнике)))
The Englishmen are known to be great sports-lovers. Sports play an important part in the life of the English people and are very popular among them. The British are proud that many sports originated in their country and they like to talk about them.
One of the most British games is cricket, it is often played between school, college or club teams. But as almost everywhere else in the world, the game which attracts the greatest attention is soccer (European football). There are a lot of amateur and professional soccer clubs in every city. Professional players are sold and bought by the clubs, because professional soccer is big business. The Cup Final which is regularly played in London is the most important event of the football season.
Rugby football is also very popular. It is played by teams of 15 men with an oval ball and the players may use their legs and hands.
Englishmen are fond of tennis and a great number of people play and watch tennis. Among many tennis tournaments the most famous is the one in Wimbledon. This place is known world-wide as the center of lawn tennis. The Championships are watched on TV live and at full length by millions of people.
The Englishmen also like to play and watch golf, baseball, hockey and other sports events. Besides there are other popular sports in Britain.