2 . _________ is a much-loved and active sport, and more than 100 million people play in over 200 countries. In China, sometimes you can see people playing basketball in parks, _________ and even in factories.

Basketball was _________ by a Canadian doctor named James Naismith, who was born in 1861. When _________ was at college, his teacher asked the class to think of a game that can be played in the winter. Dr. Naismith created a game to be played inside on a hard floor. Dr. Naismith divided the men in his class _________ two teams and taught them to play his new game. The purpose of the game _________ for players to get a ball into the “basket”. _________ on the same team must work together to help each other get the ball in the other team’s basket. At the same time, they need to stop the competing team from _________ the ball into their own basket.

It is believed that on December 21, 1891, the first basketball game in history was played. Then in 1936 in Berlin, it _______ an event at the Olympics. Today, the popularity of basketball has risen around the world, with many young people dreaming of becoming famous players. Basketball has not only become a popular sport to play, it has also become __________ more popular sport to watch.