TASK 2. Fill in each blank with a suitable word.

fast during exciting tries stopping

Baseball is America's national sport! It is played with long wooden bats and a small, hard ball, by 2 teams of nine players, who are frequently replaced (1) _________the game. On the whole, there are usually 25 members on a team. Each player (2) _________to hit the ball and then run around the four bases before the other team can return the ball.

Players do not have to be very tall or strong, but they must run (3) _______. The goal of the game is to score as many runs" as possible. The most exciting play is when the batter (the player in the centre of the diamond -home plate) hits a ball very far and goes round all the bases without (4) ______for a home run. Although many people think baseball is too slow, most American families find it (5) __________.