No more fear. The Iron Hammer is here. Lang Ping has become the newly appointed Chinese women’s national volleyball coach.

For the past four years, Chinese women's volleyball has been plagued by frustrating international results, frequent coach reshuffles, numerous injuries and a shortage of talent.

Volleyball was the first sport in which China succeeded on a global scale and was widely followed in the 1980s.

A prolonged slump might finally be coming to an end though, as Lang Ping was appointed head coach of the Chinese women's national team for the second time.

Known as the "Iron Hammer", Lang was the country's best-known volleyball icon and a symbol of the "never-say-die" spirit of the team in its heyday. She has been the favorite for the coaching post since the sports authority unveiled its four candidates on April 15. Her return is expected to bring attention and confidence back to the sport. Sina.com, more than 70 percent of participants said they believe Lang will lead women's volleyball back to the top flight internationally.

Lang's appeal among Chinese volleyball players is also expected to boost the current national lineup, which has several veterans who are planning to retire. National team player Wei Qiuyue, who was going to retire after the National Games in September, said she is ready to play for the national team for as long as needed now that Lang is the coach.

"Lang's rich coaching experiences give her quite a bit of familiarity with her opponents' strategy and character," Wei said. "She was also an outstanding athlete, which makes it easier for her to understand the feelings and mentality of the players."

1.Who is “the Iron Hammer”?

A．Deng Yaping        B．Lang Ping          C．Li Na             D．Zhao Wei

2.What does the underlined word mean?

A．金               B．银               C．铜               D．铁

3.Did the new coach use to coach Chinese women’s national volleyball team?

A．Yes, she did.                           B．Maybe.

C．No, she didn’t .                        D．I don’t know.

4.How many candidates were there ?

A．Three.            B．Four.             C．Five.             D．Six.

5.Why has Lang Ping become the newly Chinese women’s national volleyball coach?

A．She was also an outstanding athlete.

B．She has rich coaching experiences.

C．Most of participants believe she will head women’s volleyball back to the top flight internationally.

D．All the above.

No more fear. The Iron Hammer is here. Lang Ping has become the newly appointed Chinese women’s national volleyball coach.
For the past four years, Chinese women's volleyball has been plagued by frustrating international results, frequent coach reshuffles, numerous injuries and a shortage of talent.
Volleyball was the first sport in which China succeeded on a global scale and was widely followed in the 1980s.
A prolonged slump might finally be coming to an end though, as Lang Ping was appointed head coach of the Chinese women's national team for the second time.
Known as the "Iron Hammer", Lang was the country's best-known volleyball icon and a symbol of the "never-say-die" spirit of the team in its heyday. She has been the favorite for the coaching post since the sports authority unveiled its four candidates on April 15. Her return is expected to bring attention and confidence back to the sport. Sina.com, more than 70 percent of participants said they believe Lang will lead women's volleyball back to the top flight internationally.
Lang's appeal among Chinese volleyball players is also expected to boost the current national lineup, which has several veterans who are planning to retire. National team player Wei Qiuyue, who was going to retire after the National Games in September, said she is ready to play for the national team for as long as needed now that Lang is the coach.
"Lang's rich coaching experiences give her quite a bit of familiarity with her opponents' strategy and character," Wei said. "She was also an outstanding athlete, which makes it easier for her to understand the feelings and mentality of the players."
【小题1】Who is “the Iron Hammer”?

    The Beijing Olympic Games are getting closer and closer．Are you looking forward to the excitement ahead? To cheering on stars like Yao Ming and Liu Xiang?

   On April 15,more than 7 million tickets went on sale．If you call use the Internet，go to www.tickets.beijing2008.cn．Or you can go to the Bank of China to book a ticket．But there’s no hurry．Any time before June 30，you can book a ticket to the opening and closing ceremonies (开幕式和闭幕式)．You can also order tickets to 28 sports events including basketball，football and swimming．

    Whether(是否)you book tickets early or on the last day，you have all equal(相同的)chance of getting one．If too many people want to see the same event，a computer will decide who are the lucky ones．You may worry that your pocket money will not be enough for a ticket．But the fact is tickets to the games are cheap．What’s more，students can get even cheaper tickets—for 10 yuan or less．

    Tickets for your parents aren’t expensive．either．More than half are 100 yuan or less．The most expensive tickets cost 5，000 yuan．They are for the opening ceremony．It will be held on August 8th，2008．

1．When will the Beijing Olympic Games start．?

    A．On August 8th．2008         B．On April 15th，2008

    C．On June 30th．2008              D．We don’t know

2．Which of the following is NOT true?

    A．Yao Ming and Liu Xiang are world-famous Chinese athletes(运动员)．

    B．You can buy the tickets either in Bank of China or on the Internet．

    C．The earlier you book the tickets，the more chances, you have of getting them

    D．You can buy tickets any time before June 30．

3．What are the most expensive tickets?

    A．The tickets for the basketball games

    B．The tickets for the opening ceremony

    C．The tickets for the 28 sports events

    D．The tickets for the closing ceremony

4．What’s the meaning of the word“book”?

    A．Order           B．Win       C．Earn        D．Sell

5．If there are not enough tickets to the same event and you are lucky to get one，whom will you thank?

    A．The tickets company           B．The computer

    C．The Olympic Committee(奥委会)  D．The government