FOOTBALL FEVER!

TASK 1 – Dictionary Skills Activity

Here are some words and expressions used in this lesson. Use a dictionary to check the meaning of any words that are
new to you.
- Legend - Drop by - Tour -Tough - Expressing -Represent
- Identity - Awesome - Technical - Defeat

TASK 2 – First Listening

Now watch the video. Listen for the main idea. Don’t try to understand everything.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBNIrt0-wK8#action=share

TASK 3 – Listening Comprehension

Watch the video again and listen for the information you need to answer questions 1 – 6 below.
When you have watched the video, try the quiz to test how much you have understood.

1. Which country is the final destination for the Street Soccer tour?
a. Senegal
b. Kenya
c. South Africa

2. True or False? You need to be mentally and physically fit to play street soccer.
a. We don’t know
b. True
c. False

3. True or False? The Amsterdam players aren’t very good at street soccer.
a. True
b. The video doesn’t say
c. False

4. How many games did the street legends win in Amsterdam?

a. Half of the games
b. The video doesn’t say
c. All of them

5. True or False? Edgar David used to play football for the Netherlands.
a. The video doesn’t say
b. True
c. False

6. Which city are the Street Legends heading to next?

a. Paris
b. London
c. The video doesn’t say
Answer Key
1. The final destination is South Africa. C
2. You need to be mentally and physically fit to play street soccer, according to Edgar. B
3. A lot of the players in Amsterdam are really good, according to Vaantje. C
4. They won all the games they played (six out of six). C
5. Edgar is a retired Dutch footballer. He grew up in The Netherlands. B
6. The Street Legends are heading to London next. B
COVENTRY CITY FOOTBALL TEAM

Transcript
I wanna talk about supporting Coventry City, the team I’ve supported since I was a young boy at school. Coventry City
are a team from the West Midlands near Birmingham where I grew up and just to give a bit of background on the club, it
was founded back in 1883 and we were founding members of the Premier League. But in 2001, after thirty-four
consecutive years in the top division, we were finally relegated and since that year, we’ve been in the Championship or
the second tier of the English Football…Leagues.

Our only real honour was winning the FA Cup back in 1987. People often ask me why I support Coventry City. Well, in my
school, everyone either supported Aston Villa, the local team or Liverpool, the team that won everything at the time. I
didn’t really want to support the same as everybody else, so I wanted to choose a different team, so after a school trip
to Coventry one day, I felt, well, I’ll support Coventry City then. It was the FA Cup win that cemented my support for
them. I remember listening to the radio commentary, listening to them beat, I think Sheffield Wednesday in the semi-
final and that was it. I was a city fan then.

Em…people ask why I don’t support one of the big teams. Well, in England, people either support the team that always
wins, and we call them ‘glory hunters’ or a team near from where they were born. And there is a lot of joy in not
supporting one of the big teams especially when we get to play the big teams. I always remember beating Manchester
United one cold Boxing Day when we score two goals in the last minute to beat them 3-2 and even last season we went
to Old Trafford and beat Manchester United 2-nil. Also playing in the Championship is surprisingly a better league I think
than playing in the Premier League. Every team can beat each other, it’s much more exciting, every team has got a
chance to getting promoted or there is always the threat of relegation. Every season, there’s new teams to visits and it’s
much more interesting than the Premier League which is pretty much the same every year.

Supporting a team’s like being part of family, you can’t just choose to leave the family if there’s some disappointments.
And being part of that family means that you share the same dreams and the same desires and the same
disappointments. This season I think we’ve got a good chance of promotion - we’ve got a good manager, Chris Coleman
who used to be in charge of Fulham, and we’ve got an outside chance I think of making the playoffs. Last season we
were very nearly relegated but this season I think we'll have a much better season.

Do the Preparation task first. Then listen to the audio. Next go to each Task and do the activity. If you need help, you can
read the Transcript at any time.

