2021-2022学年度第45期总第875期
Bringing your best game (page 4-5)
河北省保定市第三中学  李雅君
Lead-in
Who is your favorite athlete? How can you become a great athlete?
Who is she?
Chinese tennis player Zheng Qinwen , a rising star in the sports world.
What qualities do great athletes have in common?
strong willed, determined; modest ...

Pre-reading
Look at the title and predict what the article will talk about
Bringing your best game
→presenting your best in your competition

Skimming
Go over the beginning sentence of each paragraph and find the topic of this article
Chinese tennis player Zheng Qinwen...
 On June 13, the 19-year-old beat 21-year-old...
Born in Hubei, Zheng...
“When I was a kid, ...
With this ambition, Zheng signed her first contract ...
In the past 8 years, Zheng has won honors...
...
“I’m just trying to focus on my own game...
Zheng also encouraged young people...
“If tennis is your dream, I think you always have to fight for your dream.

According to the title and beginning sentences, what is the general idea?
This passage introduces the Chinese tennis player Zheng Qinwen and her growth, achievement and her good qualities.

Reading in detail
Read the passage carefully and discuss the following questions.
1. What are the achievements that Zhang Qinwen has made?
On June 13, the 19-year-old beat 21-year-old compatriot (同胞) Wang Xiyu to win the women’s singles final at the Women’s Tennis Association 125 tournament in Valencia, Spain. It was Zheng’s highest singles title in her career. This win helped Zheng reach her current career-high ranking of World No 46 and become the first post-00s Chinese female tennis player to make such achievements.

2. Who inspired her to play tennis?
Born in Hubei, Zheng picked up a tennis racquet (球拍) for the first time at age 6. As a young girl, Zheng got inspiration from two-time Grand Slam champion Li Na.
“When I was a kid, Li Na showed that Asian people can do great things for tennis. She was the first one,” Zheng said in the China Daily web series Gen Z’s Words. She said that after seeing Li Na’s success, she also dreamed of becoming a tennis player.

3. For Zheng, what is needed to win?
“But I want to show her (Poland’s Iga Swiatek) that it’s not that easy to beat me. To win, you have to really show your level and just go for it! I’m happy I had the mentality to keep going.”

4. How can the people around you affect you, according to Zheng ?
According to Zheng, her strong mentality was inspired by the people around her.
“You know when people around you are positive, they support you always and they give their strong mentality to you. And you can become this kind of person,” said Zheng.

Language study
Translate the following expressions into Chinese
a rising star 后起之秀
make achievements 取得成就
get inspiration from 从......汲取灵感
win honors 获得荣誉
a strong mentality 坚强的心态
be inspired by 受......的鼓舞
focus on 集中精力于
chase one’s dream 追逐梦想

Summarize the derivatives

Practical Usage
1. Both poets drew their _______(inspire) from the countryside.
2. He is bad at making ________(decide).
3. They were very ________ (ambition) for their children.
4. The book __________(inspire) by a real person, namely Tamara de Treaux.
5. They are in a way consistent with a person’s _________(mental).
6. He has an impressive record of ________(achieve).
7. He no longer wished to be __________(associate) with the party’s policy on education.
8.Do you belong to any professional or trade ________(associate)?
9. They’ve held the ________(champion) for the past two years.

Think and share
   After reading this article, what impresses you most? How can you be a better person? Discuss within your group, and then give a presentation.
“I’m just trying to focus on my own game, how to be a better tennis player and how to be a better person. It’s important to be a good player, but for me it’s also important to be a good person for the world,” said Zheng.

Assignment
  Write about your dream and how to chase your dream.