VOA标准英语2010年-NBA Players Inspire African Youths to

NBA legend Dikembe Mutombo of Congo coaches a young Special Olympics athlete during a Basketball Without Borders community event in Dakar, Senegal, 5 Aug 2010

 

The National Basketball Association's Basketball Without Borders Africa program this year brought NBA players and coaches to Senegal where they trained some of the best young players on the continent.  The four-day camp tipped off 5 Aug in Dakar as 60 young basketball players from around the African continent gathered to learn from NBA professionals.

 

One of the players from Cameroon said the camp gives him hope that his dream of playing professional basketball can come true.  Longtime Basketball Without Borders supporter and former NBA player Dikembe Mutombo said the camp also is a chance for others to see what Africa has to offer the world of basketball.

Reciprocal² Arrangement

"Africa is a continent that they have so much to offer," said Mutombo.  "I think it is also a continent that is waiting to be discovered. There are so many hidden treasures here in the continent of Africa that people don't know about, and I'm happy that the NBA has taken the initiative³."

One of those hidden treasures who was discovered eight years ago was Luc Mbah a Moute, from Cameroon.  Now a forward for the Milwaukee Bucks⁴, Mbah a Moute was a camper in South Africa at the first Basketball Without Borders event in Africa.  Today he attends the camp as an NBA player who trains and inspires boys whose hopes he once shared.

"When you're out here in Africa, it seems so far, the NBA," said Mbah a Moute.  "It seems not doable. So to have someone like me come back and tell them it's feasible, you guys can do it if you work hard, I think is really important."

Inspirational Instruction

Fellow Cameroonian Michel Ange Enanga is a 16-year-old point guard attending Basketball without Borders for the first time.  He said players like Mbah a Moute have inspired him along the way to keep working for his dream to one day play professional basketball.

"I think he's a great person," said Enanga about Mbah a Moute.  "He has a good heart, a big heart. And he's a good player, so I want to be like him.  I have hope for the future, because when I see it, I say to myself that you can be like him, you can be like that guy playing.  I can be, and I will be. I make my promise."

Enanga emphasizes that it is the camp that truly has made him feel closer to achieving his aspirations⁵.

"My favorite things is training with the coach, with the NBA coaches and seeing the NBA players is great," he said. "I can touch it. I can touch it. So it's not dreaming, it's real."

Abundant Opportunities

Mutombo, who grew up in what is now the Democratic Republic of Congo, went on to play pro¹ basketball in the United States for nearly 20 years, after a stellar college career at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C.  He says giving other Africans an opportunity is one of the most important reasons he is involved in Basketball Without Borders.

"The reason it is so important to me and so close to my heart because, I did get a chance, an opportunity that was given to me to develop into the great basketball player that I've become," said Mutombo.  "And I felt that it was my duty to do the same thing to others, to the next generation that are coming up."

Besides drills on the court, the NBA players and coaches also spoke⁶ to the young players about life off the court.  Mutombo said that teaching AIDS awareness⁷, community outreach and the importance of education all were essential elements of the Basketball Without Borders program.

 

1 pro   

n.赞成，赞成的意见，赞成者

参考例句：

• The two debating teams argued the question pro and con.辩论的两组从赞成与反对两方面辩这一问题。
• Are you pro or con nuclear disarmament?你是赞成还是反对核裁军？

2 reciprocal   

adj.相互的，互惠的，互补的；n.相互，互惠 [数］ 倒数

参考例句：

• Our relationship is based on reciprocal respect.我们的关系是以互相尊重为基础的。
• Although I gave him many presents,I had no reciprocal gifts from him.虽然我给他很多礼物，但我没有收到过他给我的礼物。

3 initiative   

n.主动性，首创精神，主动权（的行动），倡议

参考例句：

• He went to see the headmaster on his own initiative.他主动去看望校长。
• His employer had described him as lacking in initiative and drive.雇主说他缺乏进取心和干劲。

4 bucks   

n.雄鹿( buck的名词复数 )；钱；（英国十九世纪初的）花花公子；（用于某些表达方式）责任v.（马等）猛然弓背跃起( buck的第三人称单数 )；抵制；猛然震荡；马等尥起后蹄跳跃

参考例句：

• They cost ten bucks. 这些值十元钱。
• They are hunting for bucks. 他们正在猎雄兔。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 aspirations   

强烈的愿望( aspiration的名词复数 )； 志向； 发送气音； 发 h 音

参考例句：

• I didn't realize you had political aspirations. 我没有意识到你有政治上的抱负。
• The new treaty embodies the aspirations of most nonaligned countries. 新条约体现了大多数不结盟国家的愿望。

6 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

7 awareness   

n.意识，觉悟，懂事，明智

参考例句：

• There is a general awareness that smoking is harmful.人们普遍认识到吸烟有害健康。
• Environmental awareness has increased over the years.这些年来人们的环境意识增强了。