Wimbledon-an unusual club перевод текстаpeople all over the world know wimbledon as the centre of lawn tennis. but most people do not know that it was famous for another game before tennis was invented. wimbledon is now a part of greater london. in 1874 it was a country village, but it had a railway station, and it was the home of the all england croquet club. the club had been there since 1864. a lot of people played croquet in england at that time and enjoyed it. but the national championships did not attract many spectators. so the club had very little money, and the members were looking for ways of getting some. "this new game of lawn tennis seems to have plenty of action, and people like watching it," they thought." shall we allow people to play lawn tennis on some of our beautiful croquet lawns? " in 1875 they changed the name of the club to the "all england lawn tennis and croquet club", and that is the name that you will still find in the telephone book. two years later, in 1877, wimbledon held the first world lawn tennis championships (men's singles). the winner was s. w. gore, a londoner. there were 22 players, and the 200 spectators each paid one shilling. those who watched were dressed in the very latest fashion ─ the men in hard top-hats and long coats, and the ladies in dresses that reached to the ground. the club gained ￡10. it was saved. wimbledon grew. there was some surprise and doubt, of course, when the club allowed women to play in the first women's singles championship in 1884. but the ladies played well ─ even in long skirts that hid their legs and feet ─ and the members got used to the idea. until 1907 the winners, both men and women, were always british. but more and more countries were playing tennis, and in 1907 the first of many overseas victories went to an australian n. e. brookes. since 1923 the championships have been the "wimbledon championships" but in fact people still think of the wimbledon winners as world champions. an englishman, f. j. perry, won the men's singles three times in 1934-36, but since that time the victory has usually gone to an american or an australian. in the women's singles, american girls have had most success since helen wills's wonderful run of victories in 1927-30, 1932-3, 1935 and 1938. british spectators were very happy when an english girl, ann jones, won the championship in 1969. the wimbledon championships begin on the monday nearest to 22 june, at a time when england often has its finest midsummer weather. it is not only because of the tennis that people like to go there. when the weather is good, it is a very pleasant place to spend an afternoon. the grass is fresh and green, the players wear beautiful white clothes, the spectators are dressed in the latest fashion, there may be members of the royal family among them, and there are cool drinks in the open-air cafe next to the tennis courts. millions of people watch the championships on television. the club's￡ 10 gain in 1877 has grown to more than ￡50,000 in the 1970s. most of this goes to the lawn tennis association. but if you want to join the all england lawn tennis and croquet club, you will find that it is not at all easy. there are only 400 members ─ 350 men and 50 women. singles champions are usually made honorary members. some people say that the easiest way to become a member of the club is to win the singles in the wimbledon championships.
