雅思口语 Part 2 | 姚明，一位可敬可爱的运动员！

本期节目话题参考文本

I have always been into sports since I was a child, so it is hard to say who my favorite athlete is. But one of my favorite athletes is definitely Yao Ming, a basketball player from China. He had accomplished quite a lot in his life. He is very good at basketball, hardworking, had a long and successful career in the NBA and also with the Chinese National Basketball Team.

I remember when he first joined the NBA, he couldn’t speak a word of English and had a lot of communication problems with his teammates. But that had never put him down. I think in the beginning, he had to use an interpreter to fit in and understand the coach, but whenever he had free time, he would work on his English. Therefore, he quickly improved his basketball and English skills and started to appear on TV as guests and commentators. I was quite shocked how quickly this guy had learned.

I admired him not only because of his basketball career, but also his involvement with the local and international community. I think he became a philanthropist after he retired and helped build many local communities. He used his fame and popularity in China and USA to connect the people of the two countries. So in my mind, he is not just a basketball player but a basketball ambassador.

本期话题关键词：

1. athlete n. 运动员

2. accomplish v. 完成，成就

3. teammate n. 队友

4. interpreter n. 口译员

5. commentator n. 评论员

6. philanthropist n. 慈善家

7. popularity n. 人气

8. ambassador n. 大使