Alexey Belukhin Form 6A Lyceum №3 Teacher: Tatiana Vasilievna Maslova

The Cooper’s Hill Cheese Rolling Races In England, many towns have traditional competitions. In them, competitors usually try to win a game or contest. However, the annual cheese-rolling race in Brockworth is a little unusual. First, the competitors stand at the top of a very steep hill named “Cooper’s Hill”. They wait for someone to push a very large wheel of cheese down the hill. Then, the competitors run very quickly after it. Nobody ever manages to catch the cheese, but the first person to reach the bottom of the hill is the winner, and keeps the cheese as a prize!

Many people enjoy the cheese-rolling races of Brockworth. However, the race can be dangerous. The slope of the hill is very steep – almost 45 degrees! The cheese may reach up to 40 miles per hour. The competitors go quite fast too. They can get injured. This is especially true when the weather is very cold. There are also more injuries when there hasn’t been much rain before the race. But the hard ground doesn’t stop the competitors.

The crowds keep on cheering, and the cheese racers keep on running – year after year. It seems that a lot of people are very happy to try this dangerous run.

The Bognor Birdman Competition takes place in Bognor Regis in May. Competitors build strange homemade flying machines or wear unusual costumes and try to “fly” off the pier. The person who flies the furthest wins a large cash prize. Many of the fliers take part to raise money for charity. As many as 40,000 spectators watch this competition every year.

Up-Helly-Aa is held every year on the last Tuesday of January in the Shetland Isles. Up to 1000 people dressed as Vikings and holding flaming torches pull a Viking galley through the streets. When they reach a certain place, they throw their torches into the galley and burn it. Then, they put on short funny plays in local halls. The festival is very popular with locals and tourists alike.

The Peel Dip takes place every New Year’s Day on the Isle of Man. About 200 people jump into the freezing waters of the Irish Sea to raise money for charity. The dip attracts people of all ages. All the swimmers get a medal and a certificate.

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