If you travel around China you will notice a very popular activity everywhere you go--basketball.This much-loved and active sport is enjoyed by many,for fun and exercise.
The sport of basketball is a little over a hundred years old. It is played by more than 100 million people in over 200 countries including China,where basketball has been play in parks, schools,and even in factories. Basketball was invented by a Canadian doctor named James Naismith,who was born in 1861. When he was at college,his class was once asked to invent a new game that could be piayed indoors during the long winters.Dr Naismith created a game to be played on a hard wooden froor,so the safety of the players was important.Knocking into players and falling down would be dangerous.
Dr Naismith divided the men in his class into two teams and taught them how to play his new game.The aim of basketball is for players to get a ball into the "basket";a new hanging from a metal hoop.Plays shoot from below the basket and may use the "backboard" for duiding the ball into the basket.Players move towards one end of the court while throwing the ball to each other.
It is believed that on December 21st,1891,the first basketball game in history was played.Then in 1936 in Berlin,it became an Olympic event.A team from China took part,and although they didn't win they used the experience to help develop the game at home.Since then,the popularity of basketball has risen worldwide,and the number of foreign players in America's NBA(National Basketball Association)has increased.Basketball has also become a more popular sport for people to watch,and many young people dream of becoming famous basketball players