看世界杯

It's two in the morning now, and I'm still awake — and I don't want to sleep. Because I'm watching the World Cup! Do you know the World Cup? It only happens once every four years, and it's the biggest football tournament in the world. Teams from many countries all come to play. I love it so much.

I'm British. In England, football is really important. I started watching football when I was very young. My dad loves watching football too, and we always used to watch it together. So for me, the World Cup is the happiest thing.

A lot of friends ask me which team I like best. Actually, I don't just like one team. I like watching every team play. No matter which country it is, if they play well, I cheer for them.

This year the World Cup is in America. America and China are in different time zones. So when I watch in China, the matches are often in the middle of the night. Sometimes it's twelve at night, sometimes it's two or three in the morning. It's really so late!

Because I sleep so late every day, I'm really tired now. I love sleeping in, and now I want to sleep even more. But I still have to watch the matches. So I drink a lot of coffee. Coffee is my best friend!

I like drinking coffee while I watch the game. When I see a great play, I forget how tired I am. By the time the match ends, it's almost morning, and only then do I sleep. The next day, I get up really, really late.

I don't like watching football alone, watching by yourself is no fun. I like watching it together with friends. We often go to a little restaurant, where there's a really big TV, and lots of football fans.

Everyone sits together, eating, and watching the match. When the game gets exciting, everyone goes quiet. When someone scores, everyone shouts out loud together.

When my Chinese friends watch football, they always shout jiāyóu out loud. I really like this word. In England, we say Come on, which means about the same thing. Now I can shout jiāyóu too, and I shout it louder than anyone!

When someone scores, everyone stands up, shouting, laughing and jumping together. That moment is the liveliest and the happiest. I jump up with everyone too.

In England, people love watching football too. Lots of people go to the pub to watch and cheer together. When you're watching football, everyone feels like a friend. China and England are different, but the joy of watching football is the same.

Of course, watching football has its sad moments too. Sometimes the team I like loses. After the match, everyone goes quiet and slowly heads home. I feel a little sad too.

But it's okay — losing is okay, we'll cheer again next match. I think winning and losing aren't the most important thing. Watching football with friends and cheering together, that's the part that's the happiest.

Watching the World Cup, I've also learned a lot of new words, like jìnqiú, a goal; jiāyóu, come on; and qiúmí, a football fan. You don't often find these words in books, but watching football with friends, I learned them really fast.

Okay, it's half past two in the morning now, and the match is about to start. My coffee is ready, and my friends are here too. Tonight, there's another great match.

How about you? Do you like watching the World Cup too? Which team do you cheer for? Tonight, let's watch the game together and shout jiāyóu together, shall we? Come on, World Cup!