Football isn't everybody's cup of tea, but it's difficult to ignore the World Cup. Even people who aren't interested in sport hope their country will do well, or at least not make fools of themselves. The England team are usually optimistic but rarely manage to pass the group stages. Italy on the other hand often start badly but then surprise everyone and win.
To help us all get into the spirit of the World Cup, at work someone is organising a “sweepstake”. The idea is simple - the names of all the countries taking part are put in a hat and everyone pays a pound to play. You pick a country from the hat, and if that country wins the World Cup, you win all the money. There are thirty-two countries taking part, so the jackpot is £32! I know, it's not a lot of money, it's just for fun. As an added incentive, in our office the person who picks the team which scores the most goals wins a bottle of bubbly. But there is also a forfeit - the person who picks the team which goes home first has to cook a traditional dish from that country and bring it in to work for everyone to eat for lunch. So while my colleagues who picked Brazil, Argentina, Italy, and Germany are all hoping to win the money, or at least the bubbly, I picked Ghana and Algeria – not the bookies' favourites.
But I found some great recipes on the internet! Couscous, peanuts, beans, spicy chicken, and fried bananas. I prefer the kitchen to the football pitch anyway. But it was a surprise when Spain went out – now I am looking forward to eating paella for lunch at work! So who cares that we didn't pass the group stages? At least we won't have the shame of eating a traditional English meal.
Vocabulary
added = aggiunto bookies = allibratore (informale) bubbly = vino bianco friazzante (informale) dish = piatto even = perfino football pitch = campo di calcio forfeit = clausola penale fried = fritte get into the spirit = entrare nello spirito group stages = fasi a gironi isn't everybody's cup of tea = non piace a tutti (modo di dire) just for fun = tanto per divertirsi looking forward to = non vedere l’ora make fools of themselves = fare una brutta figura manage = riuscire on the other hand = d'altra parte peanuts = arachidi pick = scegliere score = segnare shame = vergogna spicy = piccante taking part = partecipare team = squadra who cares? = chi se ne importa? World Cup = Coppa del Mondo win = vincere
The World Cup is __________.
a competition in our office
only for real football fans
easy to ignore
a very popular sporting event
The England team __________.
are modest and usually reach the quarter finals
usually go out in the group stages
are the bookies' favourites
drink tea before every match
A sweepstake is __________.
a traditional English dish made from potatoes and which we eat during the World Cup
a game where you pay a pound to pick a team, and if your team wins you win all the money
an illness affecting the England team's ability to score
a kind of hat
The winner gets the money, but the loser __________.
wins a bottle of bubbly
is the person whose team scores the most goals
has an added incentive
has to cook a traditional meal for lunch
I found some recipes on the internet because __________.
I picked Ghana and Algeria, and they are not the strongest teams
I prefer football to cooking
they will definitely win
I wanted something to eat with the bottle of bubbly
