1 . When Lew Alcindor was 13, and obviously still growing, a group of schools began offering him scholarships. The Alcindor decided to send their only child to Power Memorial Academy, a small school on Manhattan’s West Side.
At Power, Alcindor came under the control of Coach Jack Donohue, a strict young man who already gained his fames as one of the best coaches in the city. Donohue brought Alcindor along slowly. As a first-year student, the boy was not able to do much but wave his long skinny arms and shoot a basket now and then. But by the second year, when he was 15 years old and nearly 7 feet tall, Alcindor was quick and skilful enough to make the high school All-American team and to lead Power to an undefeated season.
From then on he simply got better. Some rival coaches (对方教练) used to take their teams quickly away from the floor before Power warmed up so that their players would not see him any sooner than they had to. Wearing size 16D shoes and sucking a chewing gum, Alcindor would loosen up by starting his leaping lay-ups (擦板球). Then he would casually shoot the ball with either hand, to the delight of the fans.
When reporters and photographers began to follow Alcindor closely, Donohue protected his boy firmly. He simply ordered Lew to talk to no member of the press, and this suited Lew fine. He was not comfortable talking to grown-ups, perhaps because he towered over them. Discouraged photographers began following him in secret as though he were an easily-frightened giraffe. Once after ducking into a subway to escape, Alcindor told a friend that it was all becoming like policemen and robbers. “People want you not for yourself,” Donohue warned him, “But because you’re a basketball player. Don’t forget that.”
1. Many schools offered Alcindor scholarships because ______.| A．he was young | B．he was hardworking |
| C．he was tall for his age | D．he was skillful at playing basketball |
| A．Serious, popular and slow | B．Tall, skillful and successful |
| C．Kind, powerful and undefeated | D．Well-known, strict and experienced |
| A．Their teams refused to play against Power | B．Their teams feared to see Alcindor |
| C．Their teams would lose courage | D．Their teams would lose interest |
| A．How Donohue protect Alcindor from the press | B．How Alcindor disliked meeting reporter |
| C．Why the press followed Alcindor closely | D．Why the public wanted Alcindor badly |
Such activities are part of a larger effort to help kids develop lifelong fitness habits and to keep them from becoming overweight. Now, 9 million U.S. children and teens are overweight. Obesity (肥胖) can lead to health problems such as diabetes and heart disease later in life.
“Our children and youth are becoming unhealthy and obese,” says Lindsey Johnson. “Skateboarding is a great activity that keeps kids doing physical movement and gives them new skills and interest.”
Some schools don’t allow skateboarding because they say it is dangerous. Cendali, however, argues that regular practice eliminates a great deal of the danger. “We teach students how to do it and how to do it safely,” he says.
Some people say skateboarding teaches life lessons. “Skateboarding teaches kids to believe that if they stick with something they will finally succeed,” says education expert Richard Sagor of Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Oregon.
Skateboarding inspires kids not to give up in learning difficult skills. “It’s natural for kids to want to learn and get better at things,” adds Sagor. “When it comes to skateboarding, they’ll try a trick hundreds of times before they succeed.” That same effort could be made in schoolwork.
Eric Klassen agrees that skateboarding requires kids to stop saying a task is too hard for them. “A baby will attempt to walk 600 to 900 times before he or she is successful,” says Klassen. “We tell students that they shouldn’t say ‘I can’t do it’ unless they’ve tried 600 to 900 times.”
1. Skateboarding is introduced into American schools to ______.
| A．encourage students to compete bravely in competition |
| B．teach students how to deal with risks |
| C．prevent students suffering from heart disease later in life |
| D．help students form the habit of doing sports |
| A．reduces | B．increases | C．adds | D．brings |
| A．To succeed in life you have to learn skateboarding. |
| B．You will succeed in life if you don’t give up. |
| C．Only after failing 600 to 900 times can you succeed. |
| D．There is no hard work after learning skate-boarding well. |
| A．The dangerous PE | B．Skills of skateboarding |
| C．The new PE | D．The change of PE |
