6.A sneak preview
6.初露头角
Yao began raising his profile internationally when Nike brought him to a camp in Paris in 1997. Del Harris, head coach of the Lakers at the time, was among the spectators who saw the young star and predicted a bright future.
姚明在国际上的知名度始于1997年，耐克把他带去了一个巴黎的训练营，时任湖人主教的德尔·哈里斯在那发现了这名新星，并预测他会有光明的未来。

Yao came to the United States in 1998, also courtesy of Nike, to practice and play summer tournaments across the country. He was 17 and measured 7-foot-5, 252 pounds. He told reporters his favorite player was Olajuwon, and he matched up against a 16-year-old Tyson Chandler at a camp in San Diego. He attended the Nike All-America Camp in Indianapolis and the Michael Jordan Flight School in Santa Barbara. Scouts quickly became familiar with Yao. It wasn't a matter of whether the NBA wanted him, but how soon he could be pried from the Sharks and China's national team.
姚明第一次来美国是在1998年，同样受耐克之邀去训练打夏季联赛。那时他17岁，身高有7尺5，体重252磅。他告诉记者，他最喜欢的球员是奥拉朱旺，在圣地亚哥训练营中和他对位的是16岁的泰森·钱德勒。此后，他还参加了在印第安纳波利斯的耐克全美训练营和在圣巴巴拉的乔丹篮球夏令营。球探们很快熟知了他，尽管不代表有NBA球队想要他，但他无疑成为上海大鲨鱼和中国国家队的骄傲。

7.Mom and dad played, too
7.父母都是篮球运动员

Yao is the son of former pro basketball players Yao Zhiyuan and Fang Fengdi. The elder Yao is described as anywhere from 6-foot-7 to 6-foot-10, depending on the source. Fang, 6-foot-2, once captained the China women's national team. Yao married Ye Li, a 6-foot-3 former basketball player, on Aug. 6, 2007, in Shanghai. The couple has a daughter, Yao Qinlei, who was born in Houston in 2010 and goes by her American name, Amy.
姚明是职业篮球运动员姚志源和方凤娣的儿子，据说姚明的父亲身高在6尺7到6尺10之间，他的母亲方凤娣也有6尺2，曾是中国国家女篮的队长。2007年8月6日，姚明和身高6尺3的前女篮运动员叶莉喜结连理，他们的女儿姚沁蕾2010年在休斯顿出生，英文名叫Amy。
Yao played for China's national team in the 2000, 2004 and 2008 Olympics. In 2008, he carried the Olympic torch out of Beijing's famed Tiananmen Gate below the iconic portrait of Mao Zedong. He was China's flagbearer at the Opening Ceremonies in both 2004 and 2008. Ye played for the Chinese women's team at the 2004 Olympics.
姚明为中国国家队打了2000,2004和2008年三届奥运会。2008年北京奥运会，他举着奥运圣火在毛泽东的画像下面，跑过北京天安门。同时，他也是2004和2008年中国奥运代表团的护旗手。叶莉是2004年奥运会中国女篮队员。

8.Helping hands
8.公益事业

The Yao Ming Foundation was founded to provide relief following a massive earthquake in the Sichuan province of China in 2008. Yao serves as a global ambassador for Special Olympics. He has campaigned for environmental causes and against AIDS-related discrimination.
姚基金”成立于2008年，起初目的是为了援助四川特大地震的救援。他是全球特殊奥运会大使，是世界野生救援协会的发言人，还参与了有关环保和反艾滋歧视的行动。

9.How his career ended
9.职业生涯最终章

Yao began his NBA career in strong form, missing only two games in his first three seasons. Injuries then began to take a toll, and he played in fewer than half of the Rockets' games over the next six seasons.
姚明的NBA生涯从最开始强度就很大，前三个赛季他只缺席了2场比赛。接下来伤病侵袭了他，之后的6个赛季，他只出战了火箭队全部比赛的一半。
Yao played his last game on Nov. 10, 2010, in Washington. He played six scoreless minutes, with one rebound and one block, before leaving the game with what was first reported as a strained leg tendon. The injury turned out to be a stress fracture, however, and he was unable to return to the court that season. Yao announced his retirement at age 30 in a Shanghai news conference on July 20, 2011. He retired with NBA career totals of 9,247 points, 920 blocked shots and 4,494 rebounds.
姚明的最后一场比赛是在2010年11月10日的华盛顿，那场比赛他打了6分钟拿下1篮板1盖帽。第一次伤病报告是左腿跟腱拉伤，随后更正为应力性骨折，这让他已经不能在那个赛季再次回到赛场。2011年7月20日，姚明在上海举办退役发布会，以30岁的年纪正式退役。至此，他在NBA的职业生涯一共得到9247分，920个盖帽和4494个篮板。

10.A grape investment
10.葡萄酒投资

Shortly after retiring from the NBA, Yao entered the wine business. Yao Family Wines launched its inaugural brand in December 2011 and recently opened a tasting room in St. Helena, California.
在NBA退役后不久，姚明就进入了商界。姚家族葡萄酒公司挂牌成立于2011年12月，最近在加州圣赫勒拿岛开了个品酒室。

11.Hall of Fame
11.名人堂

Yao will be the first China native inducted into the Hall of Fame. He will also be the first person born in the 1980s to be so honored. This year's induction ceremony will take place three days before Yao turns 36, but he won't be the youngest Hall of Famer in history. That honor belongs to Cheryl Miller, who was 31 when she was inducted in 1995.
姚明将成为第一位进入名人堂的中国人，他也是第一位入选名人堂的八零后。今年的名人堂颁奖典礼在姚明36岁生日前三天举行。不过，姚明并非进入名人堂时最年轻的成员，这项纪录保持者是1995年入选的谢里尔-米勒，当年她只有31岁。