With over 40 million competitive players and millions more playing recreationally, table tennis is the world's largest "participation" sport. Also known as ping-pong because of the noise heard when the ball hits the paddle and then the table, table tennis was originally played with balls made of either cork or rubber and with rackets made of cardboard. Today, the balls are celluloid and the rackets are generally wood with only the finest rubbers and glues. Without getting too much into the science behind it all, in effect the spin on the ball puts a force on the ball which is at right angles to the direction it is moving. This force will affect the flight of the ball. Since the sport's 1988 Olympic debut, China has dominated the sport of table tennis.

拥有超过4000万名出色的球员及数以百万的爱好者,乒乓球是世界上最多的“参与”的运动。乒乓球的名字源于当球碰到了球拍,然后弹到桌上的声音。乒乓球最初是软木或橡胶制成，而球拍则是用纸板制作。现今,所有的球都是由明胶制作，而球拍则是木材搭配最好的橡胶和胶水。这其中没有任何科学道理,实际上只有按照一定角度对球施加旋转才能掌握其运动方向。这种力量会影响球的运行。自从1988年奥林匹克运动会初次亮相以来,中国已统治了乒乓球这项赛事。

词语解释：

1. Recreational a. 娱乐的，消遣的

2. Celluloid a. 赛璐珞;明胶

3. Debut n. 初次亮相，登台

4. Dominate v. 统治