题型:阅读理解 题类:常考题 难易度:普通
江苏省徐州市2019-2020学年高二下学期期中考试英语试题
It was April 14, 2016. It was the first full day of Kobe Bryant's new chapter as a retired NBA player. All he had done the night before was score 60 points in his farewell game, not getting out of Staples Center until around midnight.
His staff at Kobe, Inc. were certain they would beat their boss to the office that morning. They were wrong. He beat everyone there by two hours. "We have a lot of work to do," Bryant told them. Even in retirement, Bryant found no substitute for hard work. Kobe Bean Bryant was many things: one of the greatest players in basketball history, a five-time NBA champion, Olympic gold medalist, a fluent speaker of multiple languages, a resident of the world, an Oscar winner, the self-described Black Mamba that started as a nickname and became his brand, someone so good he had two numbers retired by the Los Angeles Lakers.
Tears, as would be expected once the news broke of Bryant's death in a helicopter crash in Southern California on Sunday, flowed freely in the NBA world. The best ones, the ones like James and Leonard and lonescu and Neymar, were all like Bryant. Driven. Obsessed with their skill. Those are the sort of people Bryant enjoyed most. He didn't have much patience for any thing else.
His toughness was legendary (享有盛名的). Bryant hurt his knees on a play in 2013 but he played through the game because the game was so important in the playoff race. "We were down two. Had to tie the game first." Bryant said years later, when asked why he stayed in the game.
His commitment (敬业) was legendary. There was a game in 2011 in Miami where the Lakers lost by six, and Bryant was so displeased with his performance that he went back to the court for 90 minutes of uninterrupted shooting that went on until after midnight. His teammates were on Miami Beach for dinner. Bryant was working instead. "It's my job," Bryant said.
He was as driven in his storytelling life as he was in his playing days. Kobe, Inc. wasn't just a cool name. It was his world. He wanted to inspire kids through books that combined the worlds of sports and story. He was considering the idea of taking his stories to Broadway. He won an Oscar for "Dear Basketball," a short film in 2018 that had been converted from a poem that he penned when he decided it was time to retire from playing the game.
He wasn't joking when talking to his staff on April 14, 2016. Kobe Bryant still had a lot of work to do. The tribute (悼念) will continue, though at last fade away. The influence will be forever.
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