【明報專訊】．James Harden

．Age: 30

．Nationality: American

2018-19 MVP

James Harden started his basketball career in high school. Then he received offers from famous colleges including Washington State University and the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), but he decided to go to the Arizona State University because it was where he could play with his high school friend and where his coach, Scott Pera, worked.

After college, Harden built his career as a professional NBA player at Oklahoma City Thunder (奧克拉荷馬雷霆) and Houston Rockets (侯斯頓火箭). He won the NBA All-star award seven times, and won his first NBA Most Valuable Player (MVP) award in 2018 because he scored at least 30 points in 32 consecutive games during the 2018-19 season.

■Photo Story

James Harden is known for his "Abraham Lincoln" style beard. What does James look like without his famous beard? Here is a picture of James with thin beard while he was playing at college.

When James was just 12 years old, he believed he would become a "star" in a note to his mom. (photo.3)

■English highway﹕at least

as much as or more than

e.g. The new phone will cost at least $3,000.

■Gear up

Find a word in the passage that is the opposite of each of the words below.

(1) sent (v) _______

(2) amateur (adj) _______

(3) worthless (adj) _______

(Answers on next text)

■Glossary

career (n) 職業

college (n) 大學

consecutive (adj) 連續不斷的

beard (n) 鬍鬚

[Smarties' Power English 第256期]