A Brief History of Football

Which statement best illustrates the author’s attitude toward football?

• Without football, television networks would fail.
• Football has been ruined by high salaries and huge television profits.
• Football is popular, but it is a very risky sport.
• Colleges and universities kept football alive when no one wanted to watch it.

Which sentence from the text best supports your answer to the previous question?
(Which statement best illustrates the author’s attitude toward football?)

• “But by 1905, football had become a dangerous sport, and too many players were getting injured.”
• “Everyone would agree, however, that television was the biggest winner.”
• “After that, colleges and athletic associations across the East and Midwest took up the sport.”
• “That effort earned ‘Pudge’ a $500 bonus (plus $25 for travel expenses), and he became the first paid professional football player in America.”

"On November 6, 1869, two college teams clashed in New Jersey for the first time in history."
 Which words have the most similar connotation to clashed as it is used in the sentence? 

• conflicted
• fought
• succeeded

"On November 6, 1869, two college teams clashed in New Jersey for the first time in history."
 Which words have the most similar connotation to clashed as it is used in the sentence? 

• arrived
• collided
• competed

Read the sentence from the text. "Later, in the 1200s, men from rival villages in England played a similar game. They would try to hold onto an inflated cow bladder and run it into the center of the opposing village."
 What does the word rival mean?

• competing
• ancient
• trendy
• welcoming

Which word from the sentences best supports your answer to the previous question?
Previous question:("Later, in the 1200s, men from rival villages in England played a similar game. They would try to hold onto an inflated cow bladder and run it into the center of the opposing village."
 What does the word rival mean?

• villages
• similar
• inflated
• opposing

Read the sentence from the text. But Rome wasn’t built in a day—football remained popular throughout the country. What does the phrase “Rome wasn’t built in a day” mean in this sentence?

• People stopped playing football in England after it was outlawed.
• It took a long time for football to develop into the game it is today.
• The modern sport of football began one day in Rome.
• Football is a popular sport played every day in Rome.

Look at the diagrams of the rugby field and the football field. Check one box that is true for each statement. 
A flag marks the midway line

• Rugby
• Football
• Both

Look at the diagrams of the rugby field and the football field. Check one box that is true for each statement. 
Numbers count down from the middle of the field.

• Rugby
• Football
• Both

Look at the diagrams of the rugby field and the football field. Check one box that is true for each statement. 
The field is longer than it is wide.

• Rugby
• Football
• Both