Статья «Sports popular in Russia and Great Britan»

Sports Popular in Britain and Russia

Tennis

Tennis is a very popular game in England in the summer, both at school and later, with men and women. Some people join a tennis club with its own courts, others play in parks, where courts can be hired by the hour.

The full name is "lawn tennis", but this is used only in official language. Originally tennis was always played on grass courts (hence the name "lawn tennis"). Later, however, hard courts (courts covered with asphalt or some other hard substance) were introduced in those places where the courts were in constant use and grass was therefore impracticable.

The Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) is the gov­erning body of English tennis. The Wimbledon Open Championships, held every summer at Wimbledon, in south London, are international championships, and are followed with great interest by many people. Table tennis is a popular indoor sport, particu­larly in youth clubs. Its name is never abbre­viated to "tennis". Tennis and table tennis are considered to be quite separate games, although based on the same principle. The alternative name "ping-pong" exists, but is not often used.

Golf

Golf is a fairly popular game with adults, men and women (though more men than women), mainly middle-aged, middle class. It is a leisurely game, and is described by A. S. Hornby as fol­lows : "... game played by two or four persons with small, hard balls, driven with golf-clubs into a series of 9 or 18 holes on smooth greens (flat areas of short grass, like a lawn) over a stretch of land called a golf-course or a golf-links."

A golf-course looks like a park, except for the greens arranged at intervals, with a small hole

.

Bowls, Bowling

Bowls and bowling are quite different games. Bowls is a slow, quiet game played on a bowl­ing-green, that is, an area of short, smooth grass, by middle-aged or elderly men. It is translated as шары.

Bowling is an indoor game and often very noisy. It is played mainly by young people in a bowl­ing-alley, that is, a special hall equipped for bowling. Its full name is tenpin bowling, and it is a modern version of skittles or ninepins. It has become rather popular in some places, and some suburban cinemas which no longer paid have been converted into bowling-alleys. "Bowling" is translated as игра в кегли.

Gymnastics

Everyone does gymnastics at school in the gymnasium. ("Sports hall" Is not used.) Both "gymnastics" and "gymnasium" are usually abbreviated to "gym", the meaning of which is determined by the context.

c. g. a) We do gym (= gymnastics) at school.

I like gym (= gymnastics).

Go into the gym (= gymnasium).

"Gym" is used in the following expressions:

gym lesson

gym (and games) teacher/master/mistress

gym shoes

sometimes called plimsolls. Light, rubber-soled shoes for gym

gym things

clothes for gym, including gym shoes, Only used in schools

gym bag

bag for gym things, in schools

gym-slip

sort of pinafore-dress (сарафан) worn with a blouse by the younger girls in some schools as uniform. It was originally intended for gym. Skirts are now replacing gym-slips.

Not many people continue to do gymnastics after they leave school, although some girls and women go to keep-fit classes, where they do simple exercises in order to keep fit (or remain in good health) and, for some women more important, to health) and, for some women more important, to keep slim. "Class" may be omitted in such sentences as:

I go to keep-fit every Friday.

I do keep-fit.

When talking about professional gymnastics (competitions, etc.) most English people simply say "gymnastics". "Calisthenics" is American English.

Athletics

"Light athletics" is sometimes used instead of simply "athletics" (легкая атлетика). However, "light" is not essential, because there is no heavy athletics. Тяжелая атлетика is translated as "weight-lifting".

"Track" and "field" are used to distinguish between activities such as running and races, which take place on a track, and those such as jumping and throwing the discus, which take place on a field.

e. g. Britain succeeded on the track but lost points heavily in the field (speaking of an in­ternational competition).

"Track/field event" is used in such sentences as:

The track events will be held on Monday.

Russia won most of the field events.

Strictly speaking, "event" means a single contest (соревнование) in a competition or champion­ship, a part.

e. g. The first event was the men's hundred metres.

