|
阅读理解精讲精炼06 23. Yao Ming landed in the U．S．in the summer of 2002, 7 - feet, 6 - inches worth of fancy footwork(花式步伐), armed with a soft shooting touch．He was the top player selected by the Houston Rockets, whose new activities place would soon be promoted by Toyota．The Japanese carmaker had just opened a new plant in China, and the company expects that Yao fans would soon become Corolla fans． For many Americans, Yao was their understanding to the Chinese economic engine．He was a government project, brought up from a young age in order to show the new China to the world．China fulfilled its promise; since those unforgettable days of 2002, through the Beijing Olympics and beyond, the country has stayed on its path towards superpower figure．Yao, sadly, fell short． According to an early report from Yahoo! Sports, which was confirmed by several other news organizations, Yao is going to retire．He just couldn’t conquer the injuries．A broken bone in his left foot absenced Yao after just five games last season．A broken foot forced him to miss all of the 2009 -2010 season．In fact, due to foot and knee injuries, Yao played in more than 55 games just once over the past six seasons． Prior to Yao, players over 74" were usually one - skill person．Manute Bol, at 77" , blocked shots and, during one stretch, acted as a shamed three-pointer．Shawn Bradley, 76" , had skills, but was far too gentle to be a star．Yao, however, could do it all．At his top, in 2006 - 2007, he averaged 25 points per game．His turnaround jumper was unstoppable．His post -passes were usually on the money．（It helps when you can see over everyone．） Yao, who played in just eight seasons, finished his career averaging 19．0 points, and 9．2 rebounds, per game．His Rockets never advanced further than the second round of the playoffs(季后赛)． | 
