One afternoon last week, I saw three tearful children from my son’s school being comforted by teachers. That morning, my 11-year-old had stomach pains, retching（干呕）into a bowl. Talking to other mothers later, I heard about other children with stomachache or difficult sleeping the night before.
What caused so much pain? Sports day. Sports day might be necessary at a highly-competitive independent school, but not at a village primary school. For the children who can fly like the wind, sports day cause no problem. For those who are overweight or just not good at sport, it is nightmare（噩梦）. Even for those who enjoy running but fall halfway down the track in front of the entire school and their parents, it can prove a disease.
Why do we put our children through this annual suffering? Some may say competition is character building; or it’s taking part, not winning, that’s important; or that’s a tradition of school life. I just felt great pity for those children in tears or in pain.
Team games at the end of sports day produced some close races, wild enthusiasm, lots of shouting — and were fun to watch. More importantly, the children who were not so fast or quick at passing the ball were hidden a little from everyone’s eyes. Some of them also had the thrill of being on the winning side.
I wish that sports day could be abandoned and replaced with some other less competitive event. Perhaps an afternoon of team games, with a few races for those who want them, would be less stressful for the children and a lot more fun to watch.
小题1:What can we learn about the author’s son from Paragraph 1?
A．He talked with some mothers.
B．He comforted his classmates.
C．He had difficulty in sleeping.
D． He suffered from stomachache.小题2:Sports day is still an annul event in this school probably because __________.
A．this is an independent school
B．it is a tradition of the school
C．it helps children lose weight
D．children enjoy watching sports小题3:What does the author think about team games?
A．They should include more stressful races.
B．They are acceptable to different children.
C．They should be abandoned at primary school.
D．They are less fun for those who love running.小题4:What is the author’s attitude towards sports day?
A．Critical.
B．Neutral.
C．Positive.
D．Ambiguous.