However, "track/field events" is also used in a wider sense, to mean the activities them­selves.

e. g. I'm very keen on athletics, especially track events.

"Track-and-field events" as a collective expres­sion is not usual, at least in Britain. When both types are included, "(light) athletics" is used. School children often do athletics instead of gymnastics in the summer term, and some continue after they leave school. Here are the names of some of the most well-known types of athletics and athletic events:

sprinting — running short distances at speed — бег на короткие дистанции sprint — a race of this type — соревнование на короткие дистанции, спринт

long-distance running — бег на длинные дистан­ции

long-distance race hurdle-racing — барьерный бег hurdle-race, or hurdles

e. g. Jones won the (men's) hurdle-race. Jones won the (men's) hurdles.

relay-racing — бег с эстафетой

relay (-race) — эстафета

e. g. France won the women's relay (-race).

high jump — прыжок в высоту

long jump — прыжок в длину

pole vault — прыжок с шестом

throwing the discus/hammer/javelin — метание, диска/молота/копья putting the shot — толкание ядра In the case of races, the distance is often spe­cified, and the word "race" omitted, e. g. a) Williams won the hundred metres.

b) The two hundred metre(s) hurdles was won by Dixon.

Boxing, Wrestling, Judo1

Boxing is fairly popular in Britain, mainly as a spectator sport. Wrestling is less popular. Judo has become rather popular in recent years as a recreation, especially among young people. It is defined by A. S. Hornby as: "... the Japanese art of wrestling and self-defence in which the opponent's own weight and strength are used against him." It is not a spectator sport.

Swimming

Swimming is popular in Britain and most people learn to swim at school. As most schools do not have a swimming-pool, the children go to the local swimming-baths.

The difference between "swimming-pool" and "swimming-baths" is as follows:

A swimming-pool is generally one which belongs to a particular house, club, school or other in­stitution. It may be indoors or outdoors, although in Britain the climate is not really suitable for outdoor pools.

A swimming-bath(s) is not attached to a parti­cular house or institution, but is built and run by the local authority, and is open to the public. "Public baths" is also used in this sense. The word "bath(s)" is used because in the same building there are also facilities for having a bath, although they are now less important than the swimming facilities. (It is therefore бассейн and баня combined.) The plural form "baths" is usual even in a singular sense.

e. g. There's a swimming-/public baths near us.

If the local authority has a place for swimming only, especially if it is out of doors, it is called a swimming-роо/, not baths. Therefore a swim­ming-pool may be open to the public. In England most people swim either at a swimming-baths or in the sea, which is never much more than 150 kilometres away. There arc not many lakes in England, and the rivers are often too swiftly flowing for swimming, or have steep banks.

The most common strokes in swimming are:

breast-stroke

backstroke

side-stroke

crawl

butterfly

The verbs "do" and "swim" are used with the names of strokes.

e. g. a) I can do the breast-stroke/crawl.

b) She can do/swim a hundred metres breast-stroke/crawl.

Rowing, Boating

"Rowing" (гребной спорт, гребля) is popular mainly at universities, especially at Oxford and Cambridge. However, even those with no parti­cular interest in rowing like to know the result of the Boat Race, which is held every year on the Thames between crews representing Oxford and Cambridge universities. A series of rowing competitions is called a regatta. The most well known is the Henley Regatta, an annual amateur event held at Henley, on the Thames, and in which teams from other countries take part. Henley is an attractive summer resort and the regatta is a fashionable occasion.

Although the sport is called rowing, the boats used are not called rowing boats, but simply boats, or eights, since boats for eight people are the usual type. (Rowing boats are not for racing, but simply for travelling by water, or fishing). A club for rowing is called a boat club.

Boating is not a sport, but simply a recreation. For example, there is often a boating pool in parks, with a boat-house, where one can hire boats by the hour.

