3 . _________ 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.

4 . No one knows when the first kite was made. The first record of a kite was more than 2,000 years ago in China. Han Xin, the leader of an army, wanted to bring down a king. He decided to dig a tunnel (隧道）into the king’s palace. He flew a kite over the wall of the palace to make sure the length (长度）of its string (线).In this way, he coulddeterminehow long the tunnel should be.His men in the tunnel took the kite string with them. When they reached the end of the string, they knew to dig up.

Kites have been flown in Japan for hundreds of years. In the 1700s, kites were flown in autumn to give thanks for a good harvest. They were also flown to send good wishes to couples who had their first son. Today in Japan, kites are often flown as part of a celebration, such as the beginning of a new year. And kite festivals are held each year in many parts of the country.