Reading   

 Before you read 

Euro 2020

1. What does UEFA stand for?
2. How many teams competed in Euro Cup 2020?
3.   
   Which is your favourite team? Why?

Read the following news story about Euro Cup 2020 and do the given tasks.

Italy wins Euro 2020, beats England in penalty shoot-out

By Associated Press

LONDON, July 12: Italian soccer’s redemption story is complete. England’s painful half-century wait for a major title goes on.

And it just had to be because of a penalty shootout.

Italy won the European Championship for the second time by beating England 3-2 on penalties on Sunday. The match finished 1-1 after extra time at Wembley Stadium, which was filled mostly with English fans hoping to celebrate the team’s first international trophy since the 1966 World Cup.

“It’s coming to Rome. It’s coming to Rome,” Italy defender Leonardo Bonucci shouted into a TV camera amid the celebrations, mocking the famous lyric “it’s coming home” from the England team’s anthem.

For England, it was utter dejection again — they know the feeling so well when it comes to penalties — after Gianluigi Donnarumma, Italy’s imposing goalkeeper, dived to his left and saved the decisive spot kick by 19-year-old Londoner Bukayo Saka, one of the youngest players in England’s squad.

That was England’s third straight failure from the penalty spot in the shootout, with Marcus Rashford and Jadon Sancho — players brought on late in extra time seemingly as specialist penalty-takers — also missing.

As Saka and Sancho cried, Donnarumma was mobbed by his teammates as they sprinted toward him from the halfway line at the end of the second penalty shootout in a European Championship final.

Then Italy’s jubilant players headed to the other end of the field and ran as one, diving to the ground in front of the Italian fans who have witnessed a rebirth of their national team.

It was less than four years ago that Italy plunged to the lowest moment of its soccer history by failing to qualify for the World Cup for the first time in six decades. Now, they are the best team in Europe and on a national-record 34-match unbeaten run under Roberto Mancini, their suave coach who has won an international trophy in his first attempt to add to the country’s other European title — in 1968 — and its four World Cups.

Mancini joined his players on the podium as Italy captain Giorgio Chiellini lifted the Henri Delaunay trophy to the backdrop of fireworks and tickertape.

“It was impossible even to just consider this at one stage,” Mancini said, “but the guys were just amazing. I have no words for them.”

For England, it’s the latest heartache in shootouts at major tournaments, after defeats in 1990, 1996, 1998, 2004, 2006 and 2012. They ended that losing streak by beating Colombia on penalties in the round of 16 at the 2018 World Cup, but the pain has quickly returned.

“The boys couldn’t have given more,” England captain Harry Kane said. “Penalties are the worst feeling in the world when you lose. It’s been a fantastic tournament — we should be proud, hold our heads up high. It’s going to hurt now; it’s going to hurt for a while.”

England’s first major final in 55 years had all started so well, too, with Luke Shaw scoring the fastest goal in a European Championship final by meeting a cross from opposite wing back Kieran Trippier with a half-volley that went in off the post in the second minute.

It was Shaw’s first goal for England and it prompted a fist-pump between David

Beckham and Tom Cruise in the VIP box amid an explosion of joy around Wembley, which had at least 67,000 fans inside. Maybe more, given dozens of ticketless England fans managed to barge their way past stewards and police and into the stadium in unsettling scenes before kickoff.

That was the only time Italy’s famously robust defense was really opened up in the entire 120 minutes.

Indeed, after Shaw’s goal, England barely saw the ball for the rest of the game.

Italy’s midfielders dominated possession, as widely predicted before the match, and England simply resorted to dropping deep and getting nine or even all 10 outfield players behind the ball. It was reminiscent of the 2018 World Cup semifinals, when England also scored early against Croatia then spent most of the game chasing its opponent’s midfield before losing in extra time.

Italy’s equalizer was merited and Bonucci was the unlikely scorer. He put the ball in from close range after a right-wing corner was flicked on to Marco Verratti, whose stooping header was tipped onto the post by goalkeeper Jordan Pickford.

England managed to hold on for extra time — the way three of the last six European finals went — and actually had the better of the final stages.

Just not the shootout, again.

After the misses of Rashford — he stuttered up to the ball and then hit the post — and Sancho, whose shot was saved by Donnarumma again down to his left, Jorginho had the chance to win it for Italy.

Incredibly, the midfielder who converted the decisive penalty in a shootout win over Spain in the semifinals also failed to score as Pickford tipped the effort off the post.

It was Donnarumma who then made the crucial saves and within minutes he had also been named player of the tournament, the first goalkeeper to be so honored.

So instead of coming home, the trophy is headed to Rome.

“We’d heard it day in, day out from Wednesday night — we heard it would be coming home to London,” Bonucci said. “I’m sorry for them, but the cup will be taking a nice flight, making its way to Rome so Italians all over the world can savor this.”

 Working with words 

Now, find out the origin and the meaning of the following words from the text.

Example:

wicket: two sets of three sticks standing in the ground with pieces of wood lying

stump          crease           boundary        sixer             googly              leg-bye wicket                    maiden         pitch                power-play no-ball              yorker

Divide the following words into two groups in accordance with their pronunciation /aɪ/ and /eɪ/.

fine, shine, rein, rail, why, sleigh, height, bright, might, snail, break, fake, five, freight, eight, game, claim, friend, sight, white, gait, by, hail, frame

 Comprehension 

1. State whether the following sentences are True or False or Not Given.
   1. England was the champion of 1996 World Cup Football.
   2. Italy bagged its first Euro Cup trophy in the Euro Cup 2020.
      1. The English team has won more trophies in International Football than Italy.
      2. According to the captain of the English team, the pain of losing a match has lasting effects.
         1. The Italian team was playing in their home ground.
            1. The goalkeeper of the Italian team had performed the best than any other players in the match.
            2. Why does the reporter say that England is waiting to heal its half-century long pain?
            3. How did the Italian players react as soon as they became the champions?
            4. Why did Saka and Sancho cry?
               1. Penalty shoot-out has long been a bitter experience for the English team. Why?
                  1. State the contribution of Roberto Mancini to the Italian football.
                     1. How does the Euro Cup final 2020 remind the audiences of the 2018 World Cup semifinals? How?

