p. 1

[close]

p. 2

passion play 1 read the newspaper about football in italy our taxi driver has just discovered that one of the passengers supports ac milan as he hears the name of his team s deadly rival he holds his internazionale football club season tickets and kisses it as if it were a religious icon the san siro stadium appears in the distance a sight of awe-inspiring as milan beautiful cathedral our driver cries `san siro ­la escala de calcio a temple this story illustrates the relationship between italy s three great loves religion opera and football it s not just a game even a moderate sports fan cannot fail to be removed by the spectacle of italian football and its faithful supporters we come as pilgrims in research of the divine sporting a serie a match at the 80,000 capacity san siro home of milan twin giants inter and current champions ac milan today inter is playing at home to parma if parma wins today they can replace milan at the top of the league the gazetta dello sport is building up the match in dramatic style the milan sporting newspaper is comparing it to a battle of operas it is being played under floodlights the two cities have great opera houses and the virtuoso performers are the players the majority of the crowd at the san siro is well-dressed with a high percentage of women in milan the women sit in the expensive seats in their dark glasses and in winter wear their fur coats football attracts the rich and powerful italian society it is big business one of italy s most profitable industries being seen at the right place at the san siro is as important attending the first night at an opera at la escala it is not coincidence that the game is played on the holy day sunday because football is the italy sacred pastime italians call it la gionata ­the dayas if the rest of the week is a mere preparation on sunday afternoons a million italians go to watch football while 25 million listen to match reports on the radio or watch the frantic commentary of tv reporters describing action from games which cannot be broadcast until the evening before kick-off the parma fans are shouting at the inter fans who are replying just as loudly when the teams arrive on the pitch the inter fans let off flares turn up the volume and wave flags producing the most electric atmosphere i ve ever experienced at a sport eve nt inter starts well but after ten minutes parma scores a beautifully simple goal then the inter equalizes but the captain is sent off after a deliberate handball inter scores again after thirty-seven minutes from a free-kick parma gets close again just before half time but inter scores their third goal the fans start singing and whistling again parma scores again but it is inter s day at the end of the match the italians call serie a `the most beautiful league in the world and they are right.

[close]

p. 3

2 read the article and decide which of the following statements best describes why the writer calls it passion plays a football is a game which is played with passion b a passion play is a religious drama and the writer is suggesting that football is similar c the fans are passionate about the way their teams play 3 read the sentences from the article and answer the questions a the name of his team s deadly rivals ­who are his deadly rivals b even a moderate sports fan cannot fail to be removed by the spectacle -is he moved or not c the milan sporting newspaper is comparing it to a battle of operas it is being played under floodlights -who or what does it refer to d as if the rest of the week is a mere preparation ­a preparation for what 4 write down any words or phrases which the writer uses to describe the passion of the spectators of football 5 think of an important sporting event such as the opening of the world cup imagine you are giving a commentary of the scene to radio listeners make notes on what you can `see

[close]

p. 4

.

[close]

p. 5

answer key 2 c 3 a ac milan b yes c the match d for the match 4 answers may vary ask a counselor to check your sentences 5 answers may vary ask a counselor to check your sentences adapted from greenall simon 1996 reward upper intermediate spain heinemann elt pp 10-11 sports vocabulary por brad berry richmond publishing se encuentra bajo una licenciacreative commons atribución-nocomercial-compartirigual 3.0 unported basada en una obra en crichmond publishing.

[close]