第3篇

　　Sports Star Yao Ming

　　If YaoMing is not the biggest sports star in the world, he almost certainly thetallest. At 2.26m, he is the tallest player in the National BasketballAssociation (NBA) and holds the record as the most towering Olympian ever to competein the Game.

　　But whatreally stands out about the giant center is his celebrity (名气). Few, if any, Chinese athletesare as well-known as Yao Ming around the world. People across the globe arefascinated with Yao, not only for his basketball prowess(接杰出的才能)but also for being a symbolof international commerce.

　　When Yaojoined the Houston Rockets as the No. 1 pick in the 2002 NBA draft he was thefirst international player ever to be selected first. His assets on the courtare clear enough 一 no NBA playerof his size has ever possessed his mobility, so he is a handful (难对付的人)for opponents on either end ofthe court. But what makes Yao invaluable to the Rockets organization is hisrole as a global citizen and as a bridge to millions of potential basketballfans in China.

　　When itwas announced in February that Yao would miss the rest of the NBA season andpossibly the Olympics with a stress fracture (骨折)in his left foot, a collective shudder spread across China. Afterconsiderable debate and discussion, Yao opted to get his foot surgicallytreated in an operation that placed several tiny screws across the bone, tooffer his overburdened foot more support. The surgery was a success, and thoughthe estimated four-month recovery period will leave him little time to preparewith Team China. Yao has vowed to be ready for the Beijing Olympics.

　　Yaowrapped up a 10-day trip to China, where he underwent a series of traditionalChinese medicine (TCM) treatments, hoping to accelerate his recovery process.Western experts are generally skeptical of TCM’s benefits, although newresearch from the University of Rochester suggests that a certain compoundderived from shellfish may indeed stimulate bone repair.

　　“Thereis no reason to dismiss TCM, “ Yao told a press conference in Beijing. “It’sbeen used in our country for thousands of years. I don’t think that it’s shorton science.”

　　36. Theword“towering”in Paragraph 1 means

　　A. large.

　　B. fat.

　　C. tall.

　　D. great.

　　答案：C

　　37. Opponentsfind it very difficult to control Yao Ming because of his

　　A. mobility.

　　B. assault.

　　C. defense.

　　D. celebrity.

　　答案：A

　　38. YaoMing had to undergo a series of TCM treatments because

　　A. hisright foot had been hurting.

　　B. he wanted to make a more rapid recovery.

　　C. thesurgical operation had been a failure.

　　D. hecouldn't afford all the medical expenses.

　　答案：B

　　39. Whichstatement about Yao Ming is NOT true?

　　A. He missed the Athens Olympics.

　　B. Heis an NBA player.

　　C. Hefractured his left foot.

　　D. Heis an international figure.

　　答案：A

　　40. Ingeneral, the Western experts' attitude towards TCM is

　　A. indifferent.

　　B. positive.

　　C. negative.

　　D. doubtful.

　　答案：D

（编辑：何莹莹）