The Ashes trophy

In this week's programme we hear about the celebrations in London following the England cricket team's victory in the Ashes competition.

The Ashes is a competition held every two years between England and Australia and is one of the greatest prizes in world cricket, even though the trophy is only a few centimetres tall. Australia have held the trophy for many years, but this week England won it and their players had a special ceremony in the streets of London which was attended by tens of thousands of people.

Before listening to the programme, look at the following comprehension questions. Then, try to answer them using the link in the Extras section below.

1: In what year did Australia win The Ashes from England?
2: How many matches did England and Australia play this summer?
3: How did the English supporters feel when watching the final day of the final game?
4: Is cricket now the most popular sport in England?

Listen to London Life
	The Ashes celebration

Useful vocabulary used in the programme
a ticker tape parade	when people who have done something special drive in open cars through the street and the crowd throw coloured paper in celebration
down-under	an expression that means Australia
an open-topped bus	a bus which doesn't have a roof, usually used for sightseeing (see picture above)
caught the imagination	made people excited and interested
a nail-biting climax	a very exciting finish
a roller-coaster ride	when describing emotions this expression means that someone's emotions were up and down
things took a turn for the worse	the situation became bad
I couldn't care less (about something)	I really wasn't interested at all

---

Extras

Try the London Life Ashes quiz