原来这些奥运项目都起源于英国！你造吗？

 　　Did you know that many of the world's most popular sports originated¹ in the United Kingdom? Since the middle of the 19th century, more than 10 official sports have been created in the UK!

　　你知道吗?很多世界最受欢迎的体育项目都起源于英国。从19世纪中期开始，英国就产生了10多项正式体育项目!

　　Examples of team sports:

　　团体体育项目：

　　– Football: Probably the most popular sport created in England, football rules were first written in 1863!

　　足球：足球可能是英国创造的最流行的体育项目，比赛规则最初写于1863年!

　　– Rugby: Rugby is also a kind of football game. “The Rugby Football Union” was created in the UK in 1871! However, unlike Football, this game needs 2 teams of 15 players and you need to use your hands to get the ball into the enemy zone to win points.

　　橄榄球：橄榄球也是足球比赛的一种。英式橄榄球协会于1871年在英国成立!然而与足球不同的是，参加这项比赛的2个队各有15名球员，需要用手把球带进对方区域得分。

　　– Hockey: The first hockey club was created in 1849 but the word 'hockey' was actually recorded by King Edward III in 1363! The game is similar to football as there are 11 players in each team and players need to use hockey sticks to hit the ball.

　　曲棍球：第一个曲棍球俱乐部成立于1849年，但“曲棍球”这个词在1363年就被爱德华三世记载过!这个比赛和足球类似，每队11名球员，需要用球棍击球。

　　– Curling: Curling was invented in Scotland in the medieval³ period, around the year 1540. Two teams of 4 players take turns to slide a stone on ice to a circular target. It takes a lot of skill to make sure the stones stop inside the target and players often knock their opponents' stones out of the way too!

　　冰壶：冰壶起源于1540年左右中世纪时期的苏格兰，两队各4名选手轮流在冰上把冰壶滑到营垒中心，确保冰壶停在目标区域内需要很多技巧，同时要把对方的冰壶撞跑!

　　Examples of individual sports:

　　个人体育项目：

　　– Tennis: The modern game of tennis was created between 1860 and 1865 in Birmingham, England.

　　网球：现代网球比赛于1860年至1865年间起源于英国伯明翰。

　　– Badminton: Badminton was created in the mid² 1800's in Badminton House, Gloucestershire.

　　羽毛球：羽毛球是在19世纪中期诞生于格洛斯特郡的拜明顿庄园。

　　– Boxing: Boxing appeared in the 1700s in England. A match can stop any time if an opponent is incapable⁴ to continue.

　　拳击：拳击在18世纪出现在英国。比赛中如果有一方无法继续可以随时终止比赛。

　　– Table tennis: Table tennis originated in England and was created at the end of the 1800s. Similar to tennis and badminton, a player only wins a point if the opponent cannot return the ball on the correct part of the table.

　　乒乓球：乒乓球运动起源于英国， 19世纪末出现。和网球、羽毛球类似，如果对方不能把球打回球台的正确区域就能得分。

1 originated   

v.起源于，来自，产生( originate的过去式和过去分词 )；创造；创始；开创

参考例句：

• The disease is thought to have originated in the tropics. 这种疾病据说起源于热带地区。
• The art of portrait miniatures was originated in England. 微型画像艺术创始于英国。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 mid   

adj.中央的，中间的

参考例句：

• Our mid-term exam is pending.我们就要期中考试了。
• He switched over to teaching in mid-career.他在而立之年转入教学工作。

3 medieval   

adj.中世纪的，中古（时代）的

参考例句：

• This is a medieval story.这是一个中世纪的故事。
• The museum has a fine collection of medieval ivories.该博物馆收藏着一批精美的中世纪象牙制品。

4 incapable   

adj.无能力的，不能做某事的

参考例句：

• He would be incapable of committing such a cruel deed.他不会做出这么残忍的事。
• Computers are incapable of creative thought.计算机不会创造性地思维。