Lesson

Ronaldo could be the centre of attention again this summer

Real Madrid are continuing their pursuit of Manchester United's Cristiano Ronaldo and are set to offer £100 million in transfer fees and wages to land the World Footballer of the Year.

United have previously resisted all approaches for Ronaldo from the Spanish giants so a huge offer will have to be made to persuade Sir Alex to part with the winger.

Another player on Real's radar is Arsenal midfielder Cesc Fabregas. He could join Madrid or former club Barcelona in the summer.

The Gunners are reportedly thinking about cashing-in as they believe he may have got too big for the team.

Arsene Wenger will try and bolster his defence next season by adding Everton's Joleon Lescott.

Liverpool will rekindle their interest in Aston Villa's Gareth Barry in the summer, hoping to land the midfielder for a cut-price £8 million as he will be in the last year of his current contract.

The Reds are also interested in Stewart Downing should Middlesbrough get relegated.

However, they face competition from Tottenham Hotspur for the £15 million-rated winger.

Spurs are also in the hunt for Real Madrid left-back Gabriel Heinze, while they are looking to offload midfielder Tom Huddlestone.

Newcastle are believed to be readying a £6 million bid for the England under-21 international.

The Magpies are also set to bid £4 million for Celtic keeperArtur Boruc, despite his case of the dropsies against Northern Ireland yesterday.

Discussion:

What is your favorite football team? Who's your favorite player?
Why do you think football is so popular?
Do you think professional footballers are overrated?
What do you think of the names mentioned in the article?

***

QUIZ

Match the words on the left with their synonyms on the right.

1)		pursuit
2)		set
3)		to land
4)		cash in
5)		resist
6)		persuade
7)		bolster
8)		rekindle
9)		cut-price
10)		off-load

a.	withstand, oppose
b.	chase, search
c.	discharge
d.	trade; deal
e.	assist; help
f.	cheap; inexpensive;
g.	cause to believe; convince to do
h.	decided; determined
i.	achieve, acquire
j.	revive

Match the beginnings and the endings of the phrases found in the article.

11)		£100 million in transfer fees
12)		competition from Tottenham Hotspur
13)		for a cut-price £8 million
14)		reportedly thinking about
15)		the World Footballer of the Year
16)		their pursuit of
17)		to be readying a £6 million bid
18)		will have to be made

Fill in the gaps in the sentences:

a.	a huge offer
b.	Newcastle are believed
c.	continuing
d.	cashing-in to land
e.	The Gunners are
f.	to land the midfielder
g.	they face
h.	set to offer

Word Bank:
bolster	cashing in	cut-price
land	offload	persuade
pursuit	rekindle	resisted
set

The ______________ of economic growth was one of the root causes of the financial crisis.

Speedy police squad is ______ to start action on Monday.

Wayne Wakeman, who worked as a pilot at Aloha for 19 years, said he's been unable to ________ a pilot job with another airline.

They're upset with companies they claim are "______________________ at taxpayers' expense".

All of the offenders were college-aged and some became uncooperative and ________________ arrest.

If you want to sell your product, you have to ________________ people to buy it.

Obama's plan would ______________ education system by raising the quality of early childhood programs.

If you want to ________________ the passion in your relationship, try this advice.

Town centre bosses plan to create __________________ car parks and bring prices down.

"He is trying to ______________ some of the blame for the launch on the dear old media.”

More language activities

Comments

09:59 AM Sep 16 2009 \| Reply
isak7 Guatemala	i like cris' style, he's the best player i have never seen…

09:59 AM Sep 16 2009 | Reply

isak7

Guatemala

i like cris' style, he's the best player i have never seen…

02:00 AM Sep 14 2009 \| Reply
egyptian _ girl Italy	Ronaldo was the best to me but now i donot know???

02:00 AM Sep 14 2009 | Reply

egyptian _ girl

Italy

Ronaldo was the best to me but now i donot know???

05:42 AM Sep 07 2009 \| Reply
zzllzl China	i am english very poor

05:42 AM Sep 07 2009 | Reply

zzllzl

China

i am english very poor

05:03 AM Sep 07 2009 \| Reply
rafeequekhan India	i like brazil because brazil always play well

05:03 AM Sep 07 2009 | Reply

rafeequekhan

India

i like brazil because brazil always play well

03:01 AM Aug 18 2009 \| Reply
hamzehdamia Jordan	When it comes to football I’ll just say nothing is more beautiful than Barcelona, Barca, Bluegranة.. Barca means football is more than a game, more than a club, more than what you think.

03:01 AM Aug 18 2009 | Reply

hamzehdamia

Jordan

When it comes to football I’ll just say nothing is more beautiful than Barcelona, Barca, Bluegranة.. Barca means football is more than a game, more than a club, more than what you think.