3 . A one-armed 13-year-old basketball player in a video moves China. He is Zhang Jiacheng, from Guangdong Province. In the video, facing a taller, stronger, and older opponent (对手), he isn’t afraid at all.

Attracted by his good skills in the video, many people even fail to know that Zhang Jiacheng has only one arm. Although the young boy lost one of his arms in an accident, he became crazy about playing basketball at 12. “Work hard or just give up,” he always says. Thus, he spent all of his free time on it without considering his body condition.

People’s attention has encouraged him to work harder towards his goal — to become a top basketball player. “I just keep practising every day to improve myself, whether at home or in the playground,” he says, “My biggest challenge (挑战) is to control the ball much better.” After only a year of hard practicing, Zhang Jiacheng has improved his skills greatly. Through patience, confidence and determination, the young basketball player is getting closer to his life goal.

His effort and courage finally caught the attention of Yi Jianlian, a Chinese professional (职业的) basketball player, who shared the video on his own Weibo.

My school held an excited sports meet recently. During the event, enjoyment sweep over us all. When the relay race was under the way, the athletes ran fast to pass other competitor. It kept the rest of us on the edge of their seats. “Hold on! You can make that!” the students yelled. In the distance running competition, all people cheered and clapped with runners who passed by. At the same time, a volunteer team of over 400 students were divided several groups to help teachers and athletes. Join a sports meet is a good way to raise your enthusiasm for learning. Sports can help you forget all your troubles and face school and life more positive.

6 . A fresh and gentle wind on your face, soft sand under your feet and blue waters as far as the eye can see. Is there any other Olympic sport that is played in such pleasant conditions as beach volleyball?

“I’ve gone to a lot of beautiful places, and met a lot of beautiful people. That wouldn’t have happened if I had been playing another sport, ” said Randy Stoklos, America’s most famous beach volleyball player.

The sport began as a four-a-side game on beaches in Southern California in the 1920s. The first recorded woman game took place there in 1930, and the first tournament was held in Los Angeles 18 years later. The winners were awarded a case of Pepsi. In the 1950s, women started playing and the sport soon spread to Europe and South America. Yet at that time, beach volleyball was more an entertainment show than a sport, with beauty contests included. The Association of Volleyball Professionals was founded in 1983 and beach volleyball developed into a fast, athletic sport. Its worldwide popularity won beach volleyball a place at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, where 24 male teams and 16 female teams took part. At present, the US and Brazil are the best in the world at beach volleyball.

The game came to China in the early 1990s and there have been national tournaments since 1994. It became an official event at the Eighth National Games in 1997.China’s You Wenhui and Wang Lu finished ninth in the women’s beach volleyball world championships in Brazil.

7 . All over the world people enjoy sports, Sports help to keep people healthy and happy, and to live longer.

Many people like to watch others play games. They buy tickets or turn on their TVs to watch the games. They often get very excited when "their" player or team wins.

Some sports are so interesting that people everywhere go in for(参加) them. Football, for example, has spread(展开)around the world. Swimming is popular in all countries near the sea or in those with many rivers. What fun it is to jump into a pool or lake, whether in China, Egypt or Italy! And think of people in cold countries. Think how many love to skate or ski (滑雪) in Japan, Norway or Canada.

Some sports or games go back thousands of years, like running or jumping. Chinese wushu, for example, has a very long history. But basketball and volleyball are rather new. Neither one is a hundred years old yet. People are inventing new sports or games all the time. Water-skiing is one of the newest in the family of sports.

People from different countries may not be able to understand each other, but after a game together they often become good friends. Sports help to train(培养,训练) a person’s character(性格,品格). One learns to fight hard but fight fair, to win without pride and to lose with grace(胜不骄，败不馁).

8 . Why play games? Because they are fun, and a lot more besides. Following the rules, planning your next move and acting as a team member are all “game” ideas that you will come across throughout your life.

Think about some of the games you played as a young child, such as rope-jumping and hide-and-seek. Such games are entertaining and fun. But perhaps more importantly, they translate life into exciting dramas that teach children some of the basic rules they will be expected to follow the rest of their lives, such as taking turns and cooperating .

Many children’s games have a practical side. Children around the world play games that prepare them for work they will do as grown-ups. For instance, some Saudi Arabian children play a game called bones, which sharpens the hand-eye coordination (协调) needed in hunting.

Many sports encourage national or local pride. The most famous games of all, the Olympic Games, bring athletes from around the world together to take part in friendly competition. People who watch the event wave flags, knowing that a gold medal is a win for an entire country, not just the athlete who earned it. For countries experiencing natural disasters or war, an Olympic win can mean so much.

Sports are also an event that unites people. Soccer is the most popular sport in the world. People on all continents play it — some for fun and some for a living. Nicolette Iribarne, a Californian soccer player, has discovered a way to spread hope through soccer. He created a foundation to provide poor children with not only soccer balls but also a promising future.

Next time you play your favorite game or sport, think about why you enjoy it, what skills are needed, and whether these skills will help you in other aspects of your life.

9 . Sports performance can be influenced by many different things.     1    

There are many physical factors（因素）that play a part in sports performance.     2     The natural talent and strength of the players will make a difference. Also，it is important to get enough sleep before you are in a sports event.     3     Eating good meals is also important. When you are hungry，you cannot perform the same. You might be thinking about food when you should be thinking about the game.

of course，the more a team or a player practices，the more likely they are to perform well. The same person with the same physical abilities might just become better as he practices.

Researching your competitor can matter a lot in sports performance. Knowing their strengths and weaknesses can help you adjust how you play to give yourself a better performance against them.     4     If you can figure out where to hit the ball in tennis that would confuse your competitor，for example，then this can help you score points.

    5     If someone is very pessimistic about a game，for example，and is sure that he will lose，then he might increase his chances of doing so. If he is very nervous then he might be thinking about that instead of focusing on the game. If he is focused then he might do better，achieving what he didn't even realize he could. His confidence can also affect how the other team views him.

How Fit Are Young Teens?How often do you exercise? A new study finds that most kids ages 12 to 15 aren’t getting enough physical activity.     1    U.S. fitness guidelines recommend (推荐) an hour or more of physical activity every day. According to the study, only 1 in 4 U.S. kids meet the recommendation. Few kids in the survey met the guidelines for physical activity that raises the heart rate and makes you breathe harder. However, most of those kids said they did at least an hour of exercise at that level during the previous week.     2    The study found fat teens were less active than normal-weight girls and boys. Overweight girls were slightly less active than normal-weight girls.     3    “There’s always room for improvement,” said health expert Tala.     4     She also said the results provide useful information to help with fitness campaigns such asLet’s Move, which was launched by First Lady Michelle Obama. To inspire kids to eat right and get in shape, the First Lady visits schools and holds exercise events. She also calls on schools to offer regular gym classes.The research suggests kids who get physical education may get better grades.     5