Brazil needed to win the first game in the World Cup of Soccer against Croatia last Thursday.
The game was played in Brazil and the team wanted to prove to all Brazilians that hosting the games was worth all the cost and disruption in the country.
The game started badly for Brazil. The surprise first goal came just 11 minutes into the game. Brazil’s Marcelo tried to prevent a Croatian goal and, by mistake, put the ball into Brazil’s own net.
The goal threatened Brazil’s hopes. But the host country charged ahead and beat Croatia 3 to 1.
This was good news for the organizers. For the past several weeks, protests have taken place all over the country.
Brazilians are speaking out against corruption (when governments or businesses cheat or steal) and the high cost of living in Brazil. The protesters believe that the games are a waste of money when people are starving and don’t have proper homes.
Organizers are trying keep the games safe and fun and at the same time deal with protesters, such as workers on the subway system who have threatened an illegal strike in Sao Paulo, one of the critical game cities.
Many of the organizers believe that if Brazil does well in the World Cup, the protests will stop.
This time, all went well in what is known as the beautiful game.
The stands were overflowing with fans and after the first glitch, Brazil scored three times, putting the final score at 3 to 1.
CURRICULUM CONNECTIONS
By Kathleen Tilly
Writing/Discussion Prompt
Why do you think that protests are often organized to happen at the same time as large events, such as the World Cup or the Olympics? Why does politics sometimes get mixed into sports?
Reading Prompt: Making Inferences/Interpreting Texts
Why do you think soccer is known as “the beautiful game.” What do you think makes it beautiful?
What is your favourite sport? Does it have a nickname, such as “the beautiful game”? If it doesn’t, make up your own and explain why you chose this nickname.
Junior
Use stated and implied ideas in texts to make inferences and construct meaning (OME, Reading: 1.5).
Intermediate
Develop and explain interpretations of increasingly complex or difficult texts using stated and implied ideas from the texts to support their interpretations (OME, Reading: 1.5).
Language Feature: Topic Sentence and Concluding Sentence
The topic sentence (or introductory sentence) is the first sentence in an article. What is the purpose of this sentence?
The concluding sentence is the last sentence in the article. What is its purpose?
Read this article carefully and explain how the topic sentence and the concluding sentence are linked. Why do you think the journalist chose to connect them?
