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The Englishman enjoys sport. Sometimes, he's too lazy to play football or tennis or cricket; but he likes to watch it. And, after the match, there's someone in every pub who wants to tell you why his team won the match or why they didn't win it.
Football's a British game that's played everywhere in the world. In Britain, it's played from September to May. There are matches every Saturday, and some people travel hundreds of miles to watch the team they like. Even people who don't like football do the football pools: they try to say which teams will win and, if they're right, they get a lot of money.
The British also play rugby in the winter. This game started when some people were playing football and one of them picked up the ball and began to run with it in his hands. It's a faster and less polite game than football. Most people think that the players are fighting when they're playing and that they're playing when they're fighting! Rugby players always like to drink a lot of beer after their matches. They dance and sing in the pubs. . . and women shouldn't listen to their songs!
In the summer, the British play cricket. This game's never understood by foreigners. Sometimes, they watch it for hours to try to understand what the players are doing. . . and they go away more puzzled than before. One man throws a ball towards another man, who must hit it with a cricket bat (a long, thin piece of wood) and then run. When he's run twenty-two yards, his team's got a 'run'. It's difficult to tell you more. . . because the people who play cricket speak a language that only they understand! Nobody knows why the British enjoy cricket so much. It's a very slow game, and a lot of people fall asleep while they're watching it!
Tennis and golf are also played a lot in Britain: most towns have parks where you can play them. And the British enjoy horse racing... until they begin to lose their money!
But a lot of Englishmen are happiest when they're fishing. They sit near a river, and wait for a fish to come, and think about... nothing. A very good sport!