4th Grade Reading Comprehension (Set 5) - Basketball

_____If you like to watch or play basketball, you know that the scores in games are usually quite high. It’s not unusual for a very good team to score 100 or more points. Part of the excitement of the game is the fast and frequent scoring. Basketball players bounce, pass, and shoot the ball with their hands.
_____Can you imagine a game like basketball being played without using the hands to touch the ball? About a thousand years ago or more, such a game really was played in Mexico. Each team tried to get the ball through a little stone ring. The ring was a bit like today’s basketball hoop. The players could touch the ball with their knees, elbows, and shoulders. They could not use their hands.
_____Playing the game without using the hands made scoring a point very DIFFICULT. So the first team to get the ball through the ring won the game. The final score was always the same. It was always 1 – 0.
_____These early basketball-type games were very POPULAR. Thousands of people came to watch them. Thousands of people watch today’s form of basketball. Which kind of game would you prefer to play? Which would you rather watch?