Soccer is a ball and goal game usually played outdoors，also called football.Played in more than 140countries，it is by far the most popular international sport.Two opposing team of 11players each compete on a field preferably measuring 120yard by 75yard.A goal 8yard wide and 8feet high，backed with netting，is centered on each end line.The object of the game is to advance an inflated leather ball into the opponent’s goal （worth one point）.The ball is kicked （often dribbled with short kicks）or advanced by the head or other parts of the body，but only the goalkeeper may use the hands.Rules infractions result in free kicks for the opposing team.The first recorded soccer game took place in England in 217A.D.and by the 12th century the annual shrove Tuesday contest was a regular event.In the 19th century，the game was refined to emphasize only the kicking aspects.It gained tremendous popularity after spreading from Britain to the continent.The highlight of international play is the quadrennial world cup competition.
足球是一项在室外举行的球类运动。它是当今世界上最流行的一种运动，风靡140多个国家。两支各由11人组成的队伍在一块长120码宽75码的场地上比赛。球门宽8码，高8英尺，后面架有球网，位于底线当中。比赛的基本目标就是将球踢进对方大门（一分）。通常球是通过脚、头及身体其他部位来传递（尤其是短传）。只有守门员才可以用手接球。犯规时由对方罚任意球。世界上第一场有纪录的比赛始于公元217年的英国。到了11世纪，每年一届的“忏悔星期二”杯足球赛已经成为一项传统赛事。在19世纪，比赛因更加注重“踢”而变得魅力十足，从英国风靡整个欧洲，乃至世界。其中，每四年一届的世界杯是最重要的赛事。
Teams
Each soccer team has eleven players and three substitute，or reserve players.The team consists of a goalkeeper，defenders，midfield players，and forwards （or strikers）.The object of the game is to get the ball into your opponent’s goal.
球队
每支球队有11名场上队员和3名替补队员。球队包括守门员、防守队员、中场队员和前锋。比赛的目的就是要将足球踢入对方的球门。
The Match
A game of soccer is called a match and is split into two halves of 45minutes each，with a 15minute break at half time.A referee and two assistants make sure that nobody cheats or breaks the rules.
比赛
足球比赛分为两个半场，每半场各45分钟，上下半场中间有15分钟的休息时间。比赛有一位主裁判和两名助理裁判，他们的职责是监督是否有球员作弊或者是犯规。
Goalkeeping
Goalkeeping is a special skill.While the rest of the team can afford to make mistakes，if the goalkeeper makes one，it usually results in a goal for the opposition.
Above Your HeadThe best way to catch a ball above your head is by joining the thumbs and forefingers of your hands together so there is a small arch between your hands.
Chest or HeadJump off one leg and cradle the ball comfortably to your chest.The ball should rest on your forearms，with your hands holding it from above.
Left or RightAlways try to get both hands behind the ball and hold on tight.As soon as you’ve caught it，bring the ball quickly into the safety of your body.
守门
守门是一项特殊的技能。队里的其他球员有失误问题还不太要紧，但守门员的失误就常常导致对方进球。
过顶球处理过顶球的最佳方法是用大拇指和其他手指一起来接球，因为那样双手之间可形成一个拱形。
胸前或眼前球单脚跳起，把球自然地抱在怀里。用前臂夹住球，两手从前臂上方抱住球。
左侧球或右侧球要尽量从球后方来牢牢地接住球，一旦接住了球，就要赶快把球抱住。
About Baseball棒球概述
Baseball’s stature in the history of the United States is perhaps reflected more clearly in a simple dictionary rather than in the seven centimetre thick baseball encyclopaedia.
或许一本简单的字典比7厘米厚的棒球百科全书更能反映出棒球运动在美国历史上的地位。
There，you can find the word Ruthian，meaning “of mammoth proportions”，as in a home run by Babe Ruth back in the 1920s.There，you can find Lou Gehrig’s disease，as the incurable degenerative illness amyotrophic lateral sclerosis has been better known since Lou Gehrig，Ruth’s team mate，died from it in the 1940s.In the United States，baseball and the English language are interwoven.
