世界杯拉开战幕，空气中充满着足球的味道，为球消得人憔悴的你，真的了解足球吗？

　　It is World Cup Soccer time and here are some funny facts about this sport that you may not know.

　　”The earliest evidence （证据） of soccer dates from about 200 B.C in China, where a form of the game was played that valued the ability of players to dribble （运球） a ball. The Greeks and Romans also joined in another form of soccer that allowed ball carrying.

　　The modern-day development of soccer is known to have started in England, and the first ball was the head of a dead Danish brigand （丹麦强盗）. Although King Edward III banned （禁止） soccer in 1365, the game had become too popular to be stopped.”

　　Did you know...

　　Why is soccer called soccer in North America and elsewhere is know as football?

　　This sport was originally （最初）known as football in England, at least until the arrival of rugby （橄榄球） which led to some questions of names. The London Football Association （英国伦敦足球协会）was formed in 1863 to promote （推广） the game that valued only the kicking of the ball. The game soon became known as association football to make it different from rugby. At last, it became known as football or soccer. The name soccer actually comes from the second syllable （音节） of the word “association”. The name soccer was used in North America to make the sport different from other forms of football played in the U.S and Canada.

　　Why is the US soccer program behind many other countries?

　　Because kids in the other countries grow up with a soccer ball. They play it, live it every day. Kids in the US grow up with a baseball （垒球）.

　　Referee’s Whistle裁判的哨子

　　The soccer referee’s whistle was introduced in 1878. Before this a referee had to rely on waving a handkerchief.

　　Brazil is the only country to have competed in all eleven of the World Cup Tournaments （比赛） since it started in 1950.