T: I know Yao Ming is your favourite star. Who'd like to say something about his recent games?

After some students report his latest games, show the following pictures on the PowerPoint.

T: Please look at the pictures. What happened to Yao? Please read the news report.

Scarface

One scary moment occurred at the 10:48 mark in the third quarter when Boston's Brian Scalabrine drove down the middle of the lane and hit Yao in the face with his elbow, drawing a lot of blood next to Yao's right eye. Yao quickly went to the locker room to get some stitches. If Scalabrine had landed his blow a couple of inches to the right, Yao might have had severe eye damage, but Yao will be okay. The ironic thing is that Yao was called for a foul on the play because he was standing inside the circle around the basket when Scalabrine made contact. Talk about adding insult to injury!

Step II Reading

T: From the above news, you have learned more about basketball. Now please discuss in groups and answer the questions in Activity 1 on Page 11.

Suggested answers:

1.1. I think it is a dangerous sport.

1.2. Yes, I broke my leg in the last school basketball match. / My classmate had a bleeding nose in a match.

1.3. There are possible personal injuries.

T: So we can see basketball can be dangerous. But Yao isn't alone. Frank Sackler got injured too. And he still has the scar on his face. Now let's learn how he got injured.

Skimming

Ask students to read the passage and deal with Activity 2&3. Check the answers.