This series chronicles the lives of pop culture icons with connections to the Chinese-speaking world. Learning about world-renowned personalities from fields such as sports, music, and fashion helps engage student interest, while reading practice will boost their confidence and enjoyment of the language. To enable beginning-to intermediate level students to read along without the aid of a dictionary for pronunciation, the simplified Chinese characters are accompanied by pinyin annotation. Unlike other readers at this level, the pinyin is separated by word rather than syllable, giving students a better understanding of how Chinese characters come together to from words and sentences. With access to audio, class handouts, and more, these texts are ideal readers for both classroom instruction and independent learning. Discover the story of a basketball super star on his way to international fame in this engaging biography of Yao Ming. Although his amazing height destined him for a life in sports, Yao Ming also developed the personal drive and ambition that pushed him to excel. Readers will learn how this contemporary cultural icon overcame the many challenges on his path to stardom and come to admire his inspiring strength of character. Pinyin annotation is separated by word rather than character. Pre - and post-reading comprehension questions. for high school and college students with mastery of 350-700 characters, Free companion website with audio, vocabulary lists, and multimedia.
Simplified Chinese character, Pinyin, English.