(2298 ) 1 Goodbye to dearest basketball Pre-reading 1. Read the excerpt of the poem. Guess who the writer is. Dear _____________, From the moment I started rolling my dads tube socks And shooting imaginary Game-winning shots In the Great Western Forum I knew one thing was real: I fell in love with you. Love you always, _____________ basketball Kobe Bryant Pre-reading 2. Kobe Bryant is regarded as one of the best basketball players in the world. What do you know about him? Kobe Bryant is an American professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Lakers of the NBA. He has played for the Lakers his entire career, winning five NBA championships. While reading Choose the best answer. 1. Kobe Bryant ________ at the age of 17. A. began to play basketball for the Los Angeles Lakers B. began to play basketball at the university C. appeared in the NBA All-Star Game for the first time D. won his first NBA MVP award A While reading Choose the best answer. 2. Kobe Bryant is one of the greatest players in NBA history because he ________. has played for the same team in the past 20 years has never missed any NBA All-Star Game in his career won two gold medals for mens basketball in the Olympics won five NBA championships and an NBA MVP reward A. B. C. D. C While reading Choose the best answer. 3. Kobes ________ was a main reason for his retirement. A. strict coachB. poor performance C. young teammatesD. physical condition 4. The authors attitude towards Kobes retirement is ________. A. negativeB. objective C. changeableD. casual D B Language study Complete each sentence with one word in its correct form. 1. Everyone was surprised when they heard the ___________. 2. His knee was _________ when he played football yesterday. 3. The new book is about several ___________ Jazz singers. 4. I ___________ that I was unable to attend the party last weekend. 5. It is suggested that men and women should both ___________ by the age of 65. announceretirementinjuryregretlegend announcement injured legendary regretted retire Language study Translate each sentence with one phrase in the article. 1. 2. 3. He is suffering from bad toothache these days. Children will leave parents and live independently sooner or later. Christmas is coming. Its time for us to decorate a Christmas tree. After reading Whats your hobby or interest in your spare time? Write a short poem Dear to express how you like it.