Grade 7 Reading Comprehension Worksheets - Free Printable

Problem Description:

The image provided is a reading comprehension passage about the "History of Soccer." The task likely involves answering questions based on the information presented in the passage. Since no specific questions are provided, I will summarize the key points from the passage and explain how to approach such a task.

---

Key Points from the Passage:

1. Origins of Soccer:
- The oldest soccer-like sport was played over 2,000 years ago in ancient Chinese, Greek, and Roman cultures.
- A rock sometimes served as the ball, and in some instances, a "ball" was made from an animal hide stuffed with hair.

2. Modern Soccer:
- Soccer in its current form evolved from 19th-century England.
- Immigrants brought soccer to the United States.

3. Standardization in England:
- England's first football association was created in 1863, marking the beginning of standardized rules.
- One of the key rules established was that the ball could not be carried by hand, which officially separated soccer from rugby.

4. Industrialization and Popularity:
- Increasing industrialization made soccer more popular.
- Public school teams initially dominated, but workplace-based teams emerged in the 1900s.
- Talented players were paid, and workplace team matches turned soccer into a revenue-generating spectator sport.

5. Professional Leagues:
- The first professional league was the English Football League.
- Semi-professional leagues were introduced in Germany in 1949.
- The first professional German division began in 1963/64.
- The first American soccer leagues used the term "football" but switched to "soccer" in the late 1910s and early 1920s to avoid confusion with American football.

6. Soccer in the U.S.:
- The first U.S. professional soccer leagues formed in 1967: the United Soccer Association and the National Professional Soccer League.
- These leagues merged to create the North American Soccer League in 1968.
- Major League Soccer (MLS) was established in 1996.

7. Global Growth:
- Soccer's popularity continued to increase in the United States.
- The U.S. hosted the 1994 FIFA World Cup.

---

Approach to Solving Reading Comprehension Questions:

If you were given specific questions related to this passage, here’s how you would solve them:

#### Step 1: Read the Passage Carefully
- Understand the main ideas and details presented in the text.
- Pay attention to key dates, names, and events mentioned.

#### Step 2: Identify the Question Type
- Factual Questions: These ask for specific details from the passage (e.g., "When was the first professional soccer league established in England?").
- Inference Questions: These require you to draw conclusions based on the information provided (e.g., "Why did soccer become more popular during industrialization?").
- Vocabulary Questions: These may ask about the meaning of specific words in context (e.g., "What does 'industrialization' mean in this passage?").

#### Step 3: Locate Relevant Information
- Use keywords from the question to find the relevant section of the passage.
- Highlight or underline important sentences that answer the question.

#### Step 4: Formulate Your Answer
- For factual questions, provide the exact information from the passage.
- For inference questions, use the details in the passage to logically deduce the answer.
- Ensure your answer is concise and directly addresses the question.

#### Example Questions and Answers:

1. Question: When was the first professional soccer league established in England?
- Answer: The first professional soccer league in England was the English Football League, established in 1863.

2. Question: Why did soccer become more popular during industrialization?
- Answer: During industrialization, public school teams initially played soccer, but workplace-based teams emerged in the 1900s. Talented players were paid, and workplace team matches turned soccer into a revenue-generating spectator sport, increasing its popularity.

3. Question: What is the difference between "football" and "soccer" in the context of the passage?
- Answer: In the late 1910s and early 1920s, the first American soccer leagues used the term "football" like their European counterparts. However, they switched to the term "soccer" to avoid confusion with the American game also called football.

4. Question: When was Major League Soccer (MLS) established in the U.S.?
- Answer: Major League Soccer (MLS) was established in 1996.

---

Final Answer:

If you have specific questions, follow the steps above to extract the relevant information from the passage. If no questions are provided, the summary above covers the key points you need to know about the history of soccer.

Boxed Final Answer:
\boxed{\text{See detailed explanation above.}}