34. The first world championship of windsurfing held in 1973. Windsurfing
A B C
first became an Olympic sport in 1984 for men and 1992 for women.
D
Read the passage carefully and choose the correct answer.
There is very little documentation about the origins of water polo. It is known, however,
that the sport originated in the rivers and lakes of mid-19th century England as an aquatic
version of rugby. Early games used an inflated rubber ball that came from India known as a
"pulu" (the single Indian word for all "balls"). Pronounced "polo" by the English, both the
game and the ball became known as "water polo." To attract more spectators to swimming
exhibitions, the London Swimming Association designed a set of water polo rules for indoor
swimming pools in 1870. At first, players scored by planting the ball on the end of the pool
with both hands. A favorite trick of the players was to place the five-to-nine inch rubber ball
inside their swimming suit and dive under the murky water, they would then appear again as
close to the goal as possible. The introduction of the rules by Scottish players changed the
nature of water polo. It became a game that emphasized swimming, speed and passing.
Scottish rules moved from a rugby variant to a soccer style of play. Goals became a cage of
10x 3 feet and a goal could be scored by being thrown. Players could only be tackled when
they "held" the ball and the ball could no longer be taken under water. The small rubber ball
was replaced by a leather soccer ball. If the player came up too near the goal, he was
promptly jumped on by the goalie, who was permitted to stand on the pool deck. Games
were often nothing more than gang fights in the water as players ignored the ball, preferring
underwater wrestling matches that usually ended with one man floating to the surface
unconscious. Water polo was first played in the USA in 1888. The game featured the old
rugby style of play which resembled American football in the water. "American style" water
polo became very popular and by the late 1890's was played in such venues as Madison
Square Garden and Boston's Mechanics Hall, attracting 14,000 spectators to national
championship games.
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