I’m Frank, and I have two good friends in my class. They are Jim and Gina. (A) We all like sports very much.

My favorite sport is baseball. I have three baseballs. I think playing baseball is interesting. But Jim thinks it is boring to play baseball. He likes playing soccer and basketball. (B) ________ He has five soccer balls and four basketballs. Gina is a good girl. (C) She likes tennis. (D) But she only watches it on TV.

In the past, people didn’t need sports like running to stay healthy because they were very active. But these days, many of us spend most of the day sitting down. This means we need to get some exercise in our free time, and running is a cheap and easy way to do it. It’s more fun than doing boring exercise in a gym, and all you need is a good pair of trainers and some comfortable clothes. Also, it’s a sport that people can do at any age—for example Fauja Singh finished a marathon (马拉松) at the age of 101!

To make running interesting, you can enter a race. Fun runs are very popular. These are often 5 km long and are great for beginners. You can run with your friends and maybe dress up. For fitter people, there are half-marathons, marathons, or even ultra-marathons. These can be 70~400 km long. One of the most famous is the Marathon des Sables, which takes six days and goes through the Sahara desert.

Running is fun and scientists say it is one of the best ways to keep fit. However, make sure you don’t do it every day—it’s important to have a rest between runs. Running improves the health of almost every part of your body, including your brain. It can make you feel happier and healthier, and live longer. It also helps you sleep well, and that gives you the energy to enjoy your life more. Perhaps it’s the perfect sport!

My name is Leo. I love sports, and basketball is my favorite.

Basketball is very interesting and it is a great way to exercise. Some of my classmates think playing computer games is relaxing. But I don’t think so. It’s boring to sit there all day. It’s relaxing to run and play on the playground!

Sometimes, I play basketball with my cousins. I like watching basketball games on TV. I learn many skills (技巧) from the players. My favorite basketball player is Yao Ming.