Paul and I were on our school basketball team, The Lions. We loved basketball and were both huge fans of the NBA. My favourite player was LeBron James. Paul’s favourite player was Tyrone Bogues, a guy who played for the Charlotte Homets. Bogues was only 1.6 metres tall, which made him the shortest ever player in the NBA. And Paul was only 1.6 metres tall, too! Paul knew that being shorter than other players meant that he had to practise more. Using Bogues as his inspiration, Paul once said, “If Bogues could make it, why not me?” Our coach was not so sure. Paul was still usually on the bench, being just a replacement, which was really tough on him. Everyone knew Paul had real skills. However, Paul didn’t get a chance.
This week, The Lions were playing our main competitors. The Bears, a team whose record this season had been perfect. Suddenly, a player and I crashed into each other. My knee hurt badly. The team gathered around, looking worried. The last quarter was about to begin, and my team was behind by 10 points.
“I don’t think I can play anymore, Coach.” I said quietly as the doctor put an ice pack on my knee.
“What about Paul?”someone suggested.
“Paul?” said the Coach, “He can’t play!”
“Give him a shot, Coach!” I said.
“Let me try. Coach! I won’t let you down!” Paul said.
“OK，OK!” The Coach finally agreed. “Don’t let us down, Paul. It’s your time to shine.”
Paul jumped up and rushed onto the court. And clearly, all the extra hours that he’d spent practising alone paid off. The other team just couldn’t keep up with his energy and speed. He made shot after shot, and the crowd couldn’t stop clapping and cheering. When the game ended, our team had won by 2 points. “Well,” said the Coach as he hit Paul on the shoulder, “you’ve just earned your place on the team, big guy!”
【小题1】What similar interest did Paul and I have? ________| A．Sitting on the bench. |
| B．Watching football games. |
| C．Playing basketball after school. |
| D．Using Bogues as our inspiration. |
| A．He was only 1.6 metres tall. |
| B．The coach didn’t consider him an excellent player. |
| C．He was not good enough to play on the school team. |
| D．He liked being a replacement though he had real skills. |
| A．Raul became strong and tall at the end of the game. |
| B．The coach tried to encourage Paul to win his place on the team. |
| C．The coach praised Paul for his impressive skills in the first quarter. |
| D．Because Paul did wonderful performance and won the coach’s approval. |
| A．Powerful and calm. | B．Confident and generous. |
| C．Persistent and determined. | D．Hard-working and sensitive. |
