| A．He’s getting better. |
| B．He’s never been good. |
| C．He’s not as good as he was. |
2 . Despite his knee and finger injuries, Kobe Bryant ignores his pains as the NBA season nears. He is leading the Los Angeles Lakers in their attempt to win a third NBA championship in a row, as they did at the beginning of the century. The Los Angles Lakers superstar has the perfect record since his start in 1996. He has five NBA championships, 12 NBA All-Stars and a gold medal at the Beijing Olympics.
But along with the awards, there has long been talk about Bryant. People say he is a selfish player with only a few friends. He won three NBA championship titles with Shaquille O’Neal, but rather than becoming friends, they couldn’t get along well with each other. Lakers Coach Phil Jackson still remembers a talk he and Bryant had. “I talked to him a little bit about leadership and his ability to be a leader, and he said he was ready to be a captain ” Jackson told ESPN. “ But I said no one was ready to follow him. Bryant’s path of self-discovery took him Light years. O’Neal left the Lakers in 2004. Bryant went on to lead the team to victory last year and again this summer. Last week, NBA rookies(新秀）voted Bryant their favorite player.
Mark Medina, sports reporter with the Los Angles Times has seen Bryant grow. “ Kobe has been improving
his relationship with teammates and accepts that sometimes less is more,” he wrote. “ He has learned that he has to give to get back in return. And so he has become a giver rather than a demanding leader. That has been great for him and great to watch,” Jackson told Medina. Bryant has shown through talent and hard work that others can follow his lead.
1. What can we know about Kobe and O’Neal?
| A．They were in conflict. | B．They were good friends. |
| C．They envied each other. | D．They often helped others. |
| A．He didn’t like Kobe or O’Neal. |
| B．Kobe had no talent for leadership. |
| C．Kobe’s leadership should be improved. |
| D．Kobe’s teammates preferred O’Neal to him. |
| A．inviting O'Neal to come back | B．learning to become a giver |
| C．winning the trust of the coach | D．turning a demanding leader |
| A．A grown-up NBA star |
| B．A hard-working NBA star |
| C．The high praise from Kobe’s coach |
| D．The relationship between two NBA stars |
