Online Class Notes (Mike)

What is the origin of rugby?

Rugby is one of the most popular sports within the UK, and as a nation, we’re proud of its heritage. Last month, England and Wales hosted the Rugby World Cup 2015, a momentous occasion in the sporting calendar and a great opportunity to show case the world’s best players in the sport.

WILLIAM WEBB ELLIS

The game of Rugby has been evolving ever since 16 year old William Webb Ellis reputedly picked up a ball and began to run with it during a school football match in 1823, thus creating the rugby-style of play. Despite the story lacking firm evidence, it has become firmly entrenched in the sport’s folklore and there is a statue erected in his honour within the grounds of Rugby School in Warwickshire.

In order for the game of rugby to develop, the presence of a ball was essential, and thankfully, a local shoemaker named Gilbert who lived in Rugby, had been making balls long before William Webb Ellis came along and supplying them to local schools in Rugby. The first balls were much larger and rounder than today’s rugby ball and the insides were made out of a pig’s bladder which was then covered in leather. Gilbert established his company in 1823 and in the 1860s it was his business partner’s idea to replace the bladder inner tubes with rubber. He also claimed to design the unique oval shape, but failed to patent the idea. Today Gilbert is the official brand of the 2015 Rugby World Cup ball.

THE RULES

The rules of Rugby were first written in 1845 and distributed to schools and other countries. The rules were created at Rugby School and recorded for the first time by the then football captain and head schoolboy, Isaac Gregory Smith who asked three of the current senior players to write down the previously unwritten rules. The rules were illustrated to produce the first ever images of the game of rugby football. Around the same time, the concept of the all-important ‘offside’ rule was documented, which became such a significant rule that in 1871 the Rugby Union stated: “No rules in the rugby code require to be more strictly observed. Disregard of these fundamental rules will completely nullify all the science and spoil all the spirit of the rugby game.”

THE GAME

The game took some years to develop – originally there were no formal positions and anyone could join in and play, but by 1847, a fixed number of players was agreed, starting with 17 forwards and three full-backs. Later on, this developed into teams of 8 forwards, 2 half-backs and 4 three-quarters and a full back. Soon, the tackle was developed whereby holding and grappling with an opposing player became the core activity of the game, but this activity could go on for more than 15 minutes without the ball being put down, which led to the RFU officially introducing the tackle in 1874. .

Though there is a musical institution near my apartment complex, i never go there to learn musical instruments. Because i think it is not a regular one, i am afraid of it will be closed suddenly, so i always go to far away from my home and it always take two hours time on commute. So i hope there will have a regular musical institution nearby in the future, and i can save more time to do other things.

Though there is a musical institution near my apartment complex, I never go there to learn musical instruments. Because I think it is not a standard one, I am afraid it will be closed suddenly, so I always go to a musical institution far from my home and it always takes two hours in total. So I hope there will be a legit musical institution nearby in the future, and I can save more time to do other things.

SH is a great city and I very much enjoying living here. However, the amount of parks in SH is very low, which is unsatisfying for me. I am the kind of person who like to go to parks to run and exercise. So having access to nice and convenient parks is something that I really desire. Green trees and open space can relax me. Also, I enjoy reading a book on the weekend without any noise.

So I wish there could be more parks in SH so that I can be closer to nature.

Vocabulary

paragraph (n)

capitalise (v)

upper case 大写
lower case 小写

regular (adj.) 有规律的，定期的
I go to the gym regularly.
Nell is a regular customer in our shop.

legitimate (adj.) = legit 正宗的，合法的，合理的，正规的，合情合理，
legit SH food
legitimate government

legal (adj.) – illegal (adj.) 法律的
Owning a gun is illegal in China.
Gay marriage is legal in America.

reasonable (adj.) 合理的 – unreasonable (adj.) 不讲道理的，
It’s a reasonable price.
reasonable requirement

have access to 有…途径，能够获取…，可以使用
Some people don’t have access to clean drinking water.
People living in the country don’t have access to good education.

frisbee (n) 飞盘

physical (adj.) 身体的，有身体接触的，激烈的

reschedule (v) 重新安排时间表，改期
The meeting has been rescheduled for next week.

tie (v) 系
(n) 领带

demanding (adj.) 高要求的

Give me an article with less paragraphs.

I played rugby last weekend.

I really like it, I think it’s a little weird than frisbee.
I think rugby is a little bit more physical than frisbee.
I think rugby is a little bit more physical than frisbee.

My colleague introduced it for me.
My colleague got me into it.

I am really relaxing.
I was really relaxed.

When I finished frisbee last year, I didn’t play it again.

Rugby is not more physical than rugby.
Rugby is less physical than American football.
Rugby is less physically intense than AF. 

Grammar

a little = a bit = a little bit