美国国家公共电台 NPR 篮球巨星科比及13岁女儿在坠机事故中遇难身亡

We begin the program today with the shocking news that basketball legend Kobe Bryant has died. He was 41 years old. Bryant and his 13-year-old daughter, one of his four daughters, were among those killed in a helicopter crash this morning in Calabasas, Calif. The Los Angeles County sheriff told reporters that nine people were on the flight. None survived. Bryant played his entire NBA career with the Los Angeles Lakers, a career that spanned 20 seasons, 18 of those as an NBA All-Star. Joining us now to tell us more is NPR sports correspondent Tom Goldman. Tom, thanks so much for joining us.

TOM GOLDMAN, BYLINE²: Hi, Michel.

MARTIN: Can you tell us any more about what happened?

GOLDMAN: Well, as you mentioned, authorities are now saying nine people died in this helicopter crash. Originally, the number was set at five. It happened this morning in Calabasas, Calif. — that's in Southern California — happened a little before 10 o'clock in the morning local time. Now, officials held a news briefing. And officials would not confirm the identities of any of the victims at the press briefing. But they did say a helicopter pilot and eight other victims died. The mayor of Calabasas confirmed to NPR that Kobe Bryant and his 13-year-old daughter Gianna, who goes by the nickname Gigi, were among the victims. The sheriff says they're waiting for the coroner's office to do its job, including notifying next of kin¹ before confirming any of the identities.

MARTIN: And you were telling us earlier that there has been an enormous reaction to this very terrible news. Can — tell us a little bit about that.

GOLDMAN: Worldwide. You've got hundreds and hundreds who have gathered at the Staples³ Center in LA, where the Lakers play. You have, you know, just everyday fans. And you've got the rich and famous and, of course, within the basketball community — Shaquille O'Neal, who played with Kobe and won some titles for the Lakers with Kobe. They — you know, they chafed⁴ against each other at times because they were both alpha male personalities⁵. But they certainly loved each other.

And Shaq tweeted — there are no words to express the pain I'm going through with this tragedy of losing my niece, Gigi, and my brother, Kobe. I love you, and you will be missed. My condolences go out to the Bryant family and the families of the other passengers on board. I'm sick right now.

And I mentioned a global reaction. Kobe was a global figure. The great Brazilian soccer player Neymar, playing in a game today, after he scored, he flashed with his fingers the numbers two and four as a tribute to Kobe, who wore that jersey⁶ number along with number eight. And both are hanging in the Staples Center rafters.

MARTIN: And there are too many titles and records and highlights associated with Kobe Bryant to name, but just give us a sense of why he was such a significant figure in the NBA and in the sport worldwide.

GOLDMAN: Well, yeah, the numbers certainly — five-time NBA champion, a two-time NBA Finals MVP, the 2008 league MVP, 18 All-Star seasons out of the 20 he played for the Lakers. And the Lakers were his only team. But, Michel, I think NBA fans are certainly remembering the kind of basketball player Kobe was. He adopted the nickname Black Mamba from the Tarantino movie "Kill Bill." It was used as a code name for a deadly assassin known for their agility⁷ and aggressiveness. And that is the kind of basketball player Kobe Bryant was. He wasn't like a LeBron James, who loves to distribute the balls at key moments. Bryant loved having the ball in his hands, only in his hands in pressure situations. And he mostly delivered in those situations.

MARTIN: And as briefly⁸ as you can, off the court?

GOLDMAN: Off the court, he was carving⁹ a great life for himself. He had won an Oscar for an animated¹⁰ short film in 2018. There was a lot ahead of him and makes it doubly tragic¹¹ that he's gone at 41.

MARTIN: That was NPR sports correspondent Tom Goldman. Tom, thank you.

GOLDMAN: Thank you.

1 kin   

n.家族，亲属，血缘关系；adj.亲属关系的，同类的

参考例句：

• He comes of good kin.他出身好。
• She has gone to live with her husband's kin.她住到丈夫的亲戚家里去了。

2 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

3 staples   

n.（某国的）主要产品( staple的名词复数 )；钉书钉；U 形钉；主要部份v.用钉书钉钉住( staple的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The anvil onto which the staples are pressed was not assemble correctly. 订书机上的铁砧安装错位。 来自辞典例句
• I'm trying to make an analysis of the staples of his talk. 我在试行分析他的谈话的要旨。 来自辞典例句

4 chafed   

v.擦热（尤指皮肤）( chafe的过去式 )；擦痛；发怒；惹怒

参考例句：

• Her wrists chafed where the rope had been. 她的手腕上绳子勒过的地方都磨红了。
• She chafed her cold hands. 她揉搓冰冷的双手使之暖和。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

5 personalities   

n. 诽谤，（对某人容貌、性格等所进行的）人身攻击； 人身攻击；人格, 个性, 名人( personality的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• There seemed to be a degree of personalities in her remarks.她话里有些人身攻击的成分。
• Personalities are not in good taste in general conversation.在一般的谈话中诽谤他人是不高尚的。

6 jersey   

n.运动衫

参考例句：

• He wears a cotton jersey when he plays football.他穿运动衫踢足球。
• They were dressed alike in blue jersey and knickers.他们穿着一致，都是蓝色的运动衫和灯笼短裤。

7 agility   

n.敏捷，活泼

参考例句：

• The boy came upstairs with agility.那男孩敏捷地走上楼来。
• His intellect and mental agility have never been in doubt.他的才智和机敏从未受到怀疑。

8 briefly   

adv.简单地，简短地

参考例句：

• I want to touch briefly on another aspect of the problem.我想简单地谈一下这个问题的另一方面。
• He was kidnapped and briefly detained by a terrorist group.他被一个恐怖组织绑架并短暂拘禁。

9 carving   

n.雕刻品，雕花

参考例句：

• All the furniture in the room had much carving.房间里所有的家具上都有许多雕刻。
• He acquired the craft of wood carving in his native town.他在老家学会了木雕手艺。

10 animated   

adj.生气勃勃的，活跃的，愉快的

参考例句：

• His observations gave rise to an animated and lively discussion.他的言论引起了一场气氛热烈而活跃的讨论。
• We had an animated discussion over current events last evening.昨天晚上我们热烈地讨论时事。

11 tragic   

adj.悲剧的，悲剧性的，悲惨的

参考例句：

• The effect of the pollution on the beaches is absolutely tragic.污染海滩后果可悲。
• Charles was a man doomed to tragic issues.查理是个注定不得善终的人。