No one can say when sports began. Since it is impossible to (23) _____ a time when children did not spontaneously run races or wrestle, it is clear that children have always included sports in their play, but one can only speculate about the (24) _____ of sports as autotelic physical contests for adults. Hunters are depicted in prehistoric art, but it cannot be known (25) _____ the hunters pursued their prey in a mood of grim necessity or with the joyful abandon of sportsmen. It is certain, (26) ...

No one can say when sports began. Since it is impossible to (23) _____ a time when children did not spontaneously run races or wrestle, it is clear that children have always included sports in their play, but one can only speculate about the (24) _____ of sports as autotelic physical contests for adults. Hunters are depicted in prehistoric art, but it cannot be known (25) _____ the hunters pursued their prey in a mood of grim necessity or with the joyful abandon of sportsmen. It is certain, (26) ______, from the rich literary and iconographic evidence of all ancient civilizations that hunting soon became an end in itself at least for royalty and nobility. Archaeological evidence also indicates that ball games were common among ancient peoples as (27) _____as the Chinese and the Aztecs.

(https://www.britannicA.com/topic/sports)