?Hardship creates heroes

◆語篇導讀

失去父親，生活艱辛，顛沛流離，因個頭太高而受人欺凌！上天好像把一切的苦難都施加到了年幼的凱文·杜蘭特身上！他是就此跌倒，還是奮發拼搏？在母親的關愛和鼓舞下，他選擇了與天斗，與地斗。最終，凱文·杜蘭特從貧民窟一路奮斗成為美國職業籃球聯賽（NBA）最有價值的球員。

Kevin Durant is one of the best players to ever p lay the game of basketball.He has wonchampionshipsin the National Basketball Association(NBA),and he has won the NBA’s Most Valuable Player award,too.But it is not just his facts on the court that make him special.It is also where he came from and what he had to overcome that make him so.

Kevin grew up in Washington,D.C.His father left the family when he was very young.So,his mother raised him as a single parent since then.They moved from apartment to apartment.Times were tough.And because he was very tall,Kevin was different from everyone else of his age.Sometimes,he wasbulliedby his classmates.

Despitethe challenges,he always got a lot of love and support from his mother.She wrote a note that hung over Kevin’s bed,“Always believe that anything is possible.”So when he was about 10 years old and told his mother that he dreamed of being an NBA player,his mother did everything she could to help him.

He worked very hard at improving himself.He failed many times but kept getting up.“For 6 years straight,he practiced basketball 8 hours a day!This was on top of his homework and playing for his school team s!”said his coach.

From his mother,he learned to be kind and humble.Now that Kevin has achieved so much success on the court,he has focused a lot of his time on giving back.He helps the homeless and poor children go to college.

◆詞語積淀

championship/?t??mpi?n??p/n.冠軍地位

association/??s???i?e??n/n.協會；社團

court/k??t/n.球場

bully/?b?li/v.恐嚇；傷害

despite/d??spa?t/prep.即使；盡管

on top of除……之外；在……之上

humble/?h?mbl/adj.謙遜的

now that既然；因為

◆典句賞析

1.So when he was about 10 years old and told his mother that he dreamed of being an NBA player,his mother did everything she could to help him.因此，當他在10歲左右對母親說他夢想成為NBA球員時，他母親竭盡全力地幫助他實現夢想。

and連接兩個由when引導的時間狀語從句。在第二個時間狀語從句中，that引導賓語從句；she could是定語從句，修飾先行詞everything。

【即時嘗試】當他說他會信守承諾按時給我錢的時候，我有點懷疑。

2.Now that Kevin h as achieved so much success on the court,he has focused a lot of his time on giving back.因為凱文在球場上已經取得了很多的成就，于是他便將大量時間花在了回饋社會上。

now that是一個從屬連詞，引導原因狀語從句，意思和since(既然；由于)接近，但now that必須引出一個新的情況，否則需要由別的相關連詞替代；give back是由“動詞+副詞”構成的固定短語，意為“歸還；回饋”，如果其后的賓語為人稱代詞，代詞則要放在give和back之間。

【即時嘗試】既然你已經制定好了你的計劃，那就努力去做吧！

譯文助讀

凱文·杜蘭特是籃球運動有史以來的最佳運動員之一。他曾多次獲得NBA聯賽冠軍，還獲得過“NBA最有價值球員”獎。但這不僅僅是因為他在球場上的突出表現使得他與眾不同。他的出身，他所需要克服的艱難更使得他脫穎而出。

凱文在華盛頓長大，當他還在幼年時期，他的父親就離開了。所以，從那時起他的母親作為單親媽媽撫養他長大。他們搬了一次又一次的家，日子過得很艱難。因為他的個頭很高，顯得與同齡人都不一樣，所以有時候還會因此被同學欺凌。

盡管挑戰重重，但他的母親卻總是對他充滿愛和支持。她給他寫了張紙條掛在床頭：“永遠相信一切皆有可能。”因此，當他在10歲左右對母親說他夢想成為NBA球員時，他母親竭盡全力地幫助他實現夢想。

凱文用勤奮訓練來提升自己。盡管他失敗了很多次，但卻一直堅持不懈。“連續6年，他每天都練習8個小時！這是他在完成作業和為校隊打球之外仍然會做到的！”他的教練說。

從他母親的身上，凱文學會了善良和謙遜。因為他在球場上已經取得了很多的成就，于是他便將大量時間花在了回饋社會上。他資助無家可歸的人，也幫助貧窮孩子成就大學夢。