Directions: After reading the passage below, fill in the blanks to make the passage coherent and grammatically correct. For the blanks with a given word, fill in each blank with the proper form of the given word; for the other blanks, use one word that best fits each blank.
Black Mamba a Legend That Will Never Die
It’s hard to believe Kobe is gone.
The NBA superstar, 【小题1】 great talent and win-at-all-costs spirit made him one of the most distinguished athletes in history, was the rare celebrity who didn’t need a last name.
Still youthful at 41, Bryant — who died in a helicopter crash on January 26 in California — looked 【小题2】 he could suit up any minute and drop 30 points on a rival(竞争对手) NBA team. It doesn’t seem that long ago that he was scoring 60 points in his final NBA game.
With a highly decorated career spanning 20 years — all with the Lakers — Bryant is all but 【小题3】 (assure) of being a first-ballot inductee (第一候选人) into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, alongside Tim Duncan and Kevin Garnett, later this year.
Bryant, 【小题4】 18-time All-Star, was famous for his astonishing scoring ability and his championship pedigree (总冠军血统). He teamed up with fellow All-Star Shaquille O’Neal 【小题5】 (win) three consecutive NBA titles from 2000 to 2002, and later won two more rings, in 2009 and 2010.
Known as the “Black Mamba”, Bryant finished his career with 33,643 points in the regular season, which put him at No. 3 among NBA’s scoring leaders, behind only Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (38,387) and Karl Malone (36,928) 【小题6】 LeBron James surpassed him just one day before Bryant’s untimely death.
“Kobe was so much more than an athlete. He was a family man, which was 【小题7】 we had most in common. Whenever we got together, I would hug his kids and he would embrace 【小题8】.” O’Neal wrote on Twitter.
“Kobe was one of the most extraordinary players in the history of our game with accomplishments that are truly legendary(传奇般的),” NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said in a statement. “But he 【小题9】 (remember) most for inspiring people around the world to pick up a basketball and compete 【小题10】 the very best of their ability.”
