Steve Nash enjoys team success far more than personal success, and always wants to share the glory and the joy with teammates.
He is a self-effacing (不爱出风头的) Canadian, who grew up in hockey country. Today Steve Nash has to stand alone even if he doesn’t enjoy it. The Phoenix Sun’s point guard has to take ownership of a set of skills that sets him apart from every bigger, faster basketball player. He is considered the best basketball player in the game.
31-year old Nash was named the Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the NBA on May 8, 2005. “It’s unbelievable,” he said. “It’s been a long road for me and I really enjoy playing as a team, just trying to be a good teammate. That is the only way for me to highlight what I do as a basketball player.”
It is the first time a Canadian has won any individual NBA honor. Of the 50 winners of the MVP award, only six have been guards: Steve Nash, Magic Johnson, Oscar Robertson, Michael Jordan, Allen Iverson, and Bob Cousy. “I’m happy for him getting the MVP, which makes us feel like we all got the MVP,” said Phoenix forward Shawn Marion.
He may be the only one who truly believes he can reach this level. “I always try to set goals for myself and have my own time frame to accomplish them and I never give up on anything,” he said. It is not as if Nash arrived at this point without countless hours of hard work.
His interests go far beyond sports and the NBA. His social conscience is such that he wore a T-shirt bearing an anti-war slogan at the NBA all-star weekend festivities in Philadelphia in 2002.
“A lot of great moments are when you win games with your teammates. There’s nothing like sharing something with someone else,” he said. “There is a pinnacle (顶点) of a player’s career individually. In many ways, the pinnacle of a player’s career really is defined by team wins.”
小题1:What does Steve Nash mean by saying the last two sentences?
A．A player’s success is decided by his / her individual efforts.
B．A player won’t succeed without a team’s support.
C．A player will succeed sooner or later.
D．A team always decides a player’s success.小题2:Steve Nash feels happiest _______.
A．when he is named the Most Valuable Player of the NBA
B．when he is 30 years old
C．when he plays at the NBA all-star weekend festivities
D．when his team wins a game小题3:Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage?
A．Nash is an American basketball player.
B．Nash is better at basketball than Magic Johnson.
C．Nash is the first Canadian winner of the MVP award.
D．Michael Jordan is the best of the six guards.小题4: Which of the following is the main message that the passage wants to express?
A. Nash prefers team honor to personal honor.
B. Hard work will lead to the honor of the MVP of the NBA.
C. A Canadian can be an MVP of the NBA.
D. Setting goals is of importance to success.
