美文欣赏 There were already signs that Michael Jordan had a good deal of talent. Harvest Smith, a classmate and close friend of Jordan, thought Jordan was the best player on their ninth-grade team. He was small, but very quick. “You’d see him shoot a ball, and you’d wonder how he did it, because he wasn’t that big,” Smith said, “but it was the quickness. The only question was how big he was going to be.” The summer after ninth grade, both Jordan and Smith wanted to join the school’s basketball camp. Neither of them had fully grown up yet, and almost all of the varsity players, two and sometimes three years older, seemed much stronger at that time. In high school games a year or two in physical development can make all the difference. In Smith’s mind there was no doubt which of them would be accepted—of course it was Michael Jordan. But on the day the varsity list were announced, there came a big surprise. Smith’s name was on it; Michael’s was not. It was the worst day in Jordan’s young life. He went home by himself and cried in his room. Smith understood what was happening—Michael, he knew, never wanted you to see him when he was hurt. “We knew Michael was good,” Fred Lynch, the assistant coach, said later, “but we wanted him to play more and we thought the jayvee was better for him.” He easily became the best player on the jayvee that year. He simply dominated the play, and he did it not by size but with quickness. There were games in which he would score forty points. He was so good, in fact, that the jayvee games became quite popular. The entire varsity began to come early so that they could watch him play in the jayvee games.
Smith noticed that after he was turned down by the varsity, Michael Jordan became more competitive than ever, as if he determined that it would never happen again. Between the time he was cut and the start of basketball in his junior year, Jordan grew about four inches. The speed had always been there, and now he was stronger, and he could dunk. His hands became much bigger. He was still the hardest-working player on the team in practice. If he thought his teammates were not working hard enough, he would criticize them. Suddenly Laney High had a very good basketball team, and its rising star was Michael Jordan.
生词注释 1. talent: n. 天赋 2. ninth-grade a. 九年级的(美国的九年级相当于我们的初三年级) 3. varsity: n. 校队 4. jayvee: n. 校预备队 5. competitive: a. 争强好胜的 6. dunk: v. 扣篮
难句解析 1. …and almost all of the varsity players, two and sometimes three years older, seemed much stronger at that time. 解析：虽然句子较长，但实际上它是一个简单句。 “two and sometimes three years older”插在中间增加了句子理解的难度。可以改为非限制性定语从句who were two and sometimes three years older…。参考译文如下：当时几乎所有的校队队员都比他俩大上两三岁，个个似乎更加身强体壮。 2. In Smith’s mind there was no doubt which of them would be accepted… 解析：该句为名词性从句。doubt后是同位语从句，表明doubt的具体内容。参考译文如下：“史密斯认为他们哪一个被校队选中都是板上钉钉子的事。” 3. He simply dominated the play, and he did it not by size but with quickness. 解析：这是一个并列句。两个分句都是“主+谓+宾”基本句型。not…but..连接两个介词短语充当方式状语。参考译文如下：“他完全主宰了比赛，不是靠的人高马大，而是速度。” 4. Between the time he was cut and the start of basketball in his junior year, Jordan grew about four inches. 解析：between…and… “在…两者之间”引导一个时间状语。he was cut是定语从句修饰先行词time。in one’s junior year“在某人三年级的时候”。参考译文如下：“从他遭淘汰到三年级开始打球的日子里，他的个头大约长了四英寸。” 阅读操练（配4-5道选择题；或任务型阅读，10空，每空1词） 1. In the eyes of Smith, the main reason why Michael Jordan became the best player on their ninth-grade team was that he was __________. A. strong B. tall C. ripe D. smart 2. According to the writer, which of the following is NOT true? A. Neither Jordan nor Smith was a member of the varsity basketball team. B. Jordan was accepted by the jayvee and easily became the best player later on. C. Both Jordan and Smith wanted to join the school’s basketball camp in high school. D. The jayvee games became so popular that the entire varsity began to watch Jordan play. 3. From the first sentence of the last paragraph we may conclude that__________. A. Practice makes perfect B. A good beginning is half done C. Success belongs to the persevering D. He who is ashamed of asking is ashamed of learning 4. The best title for this passage is__________. A. Michael Jordan and his close friend B. Michael Jordan, God in youth C. Michael Jordan’s life D. Michael Jordan’s misfortune
