Yao Ming: New Center Style

“你怎么就知道我明年来就不是状元秀了呢？”　
——2001 年随国家队赴达拉斯集训，有记者问及“今年参加选秀有可能是状元，没参
加是否遗憾”时如是说。　
“什么时候他们能把中文讲得那样好我们就厉害了！”　
——在更衣室采访的时候亲耳听见科比夸赞他英语好，大姚却轻叹一口气。　
这就是姚明。
　
If 20 years ago you asked the average American basketball fan if a Chinese man could play center for an NBA team, his answer might have sounded something like this: “Ha ha. No, he’d be too short!” But now, the doubters are silent. Who closed their mouths? Houston Rockets, 2.26-meter-tall center Yao Ming, from China. 　Yao Ming grew up in a family of basketball players. When he was 12, Yao Ming started going to an athletics academy outside of Shanghai and later spent a lot of time studying NBA games televised in China.　All this has paid off. Yao’s first NBA honor was his ranking as number-one draft pick, and he’s been elected for a Rookie-of-the-Month award. Yao Ming has a style different from those of tall centers in the past. He rarely goes for the flashy slams. He’d rather show off his silk-smooth free-throw shots, or use his height to pop in jump shots from the three-point line.
　
[注释]：
doubter: 持怀疑态度的人　
athletics: activities, such as sports, exercises, and games, that require physical skill 体育运动　
academy: 学院　
televise: to broadcast or be broadcast by television （电视）播放　
pay off：还清，赢利　
ranking: of the highest rank 排名　
draft: a system in which the exclusive rights to new players are distributed among professional
teams （美国）职业运动的选秀　
pick: the act of selecting or choosing; choice 挑选　
rookie: a first-year player, especially in a professional sport 新秀选手　
flashy: cheap and showy; gaudy 花哨的，华丽的　
slam: to hit something with force; crash 灌篮　
show off：炫耀　
pop in：投入