Scoring goals and writing books 足球与写作

朱声怀

弗蘭克·兰帕德是一名足球运动员，他是英超历史上进球最多的中场球员。与此同时，他还是一名作家，《弗兰克的魔幻足球》系列儿童图书是他的作品之一。

What does it mean to be a superstar？ For many people， it’s about being great at one thing， whether it’s sports， music， or something else. When a reporter interviewed Frank Lampard at Yankee Stadium recently， a different definition appeared. Lampard excels at both sports and writing. Not only does he score goals for New York City FC （a professional soccer team）， he also writes children’s books.

Lampard has written three books for a series called Frankie’s Magic Soccer Ball， with more titles on the way. Before a match between New York City FC and the San Jose Earthquakes at Yankee Stadium， the superstar took time to share his story.

Lampard began his soccer career in his native England， where the sport is called football. As a midfielder for Chelsea Football Club for 13 years， he has scored more goals than anyone in the team’s history. Whether winning or losing， Lampard said， “Good sportsmanship and respecting your opponent are essential （必要的）.”

Last summer， Lampard moved to the United States to play for New York City FC， a Major League Soccer（MLS） team. He loves the city， saying， “I enjoy how friendly everybody is.” Having long watched MLS games， he often dreamed of coming to the US and “was quite inspired when David Beckham came here and did so well”.

But a star athletic career was not enough for Lampard. So he turned to writing children’s books. “I wanted to do something constructive， fun， and different from football，” he said. In the popular series that Lampard created， a magic soccer ball helps Frankie， the main character， and his friends journey back in time. They play soccer matches against ancient Romans， pirates， and even cowboys. Can you imagine playing soccer at the Roman Colosseum （罗马圆形大剧场）？

The series combines sports， history， and friendship—plus a talking dog. Thirteen books have been published in England， where the series is called Frankie’s Magic Football. As for the secret to Lampard’s own success， this reporter found no magic. “To be successful in anything，” Lampard said， “the idea is the same for everything you do—hard work and practice.”

Reading Check

1. What’s the function of the first paragraph？

A. To clarify people’s misunderstanding about Lampard.

B. To explain the criteria for being a superstar.

C. To lead to the main topic about Lampard.

D. To discuss what influences superstars most.

2. Which of the following may be Lampard’s strengths according to the text？

A. Music and performance. B. Soccer and writing.

C. Reading and reciting. D. Dancing and composing.

3. What can be inferred about Frankie’s Magic Soccer Ball？

A. It is mainly about Lampard’s career.

B. It describes the development of Rome.

C. It shows the relationship between winning and losing.

D. It has something to do with sports， history and friendship.

4. What is the key to success according to Lampard？

A. Practicing hard. B. Having a good rest.

C. Making right choices. D. Forming an unusual habit.

Language  Study

Difficult sentence

Lampard began his soccer career in his native England， where the sport is called football. 蘭帕德在他的家乡英格兰开始了他的足球职业生涯，在那里这项运动被称为“football”。

【点石成金】该句中Lampard began his soccer career in his native England为主句，where引导一个非限制性定语从句，England为先行词。

Cultural   Background

《弗兰克的魔幻足球》

《弗兰克的魔幻足球》为一套系列儿童读物，书中的人物或多或少是基于兰帕德在切尔西和英格兰国家队的队友或朋友来塑造的。此书的主人公为一个名为弗兰克的孩子以及他心爱的宠物狗马克斯，兰帕德结合近些年来他在球场上经历的趣事，编写出一系列因足球引发的魔幻故事。

兰帕德表示：“当我给自己的孩子讲故事的时候，我萌生了写故事书的念头。运动和读书是我在家最常做的事情，我希望这本书能让孩子们爱上阅读，热衷运动。当然，书中的一些人物大部分是根据平时接触的队员或者朋友来塑造的，他们给了我很多灵感。”