Three Strange British Sports
Listen to a short text about cheese rolling, conkers and the Atherstone ball game, then fill in the missing words. 18 gaps targeting key B1 vocabulary.
Instructions: Play the audio as many times as you like, then type the missing words into each gap. Use the word bank if you need help.
Show transcript
Three Strange British Sports
Britain is famous for inventing many of the world's great sports, including football, cricket and rugby. But the British also have some much stranger traditions. Here are three of the most unusual.
Every spring, hundreds of people climb to the top of Cooper's Hill in Gloucestershire, in the south-west of England. A large round cheese — a Double Gloucester weighing about three or four kilos — is rolled down the steep slope, and the runners chase after it. The first person to reach the bottom wins the cheese.
It sounds simple, but the hill is so steep that almost no one stays on their feet. Most competitors tumble, roll and fall all the way down. Broken bones and bruises are common, and ambulances always wait at the bottom. Despite the danger, the event attracts visitors from all over the world.
In autumn, horse chestnut trees drop their shiny brown nuts, called "conkers." Children — and plenty of adults — collect them, drill a hole through the middle, and thread a piece of string through. Two players take turns trying to hit and break their opponent's conker. The last one still in one piece is the winner.
There is even a World Conker Championships, held every October in Northamptonshire. It is a serious competition, although the players usually take it with a smile. Some people try to make their conkers harder by soaking them in vinegar or baking them in the oven — but this is officially not allowed.
Every year on Shrove Tuesday, the day before Lent begins, the small town of Atherstone in Warwickshire holds a very old game. It started in the 12th century, more than 800 years ago. The rules are extremely simple: a large leather ball is thrown into the crowd in the main street, and the person holding it at five o'clock is the winner.
For two hours, hundreds of people push, fight and wrestle for the ball. Shop windows are boarded up for protection, and the streets are closed to traffic. There are no teams and no referees — just a noisy, friendly battle that has been part of the town's life for centuries.
These three games show another side of British culture: a love of tradition, a good sense of humour, and perhaps just a little bit of madness.
Britain is famous for inventing many of the world's great sports, including football, cricket and rugby. But the British also have some much stranger traditions. Here are three of the most unusual.
Every spring, hundreds of people climb to the top of Cooper's Hill in Gloucestershire, in the south-west of England. A large round cheese — a Double Gloucester weighing about three or four kilos — is rolled down the steep slope, and the runners chase after it. The first person to reach the bottom wins the cheese.
It sounds simple, but the hill is so steep that almost no one stays on their feet. Most competitors tumble, roll and fall all the way down. Broken bones and bruises are common, and ambulances always wait at the bottom. Despite the danger, the event attracts visitors from all over the world.
In autumn, horse chestnut trees drop their shiny brown nuts, called "conkers." Children — and plenty of adults — collect them, drill a hole through the middle, and thread a piece of string through. Two players take turns trying to hit and break their opponent's conker. The last one still in one piece is the winner.
There is even a World Conker Championships, held every October in Northamptonshire. It is a serious competition, although the players usually take it with a smile. Some people try to make their conkers harder by soaking them in vinegar or baking them in the oven — but this is officially not allowed.
Every year on Shrove Tuesday, the day before Lent begins, the small town of Atherstone in Warwickshire holds a very old game. It started in the 12th century, more than 800 years ago. The rules are extremely simple: a large leather ball is thrown into the crowd in the main street, and the person holding it at five o'clock is the winner.
For two hours, hundreds of people push, fight and wrestle for the ball. Shop windows are boarded up for protection, and the streets are closed to traffic. There are no teams and no referees — just a noisy, friendly battle that has been part of the town's life for centuries.
These three games show another side of British culture: a love of tradition, a good sense of humour, and perhaps just a little bit of madness.