姚明
Yao Ming
Yao Ming (born on September 12， 1980) is a retired Chinese professional basketball player who last played for the Houston Rockets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). At the time of his final season， he was the tallest player in the NBA and was 2.29m (7 ft 6 in) high.
姚明（生于1980年9月12日）是中国职业篮球选手，之前效力于美国国家篮球协会休斯顿火箭队。在他最后一个赛季的时候，还是NBA最高的运动员，有2.29米（7英尺6英寸）。
Both of Yao Ming's parents were former professional basketball players in China， and he inherited their height and then some thing. Yao， who was born in Shanghai， started playing for the Shanghai Sharks as a teenager， and played on their senior team for five years in the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) and won a championship in his final year. After negotiating with the CBA and the Sharks about his release， Yao was selected by the Houston Rockets in the first overall in the 2002 NBA Draft pick.in the NBA All-Star Game Yao was selected eight times to start for the Western Conference， and he was named to the All-NBA Team five times. He reached the NBA Playoffs four times， and the Rockets won a first-round series in the 2009 postseason， their first playoff series victory since 1997. However， Yao missed 250 regular-season games due to foot and ankle injuries in his final six seasons.
姚明双亲都是中国前职业篮球运动员，他继承了两位的身高，但不仅仅是身高。姚明生于中国上海，还是青少年的时候就开始是在上海大鲨鱼篮球俱乐部打比赛，还在中国篮球协会的高级队打了五年的比赛，在其最后的赛季取得冠军。经过和中国篮球协会以及大鲨鱼篮球俱乐部协商退出，在2002年NBA选秀首次海选中姚明被休斯顿火箭队选中。姚明在NBA全明星赛中8次入选西部联盟，5次提名全明星阵容。姚明有四次参加NBA季后赛，火箭队在2009年季后赛首轮比赛中获胜，他们荣获第一次季后赛是在1997年。但是姚明因为脚和脚踝受伤在其最后的6个赛季中错过了250场常规赛。
Yao Ming married Chinese women's basketball player Ye Li in August of 2007 in Shanghai. Ye Li gave birth to the couple's first child， a daughter named Amy in May of 2010.
姚明于2007年8月在上海迎娶了中国女子篮球队员叶莉。2010年5月叶莉生下他们的第一个孩子，是一个女儿叫艾米。
Yao continues to give back to his homeland. Yao's charitable organization， the Yao Ming Foundation， raises money to help victims of the 8.0 earthquake in Sichuan Province. He also purchased his former team， the Shanghai Sharks， in July of 2009， in order to save them from bankruptcy.
姚明一直都在回报自己的祖国。他的慈善组织，姚明基金会筹备资金给那些在中国四川省8.0级地震中遭受灾难的人们。他还于2009年7月份收购了之前的球队上海大鲨鱼，使其免于破产。
He is one of China's best-known athletes， attracting the attention of major sponsors. He is the pride of Chinese people. 他是中国最知名的运动员之一，一些主要的大公司都是他的赞助商。他是中国人民的骄傲。
核心词汇
1.rocket[?r?kit]n. 火箭；火箭发射器
例：The rocket soared skywards.
火箭呼啸着朝天上飞去。
2.association [??s?usi?ei??n] n. 协会；社团；联合
例：The local club has disaffiliated from the National Athletic Association.
当地俱乐部已退出全国体育联合会。
3.inherit [in?herit] v. 继承
例：In the event of his death， his daughter will inherit the money.
一旦他故去，他的女儿将会继承这笔钱。
4.championship[?t??mpj?n?ip] n. 锦标赛；冠军
例：They have claimed some impressive scalps in their bid for the championship.
他们已在夺取冠军的征途上获得显着进展。
5.negotiate [ni?ɡ?u?ieit]v. 谈判；协商
例：They refused to negotiate unless three preliminary requirements were met.
如果三项先决条件得不到满足，他们就拒绝谈判。
6.release[ri??li?s] v. 释放；放开
例：The release of the hostages could not be achieved without the use of force.
不使用武力不可能使人质获释。
7.pick [pik]v. 挑选，挑拣；接某人
例：Could you do me a favour and pick up Sam from school today？
今天你能帮我个忙去学校接萨姆吗？
8.draft[drɑ?ft] n. 汇票；草稿
例：I know that this draft text will need to be edited.
