Colin: It wasn't until 1971 that China's attitude towards the West was visibly changed by, of all things, pingpong. China's surprise invitation to the American pingpong team paved the way for President Nixon's historic icebreaker trip in 1972. The last thirty years has seen China change in radical ways and also cling stubbornly to the past. But now a group of pingpong balls have again become symbolically tied to the start of a new era. Each spring, the National Basketball Association conducts itsdraft lottery where a winning pingpong ball can change a team's destiny by granting it the first pick in the coming player draft.
Host: And the first pick in the 2002 NBA draft goes to the Houston Rockets.
Colin: The Rockets immediately made it clear that they would take 7'6'' Yao Ming from China. At 22 years old Yao Ming was the star of the Chinese national team and a huge gamble for the Rockets.
Charles: If I had the number one pick in the draft,I would take Caron Butler or Jay Williams.
Kenny: Well, I have to agree a lot with Charles.
Anchorperson: With the first pick in the 2002 NBA draft, the Houston Rockets select Yao Ming from Shanghai, China and the Shanghai Sharks.
Man: Yao was an unknown to many of the people in the United States. Nevertheless, Houston was using the number one pick to select him. But the extra that was added was literally being asked to carry the hopes of a nation of a billion people and that placed enormous, enormous pressure on him.
妙語佳句，活學活用
1. pave the way
這里的意思是“為……做準備，使容易”的意思，引申為“為……鋪平道路”，比如：His visit paved the way for an agreement. 他的訪問為達成協議鋪平了道路。
Pick 作名詞時的意思是“選擇”的意思，這里是指選秀中的頭號“狀元秀”，比如2002年姚明就是被休斯頓火箭隊以第一輪第一順位選中的，成為當年的選秀狀元。通常first pick 表示“第一選擇”，這里代表著頭銜和榮譽。比如：He is thought to be the first pick. 他被認為是第一人選。
