Question

Play Ball!

If someone asks you to go to an association football（英式足球）game， will you be interested? Association football is known as soccer in the US. It is the world most widely played sport. Games similar to soccer were played as long as two thousand years ago in China! Modem soccer got its name from association football, a game played in England in the mid-1800s. The word association was shortened to assoc and it was finally turned into soccer.

The first soccer clubs were formed in England in the 1850s. The first professional（职业的）players joined in the 1880s. Soccer quickly spread across Europe and became very popular in countries such as Spain, Italy, and Germany. Soccer even spread to countries in faraway South America. People seemed to like how simple the game is. All you need to play are a ball and two goals. Everything else comes from the players. Soccer still remains very popular in both Europe and South America.

One of the best and most famous of these professionals is Edson Arantes do Nascimento. He is better known by his

Nickname, Pelé. Pelé was born in Brail, a country in South America. With Pelé's help, Brazil won three World Cup titles from the late 1950s to the early 1970s. Today, he is still one of the all-time leading scorers in World Cup history with12 goals. The International Olympic Committee named Pelé Soccer Player of the Century in 1999.

The World Cup is the worldwide soccer competition that is held every four years, once for women and once for men. Millions of people worldwide watch the matches on television. The first Women's World Cup match was played in 1991 in China.

It took longer for soccer to be accepted in the US than it did in other places around the world. A different kind of football was already played in this country. People were not eager（热切的）to try another form. After Pelé joined the New York Cosmos in 1975, soccer became more popular in the US. It continues to grow in popularity. Today, soccer is the second favorite sport for kids in the US!

1.What is association football known as in the US?

2.When were the first soccer clubs formed in England?

3.How many World Cup titles from the late 1950s to the early 1970s did Brazil win?

4.Where was the first Women's World Cup match played?

5.Why did it take longer for soccer to be accepted in the US?

Answer 1