Yi Ho Joon Chapters 4 and 5

Q & As About Soccer Facts

Soccer is one of the most popular sports in the world.

However, there are some important facts about soccer that many people do not know.

Who played soccer first?

The English started to play the modern form of soccer about 200 years ago, but people around the world had played soccer-like games long before.

For example, the Japanese, the Romans, the Greeks, the Vikings, and the Mayans all enjoyed games that were similar to soccer.

However, China is the country where the oldest record of a soccer-like game was found.

The Chinese played a game called tsu chu over 2,000 years ago.

The game was usually played to train soldiers.

It was also played at emperors' birthday parties.

Is it true that some kings tried to stop people from playing soccer in England?

Yes. In medieval England, soccer games were often played between rival villages.

Game rules were quite different from today's rules.

Hundreds of people took part in a game, which sometimes lasted all day.

The game usually became so violent that many people were hurt or even died.

Several kings tried to stop people from playing soccer, but it was too popular to stop.

How did modern soccer start?

Soccer was a regular subject in many public schools in England in the early 1800s.

These schools developed their own rules, which were different from school to school.

For example, Rugby School allowed the players to use their hands, but Eton School didn't.

To solve this problem, ten schools founded the Football Association of England and made a set of standard rules in 1863.

That was the year when modern soccer started.

Some say soccer, and others say football. What is the difference?

You can call it either soccer or football.

After the Football Association was founded, some people began to call the game association football.

Several years later, some English university students coined the name soccer by adding er to soc taken from association.

Today, the word football is used more widely.

However; the game is called soccer in the U.S. Canada, and Australia.

Who is the greatest soccer player ever?

There have been many great soccer players, but Pele, a retired Brazilian player, is known as the King of Soccer.

By the time he retired, Pele had scored 1,281 goals.

He had scored more goals than any other soccer player at that time.

No one has broken his record yet.

In addition, he is the only player that has been on three World Cup winning teams.

The Rajah's Rice

Once upon a time, a girl named Chandra lived in a small village in India.

Chandra's job was to wash the Rajah's elephants.

She loved elephants.

She also loved numbers.

One day, when Chandra was about to enter the palace, the guard stopped her.

"You cannot come in.

The elephants are all sick.''

Doctors came, but the elephants got sicker.

One morning, the Rajah saw Chandra at the gate.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

"I'm worried about the elephants," she said.

"I know them very well. Maybe I can help them."

The Rajah said, "If you can save them, I'll give you what you want, I mean, anything."

Chandra examined the elephants and found a problem with their ears.

Chandra cleaned their ears.

Soon, all the elephants got well.

The Rajah was very happy.

"Tell me what you want," said the Rajah.

Chandra thought about her hungry villagers.

Then, she noticed the chessboard.

"All I ask for is rice," she said.

"If Your Majesty pleases, place two grains of rice on the first square of this chessboard.

Place four grains on the second, eight on the next, and so on, until the last square."

"Do as she wishes," he said to his servants.

Two servants began to place rice on the chessboard.

Each row had eight squares.

So, when they got to the last square of the first row, they had to place 256 grains.

At the first square of the second row, the servants had to count as many as 512 grains of rice, so Chandra showed them an easier way.

Chandra explained, "Two hundred and fifty six grains of rice amounts to one spoon of rice.

So, why don't you just put two spoons of rice on it?"

In this way, the servants continued.

The eighth square on the second row needed 256 spoons of rice, which amounted to a bowl.

On the third row, the servants started to count by bowls.

Two bowls for the first square, then four, and so on.

The rice for the last square completely filled a large cart.

By the middle of the fifth row, all the Rajah's rice was gone.

The Rajah said to Chandra, "I am a very rich man, and it took all my rice to fill a little more than one half of the chessboard.

How much rice will it take to fill the whole board?"

"If you keep doubling the rice to the last square, all of India will be knee-deep in rice," said Chandra.