(以上音频为沪江英语外教Salena对文章英文内容的朗读,非授权严禁转载。)

SHANGHAI — Yao Ming has made it official, telling a packed news conference in his hometown that a series of injuries have forced him to retire from basketball.

The 7-fooot-6 center, who became a household name in China before starting his NBA career with the Houston Rockets as the top draft pick in 2002, said: "I will formally end my career."

Yao played eight seasons in the NBA, but missed 250 regular-season games over the past six years.

Houston general manager Daryl Morey attended Yao's farewell conference on Wednesday, and NBA Commissioner David Stern was scheduled to send a message via video link. Morey had to get permission from the NBA to be attend because the lockout prohibits contact with players.

北京时间7月20日,姚明在上海浦东嘉里大酒店三层的上海厅召开新闻发布会,正式宣布退役。姚明的父母姚志源和方凤娣、姚明的妻子叶莉以及姚明的女儿姚沁蕾都出席了此次发布会。到场人员还包括NBA中国CEO舒德伟、休斯敦火箭队总经理达雷尔-莫雷、篮管中心副主任胡加时等人。姚明说:“作为篮球运动员,我将要结束自己的运动生涯,正式退役。今天我退役了,我的一扇门关上了,但另一扇门正在徐徐打开。我离开了球场,但不会离开篮球。”

发布会最后,姚明和父母、妻子以及女儿合影,这也是姚明一家首次在公众面前亮相合影。

姚明退役的消息首先是由雅虎体育透露的。北京时间7月9日凌晨,雅虎体育透露姚明已决定退役。随后网易体育对姚之队负责人章明基进行了采访,后者否认姚明退役。直到7月9日上午,姚之队又发表声明,表示姚明将在7月20日召开新闻发布会,宣布关于自己未来事业的一些规划。

(以上中文报道选自网易体育)