What makes something a sport? Traditional definitions usually included some physical activity     1     shows athletic ability or strength. But some sports can take the form of mental competitions. For instance, chess     2     (recognize)as a sport by the International Olympic Committee in 1999. Now, some people wonder     3     eSports should also be considered sports.

The word eSports is short for electronic sports. It is     4     form of competition in which professional players or gamers play video games either in teams or individually.     5     (typical), the winners receive prize money at the end of the competition.

The first eSports event was the one     6     (hold)by Stanford University in the 1970s, for the game Spacewar! Over the next 30 years, video games exploded in     7     (popular). More and more countries, such as South Korea, China and the United States, started to develop eSports into an industry. In the 2000s, television broadcasts of the competitions,       8     (feature) games like Street Fighter III, StarCraft, and Counter-strike, became popular. In the 2010s, thanks     9     online streaming services, eSports grew rapidly with more worldwide tournaments, more viewers, and larger     10     (prize). In 2020, the industry made more than US$1 billion for the first time ever.

It might be surprising to know that ice-skating has appeared in the ancient times. Believe it or not, it     1     (be) once a warriors’ (战士的) art with ice skates. The sport was then called bingxi, and it was practiced because Manchu men needed to master the skill of moving 350 kilometers in a single day     2     (reach) their enemies.

When the Manchu men moved from the north to the capital city of Beijing     3     came to power in the Qing Dynasty, ice-skating became     4     traditional sport. Every winter, there were 200 proficient ice-skaters     5     (select) to perform on the frozen royal lake.

Ice-skaters during those times wore knee pads, and they secured their shoes with leather. Their shoes     6     (fit) with single iron blades for speed, and double blades for security. There were also     7     (compete) for figure skating, ice acrobatics (杂技), and speed skating     8     were held for the benefit of the royal family.

China being one of the oldest and longest     9     (last) civilizations in the history of the world, the ancient Chinese were also involved     10     different sports. And most of their popular sports are still being played up to the present time.

China beat South Korea 3-2 from two goals down in the dramatic final of the AFC Women’s Asian Cup on Sunday night, winning the championship for the     1     (nine) time 16 years later.

Despite being two goals behind South Korea in the first half, the Chinese women’s national football team got three in the second half with two goals     2     (score) in just five minutes. ^“If faith has a color, it must be China red! ” The Chinese Football Association said,     3     (name) the girls “steel roses, the pride of China”.

Countless people posted on social media platforms that “Only the faithful soccer fans in China know how     4     (incredible) long we have waited for such a moment. We all know how exhausting it is     5     the Chinese soccer girls, and we all know how painful it is to play with     6     (injure).”

The success of the Chinese women’s national football team     7     (be) a boost to China’s national pride. ^“It     8     (accept) among Chinese soccer fans that soccer has always been a weak spot in China, but this is     9     great success,     10     has brought China back to the top of Asia in the field! commented the People’s Daily online.