The Inventor of Basketball

潘蕙茹

Do you know that the first basketball game was played with a soccer ball？

Lets look at the story behind basketball and learn more about the man who invented this sport.

Naismith was born on November 6， 1861， in Ontario， Canada. After getting a degree in P.E. at McGill University， he moved to the U.S.

He took up a job at the YMCA International Training College in Springfield， Massachusetts.There he made a plan for a game that could be played indoors， especially during the cold winters.

When making the rules of basketball， Naismith took inspiration① from sports like rugby， soccer， baseball， and football. The idea of passing the ball was from American rugby②， and the shape of the ball was influenced by soccer balls. And in 1891， the sport of basketball came to life， and Naismith named it “Basket Ball”.

In December 1891， the first-ever basketball game was played. The game followed thirteen rules written by Naismith， and players played for two fifteen-minute rounds with a five-minute break.

Interestingly， the hoop③ was a fruit basket nailed④ to the wall. Several years later， an opening was cut at the bottom of the basket！ At the beginning， the game involved tackling⑤ until Naismith realized that the players were getting violent⑥. So， he introduced the idea of dribbling⑦ and passing.

Basketball was popular not only in the United States， but also in other countries. In 1936， basketball was added to the Olympic Games.

According to the International Basketball Federation （FIBA）， there are 44 million people around the world who play basketball， making this sport the second most popular in the world！

Choose the best answer.

1. What does the underlined word “plan” mean in Chinese？

A. 计划          B. 草稿        C. 論文          D. 项目

2. What kind of ball did he get inspiration from？

A. Rugby.        B. Soccer.        C. Baseball.      D. All of above.

3. When did basketball come to life？

A. In 1861.        B. In 1871.          C. In 1881.          D. In 1891.

4. Which of the following is Not True？

A. Basketball was added to the Olympics Games in 1936.

B. The hoop was a fruit basket nailed to the wall.

C. The first-ever basketball game was played with 30 rules.

D. There are 44 million people around the world who play basketball.