Yachting, Sailing

"Yachting" and "sailing" (парусный спорт) are synonyms. "Sailing" has been the usual word since the sport became less exclusive and more professional. Formerly yachting was only for the rich, who owned their own yachts and were members of a yacht club. Recently, however, various kinds of simpler and therefore cheaper boats have appeared, sailing clubs have been started, where boats are available for the use of members, and the sport has become less exclusive. However, "yacht club" is still used with reference to the exclusive type of club, in contrast to "sailing club".

A series of yacht races is also called a regatta, as in rowing. The most well-known yachting regatta is called Cowes Week. Cowes is a small town on the Isle of Wight, opposite Southampton, and a world-famous yachting centre.

(Horse) Riding

English people are very fond of horses on the whole, but horse riding (верховая езда) is an expensive sport, at least for townspeople, and therefore confined to a minority. It is considered to be an aristocratic sport. "Riding" alone is generally used, even when horses have not been mentioned previously.

e. g. a) She's very fond of riding, b) She often goes riding.

(Horse-) Racing

Horse-racing (скачки) is important mainly as a spectator sport and because of the betting which is associated with it.

Racing takes place at a racecourse, which holds race-meetings, that is, a series of races lasting several days each. Racing is of two kinds: flat racing and steeplechasing. Flat racing is simply riding round the course. Steeplechasing involves not only riding, but jumping over obstacles such as fences, hedges, ditches, water-jumps.

Betting takes place on and off the course. On the course people can place their bets with a book-maker. Off-course betting used to be illegal, but in 1961 licensed betting shops were opened, where people can bet on horses without going to the course.

Even people who do not usually bet on horses often make a small bet on the two most famous races:

The Derby —a flat race, held at Epsom Racecourse.

The Grand National — a steeplechase, held at Doncaster.

Ascot racecourse is near London, and in the early summer it holds a race-meeting called Royal Ascot, so called because members of the royal family traditionally attend it. Many people go there not so much to watch the races as to be seen at this fashionable occasion in their best clothes, and some women have very striking hats specially made for Ascot.

"Races" is used with reference to horse-racing in such sentences as:

They often go to the races.

He's at the races.

Here "horse" is not necessary. With "racing", however, "horse" must be included, unless it is implied by the context. Otherwise it may be confused with other kinds of racing, for example motor racing or motor-cycle racing (see No. 19 below).

Hunting, Shooting and Fishing

These three sports are often spoken of together, since they are the traditional recreations of country people, and townspeople with country estates (especially the aristocracy). Note that "hunting" in English practically always denotes fox-hunting, that is, hunting foxes on horseback with a pack of hounds (fox­hounds), who kill the fox. No guns are used in hunting.

"Shooting" is used to mean killing birds and other game (дичь) with a gun, on foot. Fishing is not confined to country people and those with country estates, except for a few kinds like salmon-fishing. "Fishing" may mean with a net or with a hook and line. "Angling", "to angle" are sometimes used instead of "fishing", "to fish" with a hook and line only, not a net. A person who fishes in this way may be called an angler. "Angle" and its derivatives are used when the sport is taken seriously.

Greyhound Racing

Greyhound racing, or dog racing (colloq.), was introduced as a sort of working-man's horse-racing, and used to be extremely popular in working-class districts. However, its popularity has declined in recent years.

Greyhound racing takes place at a greyhound track, or dog track. The dogs are made to race by chasing a mechanical hare which moves along a rail in front of them.

Motor Racing, Motor-Cycle Racing

These are both fairly popular spectator sports.

Cycling, Cycle Racing

Cycling in Britain is mainly recreational, and not competitive. However, there are some cycle races.

Skiing and Skating

Skiing and skating are winter sports. Except for skating at indoor ice rinks, winter sports are not possible in England because of the mild winters. (Snow falls only once or twice during an average winter, and generally melts after a day or two; the temperature rarely drops below freezing, except for a few degrees at night sometimes.)

