A legendary star on the football court

主题语境：体育名人篇幅：363词建议用时：6分钟

1 Pelé was born on October 23, 1940 in Brazil.He grew up in extreme poverty in the city of Bauru located in São Paulo. His father, a football player, taught Pelé how to play the sport.Due to their poor conditions, he could not afford a proper football.Hence,he played with a sock stuffed with newspaper or a grapefruit.

2 In 1956, Pelé joined a professional club Santos Futebol Clube (Santos FC). His coach told the directors at Santos that he would be “the greatest football player in the worl D.” In 1957,Pelé became the top scorer of the league at just 16 years ol D.Ten months after signing professionally,the Brazil national team called Pelé.In 1961,the government of Brazil declared Pelé an “official national treasure” to prevent him from being transferred out of the country.

3 In 1957, Pelé played his first international game against Argentina. In the game, he scored his first goal for Brazil at 16 years old and remained the youngest goalscorer for his country. On June 29, 1958, Pelé became the youngest player to play in a World Cup final match at 17 years and 249 days. Brazil won the World Cup and Pelé's first goal was selected as one of the best goals in the history of the World Cup.

4 When the 1962 World Cup started, Pelé was considered to be the best player in the worl D. Yet again, Brazil won the World Cup in 1962. Unfortunately, they lost in the 1968 World Cup. After this game, Pelé vowed that he would never again play in the World Cup but changed his decision in 1970. Brazil played against Italy in the finals and won the game.After the match,Italian defender Tarcisio Burgnich said,“I told myself before the game he's made of skin and bones just like everyone else—but I was wrong.” Pelé played his last international match on July 18,1971.

5 In 1958, he debuted playing in the FIFA World Cup champion team, followed by 1962 and 1970, and in 1966 he participated in FIFA World Cup. Pelé scored 1,283 goals in his career and is the only man to lift three World Cup titles.

6 Pelé died on December 29,2022 in São Paulo,Brazil.He was 82 years old then.

Reading Check

Detail

1.How did Pelé's father influence Pelé in his football career?

A.He found him experienced coaches.

B.He bought him expensive footballs.

C.He sent him to professional clubs.

D.He acted as a coach for him.

Detail

2.When was Pelé's potential fully recognized by the Brazilian government?

A.In 1956.

B.In 1957.

C.In 1958.

D.In 1961.

Inference

3.What's Tarcisio Burgnich's attitude to Pelé before the 1970 game?

A.He thought little of him.

B.He was curious about him.

C.He had a deep respect for him.

D.He was afraid to compete against him.

Detail

4.What's Pelé's biggest achievement as a football player?

A.Winning three World Cup titles.

B.Scoring a goal for Brazil at the age of 16.

C.Becoming the top scorer of Santos FC.

D.Scoring the best goal in the 1958 World Cup.

Language Study

Ⅰ.Difficult sentence in the text

In 1958,he debuted playing in the FIFA World Cup champion team,followed by 1962 and 1970, and in 1966 he participated in FIFA World Cup. 1958 年，他首次入选世界杯冠军球队，并参与了1962 年和1970 年的世界杯冠军球队赛事。1966 年，他参加了世界杯。

【点石成金】本句是并列句。句中的followed by 1962 and 1970 为过去分词作定语，修饰名词短语。

Ⅱ.Text-centered chunks

in extreme poverty 在极度贫困中

be stuffed with 填充有……

be selected as 被选为

participate in 参加