字典中“Ruthian”一词的意思是“占巨大比例的”，而该词的来源是20世纪20年代的棒球巨星贝贝·鲁斯（Babe Ruth），他击出的本垒打占其全部击球的很大比例。还有“Lou Gehrig‘s disease”，这个短语指的是“肌萎缩性侧索硬化症”，鲁斯的队友卢·格里格（Lou Gehrig）患这种导致身体器官衰退的不治之症，于20世纪40年代去世。在美国，棒球和英语是结合在一起的。
However，just as the game did not begin as a wholly US enterprise，it did not end the 20th century as one either.Baseball’s all time home run champion is a man named Sadaharu Oh，who hit 868during a legendary career in baseball mad Japan.The national team of Cuba overpowered the Baltimore Orioles of the US major leagues 12-6in a 1999exhibition game.
不过，就像棒球最初不完全是美国的独家运动一样，在20世纪末，美国已经不能在这项运动上称霸了。棒球历史上个人的本垒打纪录（868支）是由传奇性的华裔日籍球员王贞治（Sadaharu Oh）在日本这个极其热爱棒球的国家中创下的，而美国职业棒球大联盟的劲旅巴尔的摩金莺队（Baltimore Orioles）在1999年的一场表演赛中曾以6-12负于古巴国家队。
American baseball became a full medal sport in Barcelona in 1992.
美式棒球于1992年巴塞罗那奥运会上成为正式比赛项目。
About Hockey 曲棍球概述
Olympic sport since 1908
1908年成为奥运会正式比赛项目
Hockey is the oldest known ball and stick game.Records exist of it having been played in Persia in 2000BC.In medieval Europe，pictures of men playing a game with hooked sticks appear on stained glass windows at both the Canterbury and Gloucester cathedrals.It became so popular by the Middle Ages that it was banned in England for a time because it interfered with the practice of archery，which was the basis for national defense.The name hockey probably derives from the French hocquet，or shepherd’s crook，and refers to the crooked stick.
曲棍球是使用带有弯头的木棍控制球的一种球类运动，是同类运动中历史最悠久的。据记载早在公元前2000年前的波斯就已经有了该运动，英国的坎特伯雷和格鲁赛斯特大教堂玻璃窗上都印有类似于现代曲棍球比赛的图像，中世纪时该项运动得到广泛普及，但是英国在那时过于重视作为国家防御基础的射箭项目，而将曲棍球运动终止了一段时间。曲棍球“hockey”的名字大概来源于法语中的“hocquet”，意识是“牧羊人的弯棍”，特指带弯头的木棍。
India dominated the sport for three decades，winning all six Olympic gold medals and 30consecutive games from 1928to 1956.The first Balbir Singh，who was followed by four more players of the same name who also played for victorious Indian teams，scored five goals in a 6-1gold medal victory over the Netherlands at Helsinki in 1952.
从1928年起至1956年，印度队以绝对优势连续获得6届奥运会曲棍球冠军，在该项目上称霸世界近30年。巴尔比尔-辛格带领着其他4名都叫辛格的印度人，在1952年赫尔辛基奥运会上以6∶1的比分战胜了芬兰，夺取了金牌。
About Handball 手球概述
Olympic sport since 1936.
1936年成为奥运会正式比赛项目。
The modern game of handball was first played towards the end of the 19th century in Denmark，Germany and Sweden.Recognition of field handball based on the games of “Raffball”（snatch ball）and “Knigsbergerball”（Konrad Koch，1846-1911）occurred at the turn of the century.G.Wallstrm introduced Sweden to the sport of “handball”in 1910.
19世纪末在丹麦、德国和瑞典出现了最早的类似于现代手球的游戏，手球运动结合了出现在18和19世纪之交的抓球和Konrad Koch球的特点，1910年乔治·沃尔斯将该项运动引进瑞典。