Jeremy Lin takes up Yao's mantle

 　　HANGZHOU, Feb. 21 (Xinhua) -- "Lin-sanity," "Lin-credible" and "Linderella" are just a few of the words used to describe the frenzy¹ surrounding Jeremy Lin, a New York Knicks point guard whose inspiring story has made him a new idol² for young Chinese after the retirement³ of former Houston Rockets center Yao Ming.

　　Lin has made headlines nearly every day in recent times, with his name becoming one of the most heavily-searched terms on Baidu.com, China's leading search engine. But there is a group of people in China who were fortunate enough to meet Lin before he became famous.

　　Heng Liang, a student at the Pinghu Middle School in east China's Zhejiang province, is one of the few who knew Lin and even played basketball with him.

　　"Lin is not unreachable like Yao Ming. He is very humble⁴ and just like a brother in the neighborhood," said Heng, who played basketball with Lin when Lin visited his school last year.

　　Heng still keeps a basketball signed by Lin, which he estimates to be worth at least 5,000 U.S. dollars on the Internet.

　　Lin visited Pinghu with his parents to support a scholarship launched by his grandmother, a resident of the area, in 1998. Zhu Zhongliang, vice⁵ president of the middle school, said they were very surprised by Lin's humble attitude when they held a special ceremony to welcome the basketball player.

　　"I just want to encourage you guys to work hard and go out, go do whatever you enjoy. It doesn't necessarily have to be basketball. (To encourage) you guys to pursue your dreams, not let anybody tell you what you can and what you can't do," Lin said at the ceremony.

　　Lin is perhaps the best example of his own words. Although critics have underestimated his performance, he has risen above their words to become a well-known NBA player, even to those who aren't familiar with the sport.

　　Gu Kaixi is another student who played with Lin. He said Lin encouraged them to "never give up" when their team was lagging behind in games.

　　"His perseverance⁶ and diligence are what we should learn from the most. As ordinary people, we have to believe in ourselves when facing setbacks," said Gu.

　　Lu Yanshun, a member of the school's basketball team, said he was very impressed by Lin's efforts to improve their ball-handling skills.

　　"He taught us to practice some very basic skills. He said he would spend an hour doing these exercises before every practice," said Lu.

　　In the eyes of many young Chinese like Gu and Lu, Jeremy Lin is far from perfect. Compared with Yao Ming, Lin is not physically⁷ outstanding, nor was he selected for the NBA draft. But his imperfection is the very thing that has drawn⁸ young people to him.

　　"Lin is not perfect and we feel there is less distance between him and us," said Gu. "He is humorous, outgoing and devoted⁹ to the things he loves, just like someone around us."

　　Lin has become a popular role model for many students, according to Deng Zhongken, Pinghu middle school's second vice president.

　　"His experience is the best textbook for our students," said Deng.

1 frenzy   

n.疯狂，狂热，极度的激动

参考例句：

• He was able to work the young students up into a frenzy.他能激起青年学生的狂热。
• They were singing in a frenzy of joy.他们欣喜若狂地高声歌唱。

2 idol   

n.偶像，红人，宠儿

参考例句：

• As an only child he was the idol of his parents.作为独子，他是父母的宠儿。
• Blind worship of this idol must be ended.对这个偶像的盲目崇拜应该结束了。

3 retirement   

n.退休，退职

参考例句：

• She wanted to enjoy her retirement without being beset by financial worries.她想享受退休生活而不必为金钱担忧。
• I have to put everything away for my retirement.我必须把一切都积蓄起来以便退休后用。

4 humble   

adj.谦卑的，恭顺的；地位低下的；v.降低，贬低

参考例句：

• In my humble opinion,he will win the election.依我拙见，他将在选举中获胜。
• Defeat and failure make people humble.挫折与失败会使人谦卑。

5 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

6 perseverance   

n.坚持不懈，不屈不挠

参考例句：

• It may take some perseverance to find the right people.要找到合适的人也许需要有点锲而不舍的精神。
• Perseverance leads to success.有恒心就能胜利。

7 physically   

adj.物质上，体格上，身体上，按自然规律

参考例句：

• He was out of sorts physically,as well as disordered mentally.他浑身不舒服，心绪也很乱。
• Every time I think about it I feel physically sick.一想起那件事我就感到极恶心。

8 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

9 devoted   

adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的

参考例句：

• He devoted his life to the educational cause of the motherland.他为祖国的教育事业贡献了一生。
• We devoted a lengthy and full discussion to this topic.我们对这个题目进行了长时间的充分讨论。