 Critical thinking 

1. "Every match is a new opportunity. Put its failure behind and start over again." Does this apply to the Italian football team when we analyse their performance from their failure to qualify for the World Cup Football to their victory in the European Championship in these four years?
2. When a team plays in a home ground, it gets a huge support from the audience in the stadium. Does this support them to win the match or the players may feel pressure to win and thus lose? What do you think?

 Writing     

1.   
   The following passage does not have any punctuation marks. Punctuate it with appropriate punctuation marks.

2. Write a news story based on the given information.

1. We can see many countries competing to host the great international sport events like the World Cup Football. But, there are arguments that hosting an event like World Cup Football can have more problems than benefits. What do you think? Write your arguments in favour or against hosting an international sport event in about 500 words.

 Grammar  

Determiners and quantifiers

1. Observe the following examples.
   1. People have unethical justifications for all their actions.
   2. Americans throw away around 2.5 million plastic bottles every hour.
   3. Around 2 billion litres of human and industrial wastes are dumped into it

each day.

none of the hassles of pain.

The words in bold face in the examples above are called determiners and quantifiers. We use determiners to identify things (the book) and we use quantifiers to say how much or how many (a few drops). The following table shows the determiners and quantifiers in English.

2. Complete the following sentences with much, many, few or little.
   1. He is an introvert. He has got very…............ friends.
   2. I am busy in preparing my examinations. I have very…......... time to give

to you.

1. The entire winter season was dry this year. We had................. rain.
2. Our town has almost been modernized. There are…… old buildings left.
3. You can come today. I haven’t got.................... to do.
4. The party was crowded. There were too.......... people.
5. How............. photographs did you take while you were in Switzerland?
6. There was…................ traffic so I came in time.
7. Can I borrow.................. books from you?
8. Mohan can’t be a good teacher. He has…........... patience.

3. Put each or every in the following sentences.
   1. The party split into three factions,..................... faction headed by a former

prime minister.

1. Leap years occur…............. four years.
   1. parent worries about their children.
      1. We had a great time in Singapore. We enjoyed......... minute of our time.
      2. I could catch the main idea of his speech but I didn’t understand......... of

his words.

1. In Nepal,................. motorcycle rider should wear a helmet.
2. You must read.......... of these books for the exam.

4. Rewrite the following sentences using all of, most of, none of, both of or some of.
   1. Your garden is superb....................... the flowers are beautiful.
   2. Do you know Bharat and Kamal? Of course, I do…. them are my friends.
   3. I bought a box of apples thinking it would be cheaper but I was mistaken.

……………them were rotten.

them were able to help me. I had to call my friend.

1. We all were soaked in the rain because…......... us had carried an umbrella.
2. My father is healthy in his seventies but he feels isolated because

……………..his friends are dead now.

5. Choose the best word from the brackets to complete the sentences.

   1. Give me........... money I owe you. (which/the/a/an)
   2. I want............. boat which would take me to the island. (the/an/those/a)
   3. Could you pour me............. water, please? (many/few/these/some)
   4. Only …….. employees know how important the project was. (a few/a little/little/few)
   5. He was looking for........... umbrella. (an/a/those/these)
      1. water was evaporated due to excessive heat. (A large number of/

A lot of/ A large amount of/Many)

 Listening  

1. Observe the pictures and answer the questions.

   1. What sports are shown in the pictures?
   2.   
      Do you like to watch these sports?

2. Listen to the audio and fill in the blanks with the correct information.

   1. Wakeboarding started in ……………… .
   2. In wakeboarding, the rider is attached to ……….. .
   3. Players spin the board...................... times in wakeboarding.
   4. The tricks in wakeboarding are similar to ……………… .
   5. Roller derby is more popular in.................. as many leagues are held there.
   6. Roller derby began to grow when it revived in 2001 in …………. .
   7. The players of both the teams go round.................. in the same direction in

roller derby.

3. Listen to the audio again and answer the following questions.

   1. What might be the new sports included in the 2020 Olympics?
   2. Which sport is Johny Mills associated with?
   3. Write one of the complicated things that a wakeboarder does.
   4. When and where would Wakestock festival be held?
   5. Who is the second player does the presenter talk to?
   6. How do the players score points in roller derby?
   7. How often are the players trained in roller derby?
   8. What is the difference between these two sports in terms of their players?

 Speaking  

Asking for and giving reasons

Well, because I was tired after the flight.

Sir, I'm resigning.

Why? What makes you think that?

The main reason is that I want to spend more time with my family.

3. Work in pairs. Have similar conversations in the situations given below.

   1. You are on a ride with your friend who does not allow you to drive the bike.
   2. One of your friends did not go to the cinema with you last Saturday.
   3. Your friend thinks that technical education is more important for Nepal.
   4. One of your friends is of the opinion that health facilities should be free in the country.
   5. A friend of yours has the opinion that politicians are in politics to serve themselves.
   6. Your friend thinks that people are basically selfish and greedy.
   7. Your teacher suggests you to check the bill before you pay it.

 Project work

Draft a set of questions that you want to ask to a famous player (international, national, regional). Visit him/her and take an interview with the help of the questions. Prepare a news article including his/her struggle and achievement.