1 . In the World Cup, the U. S. and England aren't traditionally rivals. But, off the field, a different type of ______ has dominated for more than a century: what to call the world's most popular sport.

To Americans, it's soccer. The most of the rest of the world (including England, the birthplace of the modern sport), it's football. But what most people don't know is that the word "soccer" is not ______ an American invention. On the contrary, it was a(n) ______ from England, and one that was commonly used there until relatively recently, when it became too much of an Americanism for British English to bear.

At least, that's the ______ made by Stefan Szymanski, a professor of sports economics at the University of Michigan. In a paper from 2014, Szymanski writes that "soccer" ______ late 19th-century England, as a way of differentiating between variants of the game which at the time did not have a commonly ______ set of rules.

In the early 1800s in England, football and rugby existed as different ______ of the same game. But in 1863, the Football Association was ______ to standardize the rules of football so that nobles boys from different schools could play against one another. In 1871, the Rugby Football Union followed suit. The two sports ______ became known as Rugby Football and Association Football.

In England, Szymanski writes, noble boys ______ the shortened terms "rugger" and "soccer" to differentiate between Rugby Football and Association Football. To support this argument, he cites a letter to The New York Times, published in 1905: "It was a ______ to Oxford and Cambridge to use 'er' at the end of many words, such as foot-er, sport-er, and as Association did not take an 'er' easily, it was, and is, sometimes spoken of as Soccer."

And the term, Szymanski says, was widely ______ in England through the first half on the twentieth century. It became even more popular after World War II - driven, he suggests, by the number of American soldiers in the country and the ______ with American culture around the world that came after the war.

But by the 1980s, Brits started to ______ the word, as soccer became a more popular sport in the United States. "The penetration of the game into American culture," Szymanski writes, "has led to backlash against the use of the word in Britain, where it was once considered a(n) ______ to the word 'football'".

2 . Monaco Grand Prix

The air is fresh with the heat of early summer as you arrive in the beautiful country of Monaco on the day of the race. Your______ to the Monte-Carlo neighborhood is bursting with color as classic styles of European architecture catch your eye. When you reach the race course area, you are led to the harbor where you will watch the race from the ______ of   a   friend’s   yacht (游艇）.Soon, the Formula One cars will pull onto the starting point and the race will begin.

Each of the cars in the Monaco Grand       Prix is ______, but all of them are fast   and modern. The race course also ______ as   being   complex   and   difficult,   with     a   frightening hairpin (发夹）turn along a very narrow street. ______ these streets at speeds over 150 kilometers per hour, drivers must take over. Even       the slightest ______ could turn a multi- million dollar car into a pile of waste. The driver who claims first place receives an award and will go down ______ as one of the world’s finest drivers.

Indianapolis 500

On race day the grandstands (大看台）are filled with excitement as you enter the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. You find your seat, ______ yourself against the harsh heat and marvel at the huge black oval (椭圆形的）track below. Moments later, a fleet of Indy Cars rolls onto the track, ______ themselves in 11   neat rows of three. The sound of 33 turning engines rings in your ears, and you cheer with the crowd as the powerful cars take off from the starting line.

Unlike Monaco Formula One cars, Indy cars are more uniform in their ______. They tend to be much longer, and reach 260 kilometers per hour. Since the drivers must race for 500 miles, the race is quite long, ______ three to five hours. The resulting wear and tear on each     car is managed with short stop. The driver’s excellent team performs ______ at amazing speeds. The dangerous nature of this   race requires ______ communication between the drivers   and their teams.   They   must   plan short stops ______ or the driver   loses precious time   and it   could ______ them the race.