A chinese tennis player’s uneasy season

Previewing the Article

“Keeping your eye on the ball” isn’t easy when there is political strife in your native land. However, a young tennis pro, Lu Na, must do just that to complete in tournaments and earn a living. Read this article to discover how she keeps her eye on tennis though her mind is on her family and homeland.

The political events in China serve as a background to the article. It is shown how they affected the lives of Chinese around the world.

Before You Read

Before you read the article, discuss these questions.

1. What does it take to be a good tennis player?

2. What sports are very popular in your country? Why do you think people love them so much?

As you Read

As you read, look for answers to these questions.

1. What is Lu Na’s relationship with the Chinese government?

2. How does Lu Na communicate with her parents?

A chinese tennis player’s uneasy season

by Bud Collins

International Herald Tribune

San Diego - The televised images from Beijing were horrible enough. But it was the unknown and unseen happenings in her hometown, Chendgu, that doubly hurt Lu Na.

“I have heard through friends there were demonstrations and killings there, too, but they didn’t get publicity”, she said. “I hope my family and friends are all right. I haven’t heard from them since the demonstrations”.

Compared with the rumblings from her hometown, the tennis career of Lu - the first, and only, Chinese professional player - is secondary these days.

“When I’m playing I’m concentrating on tennis”, she said. “I have to. But I hope I hear from my parents soon”.

5 For a while after she defected to the United States, Lu was an embarrassment to the Chinese government and her communication with home was severed.

“But things got better”, said Lu, who lives in San Diego. “We could talk by phone. My parents would go to the post office and call me. But not since the demonstrations. One thing worries me now. I was in some protests against the Chinese government in California a little while ago.”

“If I was recognizable on TV”, she added, “maybe they know about it at home. I hope that doesn’t make it hard for my family”.

A player with an aggressive style, Lu savours grass. Last month, at a grass tournament in Newport, Rhode Island, she had her best singles performance of the year, a quarterfinal finish, which raised her ranking to 90th in the world.

10 The week after the Newport tournament, Lu teamed with Michelle Jaggard of Australia to win the double title at a tournament at Schenectady, New York. It was her first professional title.

And she says she is “still improving”.

At 26, she is a middle-level performer with only a handful of name victims in her resume. But she can nonetheless claim one championship title: Chinese singles title.

“But”, she concedes, “there are not many players there”.

Lu said she had been “working hard” on both her tennis and her learning English.

15 “I learned a lot from watching TV”, she said. Then one day I say, ‘Oh, gosh, now I can speak.’ A very good feeling”.

Despite relatively little financial success (about $24,000 as prize money), she says she is “doing fine as a pro”.

She attributes this in part to her sponsorship by a Taiwan racket manufacturer, whose president “has been very kind”.

“And I have been able to live with Chinese families since settling in the U.S.”, she added.

She is proud of her U.S. citizenship, which she attained five month ago.

20 “I was making plans to bring my parents and sister and brother to live here”, Lu said. “It was going well. But now, all the trouble. I don’t know what will happen, how long it could take. I just hope things will be good again. I miss my family very much”.

She knows, however, that in her job she must keep her eye on the ball. But too often her vision is blurred by those terrible TV images from home.

I. Getting the Message

A. After reading the article, choose the best answer for each item.

1. Lu’s main problem is

a. becoming a top-rated player

b. learning English

c. finding out her family in China

2. Lu was an embarrassment to China when she

a. defected from the country

b. was sponsored in the United States

c. played with an aggressive style

3. Lu favours playing tennis

a. on concrete

b. on clay

c. on grass

4. In China Ha was

a. the Chinese doubles champion

b. the Chinese singles champion

c. ranked 53rd

5. In terms of her financial situation, Lu

a. earns a great deal of money as a tennis professional

b. depends on money given her by a Taiwan racket manufacturer

c. gives most of her money to the Chinese government

6. Lu has learnt a lot of English by

a. playing tennis

b. watching TV

c. becoming a pro

B. Scan the article to find what the importance of these places is in Lu’s life. Complete the chart.

Place	Importance
Taiwan
San Diego
Chengdu
Schenectaby, NY
New Port, RI
Beijing

II. Expanding Your Vocabulary

A. Getting Meaning from Context

Use context clues to determine the meaning of each word, found in the paragraph(s) indicated in parentheses. Choose the right definition.

1. uneasy (1):	difficult worried
2. publicity (2):	reports about an event on television or radio television advertisements
3. demonstrations(2):	explaining something by using samples meeting to protest political actions
4. concentrating (4):	adding a substance paying attention
5. defected (5):	failed left without permission
6. savours (9):	tastes enjoys
7. resume (12):	summary of experiences notification
8. concedes (13):	surrenders accepts as true

B. Defining Useful Vocabulary

Match each word with its definition.

1. attain ____ a few

2. ranking ____ attacking

3. aggressive ____ position in relation to others

4. middle-level ____ get, reach

5. severed ___ cut off, stopped

6. a handful ___ not the best or the worst

C. Practising Useful Vocabulary

Complete the sentences with words from exercise B.

1. Lu’s tennis style is ___ . However, on the professional tour, she is only a ___ player.

2. Important events have occurred in Lu’s life. On the positive side, she recently was able to ___ U.S. citizenship. But on the negative side, her communication with her family in China has been ___ .

3. Lu’s ___ among professional tennis players is not very high; however, she has defeated ___ of excellent players.

D. Reading for Suggested Meanings

Answer these questions.

1. In paragraph 3, the author uses the word rumblings. The word means both the heavy sound thunder makes and expression of unhappiness. What does it refer to in the paragraph?

2. In paragraph 12, why did the author choose the word victims to describe the players Lu defeated? Do you think such a word is unusual for a sports article?

3. In paragraph 22, keep your eye on the ball is an idiom that means “pay attention”. What is its a double meaning here?

4. In paragraph 22, the author says that Lu’s vision is blurred, which means she can’t see things clearly.

1. Why is Lu’s vision blurred? b. How does the word blurred relate to the previous sentence in the article?

III. Making Sense of Sentences

Sometimes sentences with two clauses (two subjects and two predicates) are introduced by a word or words at the beginning. Study this sentence from paragraph 8.

If I was recognizable on TV, maybe they know about it at home.

The word if, a subordinating conjunction, introduces the first part of the sentence and connects it to the second part. In the space below, complete the sentences from the article.

In paragraph 4: When ____.

In paragraph 5: For a while after ___ government.

Write two sentences of your own about the story. Begin one with if and one with when.

IV. Talking and Writing

Discuss the following topics. Then choose one of them to write about.

1. Who are the most professional athletes in your country? Why are these athletes so popular?

2. Some people like to participate in sports. Others prefer to observe them. What sports do you prefer to participate in or to observe /watch on TV? Give some reasons why you like this sport.

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