dog-racing and motor racing are also among the most popular sports in Great Britain.
Britain invented and developed many of the sports and games which are now played all over the world. Association football, or "soccer, is one of them. As an organized game it appeared in the middle of the 19th century, but in fact the game is much older. Probably Roman soldiers brought it to England 2000 years ago. Most British cities and towns have a football team. Every year each team plays in the Football Association Competitions. The two best teams play in the Cup Final at the Wembley Stadium near London which holds 100. 000 spectators. Some fans pay up to 250 for a ticket for the Cup Final. It is one of the biggest sporting events of the year.
Another popular game appeared in 1859, when a teacher at Rugby school, while playing football, decided that it would be better to pick up the ball and run with it. That is why the game took the name of rugby or "rugger". The rules of the game are different from football. There are 15 or 13 players instead of 11 in a team. The ball is oval, not round and a player is allowed to take the ball in his hands and run with it. He may also attack his opponent, hold him by the shoulders or by the legs. Rugby is a violent game and it is highly popular in many regions of the country especially in Wales
Text 2
Read the next fragment of the text "Popular English Sports and Games" and find answers to the questions:
o When and where was Charles Dickens born?
o Could Charless father earn enough money to support his family?
o What Charless funny book was one of his earliest works?
Charles Dickens, one of the greatest English novelists of the 19th century, was born in 1812 in the
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