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.
妙语佳句，活学活用
1. pave the way
这里的意思是“为……做准备，使容易”的意思，引申为“为……铺平道路”，比如：His visit paved the way for an agreement. 他的访问为达成协议铺平了道路。
Pick 作名词时的意思是“选择”的意思，这里是指选秀中的头号“状元秀”，比如2002年姚明就是被休斯顿火箭队以第一轮第一顺位选中的，成为当年的选秀状元。通常first pick 表示“第一选择”，这里代表着头衔和荣誉。比如：He is thought to be the first pick. 他被认为是第一人选。
