Kobe—one of the greatest basketball players 科比——篮球巨星

游巧华

科比出生于美国宾夕法尼亚州的费城，前美国职业篮球运动员。当地时间2020年1月26日，科比在加州卡拉巴萨斯因直升机事故遇难，年仅42岁。

难词探意

1. subsequently /？謖s？蘧bs？奘kw？藜ntli/ adv. 后来;随后;接着

2. relentless /r？奘？謖lentl？藜s/ adj. 严格的;持续强烈的

Kobe Bean Bryant was born on August 23， 1978， in Philadelphia， Pennsylvania. Named after a city in Japan， Bryant is the son of former NBA player Joe “Jellybean” Bryant.

Though he boasted good grades and high SAT scores， Bryant decided to go straight to the NBA from high school. He was selected by the Charlotte Hornets with the 13th overall pick of the 1996 NBA draft and was subsequently traded to the Los Angeles Lakers. In his second season with the Lakers， Bryant was voted a starter for the All？鄄Star Game， becoming the youngest “All？鄄Star” in NBA history at 19.

In 2008， Bryant was named Most Valuable Player and carried his team to the NBA Finals， where they lost to the Boston Celtics. In the 2009 NBA Finals， the Lakers beat the Orlando Magic to win the championship. Shortly afterward， Bryant was part of the memorial service to honor Michael Jackson， his friend as well as a music superstar. The following year， the Lakers won their second straight title by defeating the Celtics.

Bryant played on both the 2008 and 2012 US Olympic teams， winning consecutive gold medals with teammates， among several other top players. Kobe Bryant finished his final NBA game on April 13， 2016 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles， California. He scored 60 points against the Utah Jazz.

In November 2015， he announced that he would retire at the end of the season. The announcement drew a strong reaction， particularly from NBA Commissioner Adam Silver. “With 17 NBA All？鄄Star selections， an NBA MVP， five NBA championships with the Lakers， two Olympic gold medals and a relentless work ethic， Kobe Bryant is one of the greatest players in the history of our game，” Silver said in a statement.

In November 2015， Bryant announced his upcoming retirement from the Lakers with a poem on The Players？蒺 Tribune website， titled “Dear Basketball”.

On January 26， 2020， Bryant was onboard a Sikorsky S？鄄76 helicopter that crashed in the Los Angeles suburb of Calabasas. Nine people， including Bryant and his 13？鄄year？鄄old daughter Gianna “Gigi”， died.

1. In the 2009 NBA Finals， which team won at last？

A. The Boston Celtics. B. The Orlando Magic.

C. The Lakers. D. The Charlotte Hornets.

2. What does the underlined word “consecutive” in paragraph 4 mean？

A. Unexpected. B. Fortunate.

C. Important.  D. Continuous.

3. What？蒺s Adam Silver？蒺s attitude towards Kobe？蒺s retirement？

A. Regretful. B. Shameful.

C. Exciting.  D. Neutral.

Difficult sentence

He was selected by the Charlotte Hornets with the 13th overall pick of the 1996 NBA draft and was subsequently traded to the Los Angeles Lakers.

【翻譯】

【点石成金】本句是一个简单句。He作主语，and连接两个并列谓语。