Skiing is possible from the climatic point of view in Scotland, but it is not traditional there. It has recently been introduced in order to attract tourists in the winter, but is still not widespread. Most people who want to ski go abroad — to France, Switzerland, Austria — and skiing is therefore a minority sport. Russian speakers should bear in mind that "skiing" to an English person means skiing down mountain slopes (горнолыжный спорт). The expression "mountain skiing" may exist, but in practice it is not heard, because in England and many other West European countries there is no need for it. It could be used as a translation of горнолыжный спорт, since in this country one needs to distinguish this type from "ordinary" skiing. The type of skiing which is traditional in Russia is unfamiliar to most English people. However, those who watched the Winter Olympics on television have seen it, and have heard it called Nordic skiing, that is, skiing as practised by Nordic, or northern peoples. Those who did not follow the Winter Olympics, but have seen this type of skiing when visiting this country, usually call it cross-country skiing, and describe it, for example, as follows: "... not skiing down slopes, but more like walking or running on skis. The skis are narrower and lighter than ordinary skis, and fastened to the boot only at the toe."

In the Soviet Union, however, this type of skiing can be called simply skiing, since here it is the usual type.

"Ski, skiing" are used in such sentences as:

Can you ski?

He skis very well. (However, "He's a good skier" is more common.)

I can't ski downhill/down hills.

I skied along the path until I came to a clearing.

I'm very fond of skiing.

I go skiing nearly every Sunday in the winter.

g) — What did you do at the week-end?
— Went skiing.

Note that "go on skis" is not used, except in such sentences as: He went there on skis (mean­ing "How did he go there?"). More usual would be: He skied there. Here are some expressions connected with skiing:

ski-boots

ski-tracks (always plural) — лыжня

ski-run

a downhill track for skiing

ski-jump — трамплин

ski-jumper

ski-jumping — прыжки с трамплина на лыжах

ski race

a race on skis, either downhill or cross-country

slalom

a downhill ski race along a zigzag course marked out by poles, or zigzagging between trees.

"Slalom" is only a noun, not an adjective. Сла­ломные лыжи are simply "skis", and слалом used in the sense of горнолыжный спорт is "skiing".

There seems to be no equivalent for лыжная ба­за but it can be translated as "ski(ing) base/station".

Skating

With reference to skating not simply as a recreation, but as a sport (amateur or profes­sional), the expression "ice-skating" is generally used. One reason for this may be to distinguish it from roller-skating. Thus newspaper articles about this sport are headed "Ice-Skating" and it is used in the names of championships, for example "The World Junior Ice-Skating Cham­pionships".

In such cases ice-skating corresponds to фигур­ное катание.

"Figure-skating" sometimes occurs, but does not appear to be widely used, and is not given in any of the three English dictionaries consulted. "Figure" alone, with reference to skating, is defined in the Concise Oxford Dictionary as "movement, series of movements, beginning and ending at centre" and by Chambers as "a "series of steps or movements in a dance or in skating". It occurs in this sense in newspaper articles about ice-skating.

Ice-skating competitions or championships usually include the following events:

compulsory programme/portion, or compulsory figures iree-skating event, or free skating

(ice-) dance event, or ice-dance/ice dancing

The use of these expressions can be illustrated by the following (adapted) quotation from an English newspaper about the World Junior Championships:

"Barbara Underhill and Paul Martini (Canada) made several errors in the compulsory portion and Barbara left the ice in tears ... . However, in the free skating they demonstrated powerful lifts ... . <...> E. Medvedeva maintained first place in the girls' ice-dance event." Speed skating — скоростной бег на коньках. "Skate, skating" are used in such sentences as:

I can/can't skate.

She skates (very) well or She's a (very) good skater.

I'm very keen on skating.

We went skating yesterday.

A special place for skating is called an ice-rink, or, less often, a skating-rink. In England they are always indoors. There are comparatively few ice-rinks: for example, London has only two and Birmingham one. Many smaller towns have none.