A 107-87 defeat to 76ers puts an end to superstar's glittering 15-year career.Philadelphia,Pennsylvania Michael Jordan finally found the strength to walk off the basketball court, leavingbehind the sport he describes as a lover and best friend after playing his final game.

　　The 40 -year-old superstar concluded his fabled1 15-year National Basketball Association2career in defeat ( April 16 , 2003) when Philadelphia 76ers beat his Washington Wizards 107-87. But the game was secondary to Jordan's third and final retirement from the game he lovedlike no player before him, a sport that rewarded his devotion with NBA titles, two Olympic goldmedals and a legendary global legacy.

　　Jordan led the Chicago Bulls to six NBA titles. He was named the season MVP five times andwon the NBA scoring title a record 10 times. Jordan has retired twice before only to return, butat age 40 and on longer be able to dominate games single -handedly,

　　He has said he is"100 percent sure "this was his farewell performance in the game he willforever love."Love is a very delicate thing, "Jordan said. "Once you love it, you will never losethe love for the game. You never know when you can walk away from it. I tried a couple oftimes. "Jordan's first retirement was in 1993. It ended in 1995 after an ill-fated fling withbaseball. After three more titles, he departed again in 1999, only to return a year later as theWizard's top executive. He was back on the court 18 months later.

　　"Each time I tried to put a time frame on when this love affair was going to be over betweenbasketball and me. And I don't think it ever will. It's just that I got strong enough to say I needto move away from it. "

　　Jordan left no doubt that he will not make yet another comeback. In his final game, Jordanscored 15 point, the last of them on a free throw with 1∶45 to play. He was pulled from thegame a moment later, taking a seat on the bench while a sell-out crowd of 21 , 257 gave athree -minute standing ovation3.

　　Jordan scored Washington's first four points in the third quarter but spend most of the fourthquarter on the bench, prompting fans to chant"We Want Mike "as they hungered for one finalglance at Jordan on the court. 4 Their persistence was rewarded when Jordan return to thecourt with 2∶35 remaining to a standing ovation, the crowd ignoring the re mainder of theblowout to thrill at his final touches.

　　Thank for Jordan, for all the magic moments and memories.

　　練習題：

　　Ⅰ. Matching:

　　1. put an end A. have control of

　　2. leave behind B. by one person

　　3. single-handedly C. great applause or cheering

　　4. ovation D. end

　　5. dominate E. take leave of

　　Ⅱ. True or False:

　　1. Jordan concluded his career as a basketball player in victory.

　　2. Probably Jordan will come back again after retirement for the third time.

　　3. Jordan was named the season MVP five times and won NBA scoring title a record 10 times.

　　Ⅰ. 1. D 2. E 3 . B 4 . C 5. A

　　Ⅱ. 1. F 2. F 3 . T

　　飛人喬丹費城謝幕

　　107比87負于76人隊——這場球給超級巨星15年輝煌的籃球職業生涯畫上了句號。

　　在賓西法尼亞州的費城, 邁克爾· 喬丹終于鼓起勇氣離開籃球場。打完了最后一場比賽, 他告別了籃球——這項被他稱為情人與摯友的運動。

　　2003年4月16日, 費城76人隊以107比87戰勝了喬丹率領的華盛頓奇才隊——這位40 歲的超級巨星, 就這樣結束了他15 年富有傳奇色彩的N BA 職業生涯。這是喬丹第三次也是最后一次退役, 因而比賽本身倒顯得次要了。喬丹對籃球的摯愛是前無古人的,而這項運動也帶給他6 次NBA總冠軍、2枚奧運會金牌和一個世界傳奇。

　　喬丹率領芝加哥公牛隊取得了6 個NBA 總冠軍。他曾5 次獲得賽季最有價值球員稱號, 并創下了10 次被評為得分王的記錄。喬丹兩度退隱, 又兩度復出, 然而年近四十的他已無法再只手控制比賽了, 他說他“ 百分之百地肯定”這是他在這項他終身熱愛的運動中的最后表演。“ 愛是很微妙的東西, ”喬丹說,“ 一旦你愛上了這項運動, 你就會永遠愛它,不知什么時候才能離開。我已經試過兩次。”喬丹第一次退隱是在1993 年。此后他玩過棒球, 但毫無建樹。1995 年復出后, 他又摘取了3 個N BA 冠軍。1999 年他再次退役, 翌年出任奇才隊的最高執行官。而一年半后, 他又重返籃球賽場。“ 每次我都想為我和籃球的這場戀愛設定一個結束的時間。可我知道永遠也無法結束。只是現在我已經足夠堅強, 能夠說, 我需要離開它。”

　　這次喬丹肯定他不會再復出。在最后一場比賽中, 他得了15 分, 最后一分是在比賽還剩1 分45 秒的時候罰球命中的。隨后他被換下場, 坐在替補席上。此時運動場上座無虛席, 21 259 名觀眾起身為他歡呼了三分鐘。

　　比賽的第三節喬丹率先為華盛頓奇才隊取得了4 分, 但是第四節他幾乎一直坐在替補席上。這使得臺下的球迷齊呼“ 我們要邁克”, 因為他們渴望一睹喬丹在球場上最后的英姿。在球迷的一再堅持下, 離比賽結束還有2 分35 秒時, 喬丹再度上場。觀眾起立為他最后的亮相歡呼, 而無視球隊的潰敗。

　　感謝喬丹, 感謝他為我們帶來的所有的神奇回憶。

　　1. fable n. 有一類形容詞是由“名詞+ -ed”構成的, 這類形容詞通常作定語。fabled 表示“ 寓言中有名的, 傳說的”, 由名詞fable (“ 寓言”之意) 演變而來。

　　2. 全國籃球協會, 1950 年成立, 總部在紐約。下文的NBA 是這個組織的縮寫。

　　3. ovation n. 歡呼, 熱烈的歡迎。

　　4. 這句話很長, 一直到on the court。主句從這段開始到on the bench , 是個由but 連接的并列句。從prompting 開始到句子結束是現在分詞作結果狀語。這個狀語中又包涵了as引導的原因狀語從句。理解的時候要注意。