Audio zone: Coventry City F.C. – preparation

1. Match the words with the descriptions.
nil to relegate a semi-final a promotion The FA Cup to score a division a playoff

1. in sports, a group of teams which play against each other

________________________________________________
2. to put someone or something in a lower position
________________________________________________

3. one of the two games played to decide who enters the final round of a competition
________________________________________________

4. to win a point or goal in a sport or game

________________________________________________
 5. Zero
________________________________________________

6. being raised to a higher position

________________________________________________

7. an extra game in a match played between teams who have the same number of points
________________________________________________

8. the Football Association Challenge Cup, an important competition in English football

________________________________________________

Answers
1. a division
2. to relegate
3. a semi-final
4. to score
5. nil
6. a promotion
7. a playoff
8. the FA Cup

2. Read the sentences and decide if they are true or false.

1. Coventry City had a very successful year in 2001.

True False
2. In 1987, Coventry City fans had something to celebrate.
True False
3. The writer started supporting Coventry after watching them beat Sheffield.
True False
4. Coventry City is one of the top clubs in the English Premier League.
True False
5. The writer is happy that Coventry City isn't in the Premier League.
True False
6. The writer is optimistic about the next season.
True False

Answers
1. F
2. T
3. F
4. F
5. T
6. T
For each question, read the sentence carefully and try and decide which sportsperson would say each one. Then write
the sport in the box and press 'Mark Answers' when you have finished.

football
showjumping
fishing
pool
basketball
tennis
cycling
darts
rugby
motor racing
horse racing
american football
athletics
golf
long jump

1. We didn't make the touchdown because of the interception. __________________________________

2. My serve was terrible today. That's why I lost. __________________________________
3. That goal was never offside. There were two defenders near the goal. __________________________________
4. I got every rebound this evening. They couldn't jump higher than me! __________________________________
5. The climb up to the summit was difficult and my puncture didn't help. __________________________________
6. If her hoof hadn't clipped that last fence, we had a clear round. __________________________________
7. I didn't want to use the whip too much - I think she was very tired near the end. _____________________________
8. 10.1 seconds is my best time of the year - but there was a breeze behind me. _______________________________
9. I lost without playing a shot! He put the black in from the break! __________________________________
10. Sitting by a lake for hours doing nothing doesn't sound interesting, but I love it! ___________________________
11. The try was disallowed because the pass went forward. __________________________________
12. I wanted double 14 to win and missed it by a millimetre! __________________________________
13. We had a slow pit stop and that cost us at least five seconds. __________________________________
14. From that rough, I had no chance of getting the ball near the green. __________________________________
15. On all three jumps, my toe just touched the rubber strip before the pit and they didn't measure them.
__________________________________

ANSWERS
Question 1 - American Football.
Question 2 - tennis.
Question 3 - Football. OR Soccer
Question 4 - basketball.
Question 5 - cycling.
Question 6 - showjumping. OR horse riding
Question 7 - horse racing.
Question 8 - athletics. OR running OR sprinting
Question 9 - pool.
Question 10 - fishing. OR angling
Question 11 - rugby.
Question 12 - darts.
Question 13 - motor racing. OR formula one
Question 14 - golf.
Question 15 - long jump. OR triple jump
Sports news on the radio. 3L2
Listen to the mp3 file and answer either Yes or No for each question. Then listen again to check.

1. Did Diego Garcia play well last year?

2. Does Diego Garcia know who he is playing in the final?
3. Was the weather in France nice today?
4. Was the weather in Tennessee nice today?
5. Are foreign players playing in the golf tournament?
6. Will the Jaguar driver start in first position in the race tomorrow?
7. You bet $10 on a victory for Pittsburgh. Are you happy today?
8. Did Chicago win today?

Answers
Question 1 - no.
Question 2 - no.
Question 3 - yes.
Question 4 - no.
Question 5 - yes.
Question 6 - no.
Question 7 - no.
Question 8 - yes.