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Air Jordan Walks Away In Philadelphia

A 107-87 defeat to 76ers puts an end to superstar's glittering 15-year career.Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Michael Jordan finally found the strength to walk off the basketball court, leaving behind the sport he describes as a lover and best friend after playing his final game.

The 40 -year-old superstar concluded his fabled1 15-year National Basketball Association2 career in defeat ( April 16 , 2003) when Philadelphia 76ers beat his Washington Wizards 107-87. But the game was secondary to Jordan's third and final retirement from the game he loved like no player before him, a sport that rewarded his devotion with NBA titles, two Olympic gold medals and a legendary global legacy.

Jordan led the Chicago Bulls to six NBA titles. He was named the season MVP five times and won the NBA scoring title a record 10 times. Jordan has retired twice before only to return, but at age 40 and on longer be able to dominate games single -handedly,

He has said he is"100 percent sure "this was his farewell performance in the game he will forever love."Love is a very delicate thing, "Jordan said. "Once you love it, you will never lose the love for the game. You never know when you can walk away from it. I tried a couple of times. "Jordan's first retirement was in 1993. It ended in 1995 after an ill-fated fling with baseball. After three more titles, he departed again in 1999, only to return a year later as the Wizard's top executive. He was back on the court 18 months later.

"Each time I tried to put a time frame on when this love affair was going to be over between basketball and me. And I don't think it ever will. It's just that I got strong enough to say I need to move away from it. "

Jordan left no doubt that he will not make yet another comeback. In his final game, Jordan scored 15 point, the last of them on a free throw with 1∶45 to play. He was pulled from the game a moment later, taking a seat on the bench while a sell-out crowd of 21 , 257 gave a three -minute standing ovation3.

Jordan scored Washington's first four points in the third quarter but spend most of the fourth quarter on the bench, prompting fans to chant"We Want Mike "as they hungered for one final glance at Jordan on the court. 4 Their persistence was rewarded when Jordan return to the court with 2∶35 remaining to a standing ovation, the crowd ignoring the re mainder of the blowout to thrill at his final touches.

Thank for Jordan, for all the magic moments and memories.

练习题：

Ⅰ. Matching:

1. put an end A. have control of

2. leave behind B. by one person

3. single-handedly C. great applause or cheering

4. ovation D. end

5. dominate E. take leave of
Ⅱ. True or False:

1. Jordan concluded his career as a basketball player in victory.

2. Probably Jordan will come back again after retirement for the third time.

3. Jordan was named the season MVP five times and won NBA scoring title a record 10 times.

参考答案

Ⅰ. 1. D 2. E 3 . B 4 . C 5. A

Ⅱ. 1. F 2. F 3 . T

参考译文

飞人乔丹费城谢幕

107比87负于76人队——这场球给超级巨星15年辉煌的篮球职业生涯画上了句号。

在宾西法尼亚州的费城, 迈克尔· 乔丹终于鼓起勇气离开篮球场。打完了最后一场比赛, 他告别了篮球——这项被他称为情人与挚友的运动。

2003年4月16日, 费城76人队以107比87战胜了乔丹率领的华盛顿奇才队——这位40 岁的超级巨星, 就这样结束了他15 年富有传奇色彩的N BA 职业生涯。这是乔丹第三次也是最后一次退役, 因而比赛本身倒显得次要了。乔丹对篮球的挚爱是前无古人的,而这项运动也带给他6 次NBA总冠军、2枚奥运会金牌和一个世界传奇。

乔丹率领芝加哥公牛队取得了6 个NBA 总冠军。他曾5 次获得赛季最有价值球员称号, 并创下了10 次被评为得分王的记录。乔丹两度退隐, 又两度复出, 然而年近四十的他已无法再只手控制比赛了, 他说他“ 百分之百地肯定”这是他在这项他终身热爱的运动中的最后表演。“ 爱是很微妙的东西, ”乔丹说,“ 一旦你爱上了这项运动, 你就会永远爱它,不知什么时候才能离开。我已经试过两次。”乔丹第一次退隐是在1993 年。此后他玩过棒球, 但毫无建树。1995 年复出后, 他又摘取了3 个N BA 冠军。1999 年他再次退役, 翌年出任奇才队的最高执行官。而一年半后, 他又重返篮球赛场。“ 每次我都想为我和篮球的这场恋爱设定一个结束的时间。可我知道永远也无法结束。只是现在我已经足够坚强, 能够说, 我需要离开它。”

这次乔丹肯定他不会再复出。在最后一场比赛中, 他得了15 分, 最后一分是在比赛还剩1 分45 秒的时候罚球命中的。随后他被换下场, 坐在替补席上。此时运动场上座无虚席, 21 259 名观众起身为他欢呼了三分钟。

比赛的第三节乔丹率先为华盛顿奇才队取得了4 分, 但是第四节他几乎一直坐在替补席上。这使得台下的球迷齐呼“ 我们要迈克”, 因为他们渴望一睹乔丹在球场上最后的英姿。在球迷的一再坚持下, 离比赛结束还有2 分35 秒时, 乔丹再度上场。观众起立为他最后的亮相欢呼, 而无视球队的溃败。

感谢乔丹, 感谢他为我们带来的所有的神奇回忆。

阅读解释

1. fable n. 有一类形容词是由“名词+ -ed”构成的, 这类形容词通常作定语。fabled 表示“ 寓言中有名的, 传说的”, 由名词fable (“ 寓言”之意) 演变而来。

2. 全国篮球协会, 1950 年成立, 总部在纽约。下文的NBA 是这个组织的缩写。

3. ovation n. 欢呼, 热烈的欢迎。

4. 这句话很长, 一直到on the court。主句从这段开始到on the bench , 是个由but 连接的并列句。从prompting 开始到句子结束是现在分词作结果状语。这个状语中又包涵了as引导的原因状语从句。理解的时候要注意。