1 . Called the “Iron Hammer” in her playing days, Lang Ping is considered as one of the biggest heroes of Chinese sports.
At the 1981 World Cup in Japan, the Chinese women’s team showed the world their speed and power for the first time. Playing outside hitter, Lang helped the team take home its first major title. Thanks to teamwork and their strong spirit, they achieved a record of five world titles in a row, which include two World Cups, two World Championships and a gold medal at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics.
Despite a lot of victories, after eight years of hard training and fighting, Lang retired as a player in 1986. But she never said goodbye to her favorite sport. In 1995, Lang became the head coach of the Chinese national team and led China to silver medals at the 1996 Atlanta Olympic and the 1998 World Championships in Japan.
Though she left the job in 1999 to coach an Italian club, in 2013 she returned to coach the young national team. In 2016, her team took home the gold medal at the Rio Olympics, making her the first person to win an Olympic gold for volleyball both as a player and a coach. The team was listed fourth after the preliminary competition. But Lang said in a public interview, “Sometimes you know you may not win, but you still have to pull out all the stops.”
Lang plays an important role in the creation and passing on of an honorable tradition of fighting and teamwork. “The spirit of Chinese women’s volleyball team is never to give up. My duty as the coach is to guide this young team to carry on this spirit,” said Lang. The spirit is about more than sport; it is an important source of spiritual strength for the country to draw on in its effort to press ahead.
1. When did Lang win her first world champion?| A．In 1981. | B．In 1984. | C．In 1986. | D．In 1995. |
| A．They won the first prize. |
| B．They had a good start. |
| C．They won all the games. |
| D．They didn’t enter the final. |
| A．Put you on the spot. | B．End up with the game. |
| C．Go all out. | D．Catch your eye. |
| A．We have to do sports every day. |
| B．We should keep fighting to the end. |
| C．We should try our best to be a coach. |
| D．We must spend time learning volleyball. |
| A．Lang Ping, a very strict coach |
| B．Lang Ping, a hero of Chinese sports |
| C．The Chinese people’s love for volleyball |
| D．The spirit of Chinese women’s volleyball team |
