Extra reading:
Life and culture
A basketball star
Do you play basketball?
What’s your favourite sport?
When Rocky Wood was at primary school, a local newspaper called him ‘the best primary school player in the city’. Now, at the age of 15, he plays in one of the best high school teams in Chicago. In their last game Rocky scored 39 points!
The inventor of basketball was a sports teacher called Dr James Naismith in 1891. He wanted to make a new sport for students to play when it was too cold to be outside. The first public basketball game was played in Springfield, Massachusetts on March 11th, 1892. Now more than 250 million people play basketball all over the world. Rocky dreams of being one of the best players in the world.
He lives in a small apartment in a Chicago suburb with his mother, father, younger brother and two sisters. His family is not rich but Rocky hopes that, one day, he will change that. If he becomes a basketball star, they’ll move to a bigger and better apartment. ‘And my mom and dad won’t need to work so hard,’ he says.
Basketball is Rocky’s life. He practises every day. If he has time in the morning, he plays with his brother before school, and he often practises with friends after school. At the weekends he runs to the top of his apartment building – and there are fourteen floors. Even more incredible, he does it three times!
Rocky told us, ‘When I was in junior high school, I played other sports and went to the movies. But now basketball is like a full-time job. One day I hope to play for the Chicago Bulls. But I’ll need to grow a bit more!’
About basketball
A lot of famous players are very tall. LeBron James, who plays for Miami Heat, is 2.03m tall, and he is one of the most famous players in the world. Kevin Durant, from Oklahoma City, is 2.06m. At 2.34m, Gheorghe Muresan from Romania is probably the tallest player in the world. But smaller players are often the fastest.
A Read the text, then answer these questions.
B Work with a partner and choose one of these topics. Then share your ideas.
1 How do you play basketball? Can you explain the rules?
2 Why does Rocky want to be a famous player? Do you think famous sportsmen and women have a good life? What are some of the advantages and disadvantages of being famous?