Kobe Bryant wasn't the first NBA player to visit China.But he was the first player to help China grow into a basketball-crazed nation.
Kobe's first visit was in 1998,and in conducting basketball clinics (籃球訓練營),doing business and participating in charity,he was warmly welcomed in the basketball-loving country.Once,nearly 15,000 people showed up at 9 am for an event at which Kobe was scheduled to appear at 4 pm.
USA Basketball chairman Jerry Colangelo saw firsthand Kobe's popularity during Kobe's time with Team USA at the 2008 Beijing Olympics,when as captain he led the team to a gold medal. "There were tens of thousands of people on the streets,yelling, 'Kobe!Kobe!' It was unbelievable,just unbelievable," Colangelo said.
"It's harder for me to walk around here than in the United States," Kobe once told reporters in China in 2013. "It's uncontrollable.Fans rush you and surround you,and it gets to the point where you can't go out."
His last visit was in August last year for the 2019 FIBA World Cup.He told reporters, "I watched the country develop from the ground up.I watched Beijing grow.I watched the passion for the game develop.My goal is to develop the country's basketball to a level where they can compete with the best basketball countries in the world," Kobe said.
Kobe was and perhaps remains China's favourite NBA player,and fans in the country were shocked by his death in a helicopter crash in January this year.Tencent,the NBA's digital partner in China,posted a memorial page that drew more than five million visitors in less than five days.
Just two days before Kobe died,he posted a short video on the Chinese micro-blogging site Weibo,wishing Chinese fans a happy new year.How sorrowful his fans are when they watch the video again!
(1)Apart from being an excellent NBA players,what else makes Kobe Bryant special to Chinese fans? (no more than 15 words)
He was the first player to help China grow into a basketball-crazed nation.Or:Being the first player to help China grow into a basketball-crazed nation.Or:Being the first player to help China become a basketball-crazed nation.Or:Being the first player to help make China a basketball-crazed nation.Or:His attempt/desire/intention to help China become a basketball-crazed nation.
He was the first player to help China grow into a basketball-crazed nation.Or:Being the first player to help China grow into a basketball-crazed nation.Or:Being the first player to help China become a basketball-crazed nation.Or:Being the first player to help make China a basketball-crazed nation.Or:His attempt/desire/intention to help China become a basketball-crazed nation.
(2)What does the author want to prove,telling us what Jerry Colangelo saw at the 2008 Beijing Olympics? (no more than 10 words) That Kobe enjoys great popularity in China.Kobe is very popular with Chinese.
That Kobe enjoys great popularity in China.Kobe is very popular with Chinese.
(3)What does the underlined phrase "from the ground up" mean in paragraph 5?(no more than 8 words) Gradually from the beginning.Or:Steadily from the very beginning.Or:From the basic to the highest.Or:From the beginning to the highest.Or:From the low to the high level.
Gradually from the beginning.Or:Steadily from the very beginning.Or:From the basic to the highest.Or:From the beginning to the highest.Or:From the low to the high level.
(4)What made Kobe Bryant confident that China's basketball can be one of the best in the world?(no more than 15 words) He saw China's development and Chinese people's passion for basketball.Or:He saw China develop fast and people have passion for basketball.Or:Chinese people show great passion for the game.Or:Chinese people have great passion for the game.Or:Chinese like/love the game very much.Or:That Chinese people show great passion for the game.
He saw China's development and Chinese people's passion for basketball.Or:He saw China develop fast and people have passion for basketball.Or:Chinese people show great passion for the game.Or:Chinese people have great passion for the game.Or:Chinese like/love the game very much.Or:That Chinese people show great passion for the game.
(5)How do you find Kobe Bryant?Please give your reason.(no more than 20 words) Kobe is a great basketball player,because he led the team to a gold medal.
Kobe is a great basketball player,because he led the team to a gold medal.