Basketball

　　Basketball is the winter sport in Amerian schools and colleges. Many Americans prefer basketball to football becasue it is played indoors in a gymnasium throughout the winter. In many states, state-wide high school basketball tournaments are held every year. Professional basketball teams attract many fans.Basketball was invented in December 1891, by James Naismith. The first basketball was a soccer ball. The first baskets were wooden baskets hung on the walls! The game was originally played with nine men on each team. About 1895, a number of U.S. colleges adopted the game. The first professional league was formed in 1898.The hoops we use today were invented in 1906 and it was made out of metal, then they hooked on a braided cord for the net. Basketball and its popularity continued to grow and spread. The National Basketball League (NBL) formed in 1937. A com- peting league, the Basketball Association of America (BAA), also became popular and in 1949, the two merged to form the National Basketball Association (NBA), which won increasing fame with stars like Air Jordan, Shaq O’Neal, The Batman Pippen, Penny Hardaway, Spring Bryant, The Answer Iverson, The Mailman Karl Malone, High Smooch Duncan and Magic Johnson. (Lei Guang)

美国的篮球运动

　　篮球是美国大、中学里的冬季运动项目。比起足球运动，很多美国人更喜爱篮球运动，因为整个冬天，人们可以在是体育馆内打篮球。许多州每年举行全州范围的中学篮球锦标赛。职业篮球队也吸引了一大批球迷。篮球于1891年由詹姆斯<2022>耐史密斯发明。第一个篮球是个足球，最初的篮框是挂在墙上的木制框。刚开始时每队有九名队员。大约在1895年，一些美国大学开始了这项运动。第一支职业球队于1898年成立。我们今天所用的篮框是在1906年发明的，由金属制成，钩住由绳编织而成的球网。篮球运动日趋普及。1937年成立了美国篮球联盟，而另一个与之竞争的联盟 —— 美国篮球协会 (BAA)也同时受到人们的关注。1949年，这两个组织合并成为(美国)全国篮球协会 (NBA)。这个协会因为有了飞人乔丹、大鲨鱼奥尼尔、蝙蝠侠皮蓬、 便士哈达维、小飞侠布莱恩特、答案艾弗逊、邮差卡尔<2022>马龙、石佛邓肯和魔术师约翰逊这些名字而享有越来越高的声誉。 (黄大广 译)