我知道这篇草稿需要编辑修订。
9.playoff [?plei??f] n. 季后赛
例：The Lakers have won 11 of their last 12 home playoff games.
湖人过去12场季后赛主场作战拿下了11场胜利。
10.victory [?vikt?ri] n. 胜利；克服
例：The election victory is a clear endorsement of their policies.
竞选成功显然是对他们政策的支持。
11.injury [?ind??ri]n. 伤害，损害
例：She overcame injury to win the Olympic gold medal.
她战胜了伤痛，赢得了奥运会金牌。
12.charitable [?t??rit?bl]adj. 仁慈的；慈善的
例：The government built a charitable institution for the education of young children.
政府建立了一个儿童教育慈善机构。
13.foundation [faun?dei??n] n. 基地；基础；基金（会）
例：The Ford Foundation allocated millions of dollars for cancer research.
福特基金会拨款数百万美元用于癌症研究。
14.victim[?viktim] n. 牺牲者，受害者
例：He had been the victim of a grievous injustice.
他曾遭受极不公正的待遇。
15.purchase [?p??t??s] v. 购买
例：These vouchers are redeemable against any future purchase.
这些优惠券将来购物均可使用。
16.bankruptcy [?b??kr?p(t)si]n. 破产；倒闭
例：You will have to pull in if you want to escape bankruptcy.
如果你想避免破产，就必须节省开支。
17.sponsorship [?sp?ns??ip]n. 赞助；发起；倡议
例：The company has decided to withdraw from some of its sports sponsorship.这家公司已决定撤销部分体育项目的赞助。
情景对话
A： Have you watched the NBA last night？
看昨晚的NBA了吗？
B：I had a lot of things to do last night and missed the match. How about it？
昨晚事太多了，错过了比赛。比赛怎么样？
A： The match is just awesome. It is your loss not watching it.比赛简直精彩极了。你没看真是你的损失。
B： It does not matter. I can watch its rebroadcast.
没关系，我可以看重播。
A： Ok. It seems to be the only way for you.好吧。看起来你也只能这样了。
B： I just cannot wait to watch it.
我都等不及看比赛了。
A： No， you cannot. You need to finish your work.不，你不能看。你得完成工作。
B： Oh， pity！
啊，真遗憾！
知识链接
着名球队
休斯敦火箭（Houston Rockets）：球队最早是在盛行军需产业的圣地亚哥，1961年迁往美国国家航空天局（NASA）所在地休斯顿后，“火箭”这个名字更加名副其实了。
菲尼克斯太阳（Phoenix Suns）：球队建于1968年，菲尼克斯是亚利桑那州的首府，位于美国西海岸的沙漠中，年降水量稀少，阳光充足，以“太阳”为队名最有代表意义。
洛杉矶湖人（L. A. Lakers）：1948年加盟NBA时，湖人队还在明尼苏达阿波利斯，但是一次飞机失事，使湖人老板痛下决心，于1960年搬迁到了洛杉矶。队名也是征集来的名字，大意是在美国东北部五大湖工作或者居住的人。
芝加哥公牛（Chicago Bulls）：1966年加盟NBA，因为飞人迈克尔·乔丹（Michael Jordan），芝加哥公牛队成为全球拥有最高知名度的NBA球队。芝加哥畜牧业非常发达，该城的职业橄榄球队和职业棒球队各有一支以动物名称命名的球队，所以“公牛”便成了芝加哥职业篮球队的队名。
迈阿密热火（Miami Heat）：1988年组建，球队位于四季温暖宜人的佛罗里达迈阿密，所以在众多队名后选名单中选中了“热”，既现示出了迈阿密的气候条件，又希望球队能有个红红火火、蒸蒸日上的未来。
波士顿凯尔特人（Boston Celtics）：1946年，11个冰球大老板商量成立新的篮球联盟，是最初的11支球队之一。由于波士顿有许多爱尔兰移民，其中有不少移民是凯尔特人，所以球队初建时队名就叫“原始凯尔特人队”，后简化成“凯尔特人队”。