Module 5 The great sports person For many in their 40s, going jogging around the park is enough to cause a hot sweat. And then there’s Li Ning, who at the age of 44, was able to fly through the air and then “run” a lap around the Birds Nest’s vertical (垂直的) wall at least, according to the China Daily. After his retirement from gymnastics, Mr Li set his sights on gold of a different kind. In May 1990 he founded the Li?Ning sportswear company. Throughout his life, he has enjoyed new challenges. Not satisfied with sitting back and watching the gold coins roll in, he set about a new learning program for himself that would take his business to an entirely different level. He studied law at Peking University. But that was merely one phase of his preparations. He said in 1998: “After finishing my studies at Peking University, I’ll continue to do the MBA programme. I am preparing myself for competition in the global market.” After graduating with an MBA, the prince of gymnastics then made ambitious growth plans that would make him a corporate king. According to a financial report, Mr Li is chairman in a company that has over five thousand stores in China, which has a revenue (收入) of more than 4.35 billion yuan each year — up 36.7 per cent year?on?year. Revenue from footwear alone was 1.86 billion. It means that in a region of seven and a half million people, if a pair of shoes was sold for 250 yuan, everyone bought a pair of “Li Nings” last year. However, Li Ning was facing an intractable (很难处理的) situation. Plans to build on top of its success in China with expansion into overseas markets were below expectations. He was also facing increased competition in its home market from other Chinese brands like Anta. Li Ning is acutely aware of this, and has been working hard to improve his brand’s image. Section_ⅠIntroduction_&_Reading_—_Pre?reading A Life in Sport They called him① the prince of gymnasts②. When he retired③ at the age of 26, he had won 106 gold medals in major④ competitions across the world. They included⑤ six out of⑥ seven gold medals at the 1982 World Championship, and three at the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles (as well as two silver and a bronze). Li Ning was the best. When sports journalists met in 1999 to make a list⑦ of the greatest sportsmen and sportswomen of the twentieth century, Li Ning’s name was on it, together with⑧ footballer Pele and boxer Muhammad Ali. But even though he had won everything it was possible to win in his sport⑨， Li Ning retired with the feeling that he had failed⑩. He was disappointed? because he had not performed? well in the 1988 Seoul Olympics. ①call sb....把某人叫做……；称某人为…… ②gymnast/'d?Imn?st/n.体操运动员 ③retire/rI'taI?/vi.退休 ④major adj.主要的；重大的 它没有比较级和最高级形式。 ⑤include v．包括，包含 ⑥out of表示“多少中的多少”，如six out of ten十个当中的六个，即十分之六。 ⑦make a list列表 ⑧together with ...和……一起；加之 连接两个名词或代词作主语时，由第 ... ...
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