Yao Ming was born in 1980. In his last season with the Shanghai Sharks，he scored 32.4 points per game. The big man from China helped the Houston Rockets in the NBA and retired in July 2011. He is the son of two great basketball players and learnt how to play basketball when he was young. As one of the stars in the NBA，he worked hard to make his dream come true and show the world that Chinese basketball player love this game too！
	Pele is a football player that everyone knows. He was born in Brazil in 1940.He started playing for Santos when he was only 16 and he didn’t retire until 1977.He played for Brazil 111 times and he scored 97 international goals. Pele came from a poor family. He started playing football in the street，like many people around the world do. He was soon picked to play for Santos and quickly became an international figure.
	Steffi Graf was born in Germany in 1969.She won the tennis semi­final at Wimbledon in 1985 when she was only 16，but she lost the final to another great tennis player，Martina Navratilova. People were surprised by the strength and power of her game. She soon became a famous tennis player and she has won most of the main matches several times.

1. 1.

   In the passage，        is the youngest player

   1. A.
      Pele
   2. B.
      Yao Ming
   3. C.
      Steffi Graf
   4. D.
      Martina Navratilova
2. 2.

           comes from. Brazil

   1. A.
      Pele
   2. B.
      Yao Ming
   3. C.
      Steffi Graf
   4. D.
      No one
3. 3.

   Which of the following is RIGHT?

   1. A.
      Yao Ming is a table tennis player
   2. B.
      Yao Ming is playing for the Chinese Football Team
   3. C.
      Yao Ming’s parents are not basketball players
   4. D.
      Yao Ming isn’t in the Houston Rockets now
4. 4.

   From the passage，we know that         

   1. A.
      Martina Navratilova was also a tennis player
   2. B.
      Steffi Graf was born in Wimbledon in 1985
   3. C.
      Steffi Graf won the tennis final when she was only 16
   4. D.
      Steffi Graf has won few of the main matches since 1985

Yao Ming’s basketball career _______ after years of hard work and now he is popular in the world.

    A.took on      B. took off         C.took up     D. took out

Yao Ming edged Kobe Bryant as the top votegetter in fan balloting^① for the 55th NBA All-Star game Thursday, and Shaquille O’Neal became the fifth player in league history to earn 13 consecutive^② selections for the midseason showcase.

Yao and Tracy McGrady give the host Houston Rockets two starters in the Feb.19 game. They were joined on the Western Conference squad by Bryant, San Antonio’s Tim Duncan and reigning MVP Steve Nash of Phoenix — who will be a first-time All-Star starter.

 Yao edged Bryant by 71,107 votes for the top overall spot in the balloting, despite missing 21 games following surgery to clean out an infection^③ in his left big toe. It’s the fourth All-Star trip for the 7-foot-6 center from China and the eighth for Bryant, who leads the NBA in scoring and had an 81-point effort — the second-biggest night in NBA history — last month in the Los Angeles Lakers’ win over Toronto.

Yao finished with 2,342,738 votes; Bryant had 2,271,631 in the closest finish among the top two players in All-Star balloting since Vince Carter, then of Toronto, edged Miami’s Alonzo Mourning by 33,385 votes in 2000.

Notes:

ballot  vi. 投票

consecutive  adj. 连续的

infection  n. 传染，感染

Yao Ming’s got _______ Kobe Bryant in fan balloting for the 55th NBA All-Star game Thursday.

A. the same votes as          B. more votes than 

C. less votes than              D. no more than 

Yao Ming and _______ belong to the Houston Rockets.

A. Kobe Bryant                  B. Tracy McGrady

C. Shaquille O’Neal            D. Steve Nash

Which of the following is not wrong according to this passage?

A. Yao Ming edged Kobe Bryant as the top votegetter in fan balloting for the 54th NBA All-Star game.

B. Yao edged Tracy McGrady by 71,107 votes for the top overall spot in the balloting.

C. It’s the fourth All-Star trip for Yao Ming from China.

D. Yao finished with 2,271,631 votes; Bryant had2,342,738  in the closest finish among the top two players in All-Star balloting.

Chinese star Yao Ming has retired. Yao made it official Wednesday, telling a news conference that a series of foot and leg injuries forced him to end his playing career at the age of 30.

“I will formally end my career,’’ said Yao, who became a household name in China before starting his NBA career with the Houston Rockets in 2002. Yao played eight seasons in the NBA.

“Today is an important day for me and holds a special meaning for both my basketball career and my future,’’ Yao said. “I had to leave the court since I suffered a stress fracture（断裂） in my left foot for the third time at the end of last year. My past six months were a painful wait. I have been thinking about my future over and over. Today I am announcing a personal decision, ending my career as a basketball player and officially retire. But one door is closing and another one is opening.’’

Yao said he would return to work with his former Chinese team, the Shanghai Sharks, with the possibility of becoming general manager. He already owns the club and wants to contribute more. “My playing career started with the club. I hope I can do something for it,’’ Yao said.

He later appeared with his family on the stage to the applause and cheers of the crowd. He thanked a lot of people — his family, former coaches, even players like Shaquille O’Neal — “for making me a better player.’’

Rockets general manager Daryl Morey was among those attending the farewell(告别) conference Wednesday. Morey made the long trip from Houston. Morey said 20 hours on planes was tiring but “I would be sorry if I wasn’t here.” “It’s a big moment,’’ Morey added. “Yao had a sense of humor, a great attitude and sense of responsibility. I hope we can continue his culture in the NBA.’’

1.Yao Ming has retired from basketball because of _____.

A．his age                               B．his bad conducts on the court

C．his foot and leg injuries                   D．his poor health

2.Yao Ming was _____ before he decided to end his career as a basketball player.

A．peaceful          B．upset             C．confident         D．proud

3.Yao Ming started his playing career in _____.

A．Shanghai          B．Houston           C．Beijing            D．New York

4.According to the passage, which of the following words can’t be used to describe

Yao Ming?

A．Talented.          B．Responsible.       C．Humorous.         D．Cautious.

5. What do you know about Daryl Morey?

A．Daryl Morey thinks highly of Yao Ming.

B．Daryl Morey was Yao Ming’s coach.

C．Daryl Morey is a basketball player in the Houston Rockets.

D．Daryl Morey is not satisfied with Yao Ming’s retirement from basketball.