Is sport always fun ?
One afternoon in the last week of term, I saw three children form my son’s school in tears being comforted by teachers. That morning, my 11-year -old had stomach pains and (21) ______(throw ) up several times when I noticed his sickness. Talking to other mothers, I heard about other children with stomachache or difficulty sleeping the night before.
What caused so much suffering ? Sports day ---- not sports day at a highly competitive independent school, but at a large village primary. (22) ______ it causes no problem to the children who can fly (23) _____ the wind, for those who are poorly coordinated (动作协调), overweight or just not good at sport, it is terrible. Even for those who enjoy (24) ______(run ) but who fall halfway down the track in front of the entire school and their parents, it can prove a disaster.
As for the reason (25) ______ we put our children through this annual suffering, some May say that competition is character-buliding or it is a tradition of school life; some may assume (26) ______ really matters is taking part not winning. I just felt pity for those children in tears or in pain.
Team games at the end of the “sport” were fun (27) ______ (watch) because they produced some close races, enormous enthusiasm and lots of shouting. More importantly , (28) ______(hide ) a little form everyone’s gaze, the children who were not so fast or so quick at passing the ball had the excitement of being on the winning side.
I wish that sports day could (29)________(abandon) and replaced with some other summer event. perhaps an afternoon of team games, with a few races for those who want them, would be (30) ________(stressful )for the children and a lot more fun for the spectators.