双语：姚明喜获千金正式当爸爸(图) -新概念英语

　The 2.26-meter (7-foot-6) Yao and his wife, Ye Li, had a baby girl on Friday at a Houston hospital, team spokesman Nelson Luis said. The couple, who married in August 2007, did not announce the baby's name. She weighed 7 pounds, 6 ounces。

　　“I am very excited about the arrival of our daughter,” Yao said in a statement. “This is a very special moment in our lives and we thank everyone for their kindness and support。”

　　Chinese basketball fans were eager to learn if Yao would have the baby in America or China. Yao said in March that the birth was a “private” matter. The baby will be an American citizen since she was born in the U.S。

　　There was no immediate comment from the Chinese Basketball Association, where Yao started his career。

　　Yao's baby could claim Chinese citizenship as the child of Chinese nationals. However, Chinese law does not recognize dual citizenship。

　　A number of Chinese celebrities have been criticized for becoming naturalized citizens of other countries. Chinese are subject to stringent visa requirements, and some of the celebrities argued it was easier to travel internationally with passports from countries such as Singapore or the U.S。

　　Baby Yao has captured the imagination of fans in China, and most say they don't care which country claims the baby. They wonder about her potential basketball skills given the height of her father and 1.85-meter (6-2) mother, who was a center for China。

　　相关中文报道：

　　【新浪体育讯】北京时间5月22日凌晨，姚明收获喜讯！叶莉在美国休斯敦当地医院顺利产下一女，体重3.6公斤，母女平安，这一刻姚明正式升级为爸爸。

　　姚之队在叶莉平安生产之后第一时间宣布了这个消息，姚明表示，谢谢社会各界对叶莉以及自己女儿的关心，并且希望自己的女儿将来可以在一个更宽松的环境下成长。

　　此前，姚明已经透露自己已经想好了女儿名字，不过他没有大方地公布，只是说：“取好名字了，可是我不告诉你叫什么，回答一半就好了。”

　　而对于比较敏感的国籍问题，姚明则称，“这对于我来说不是什么新闻了，我觉得这些事情对于我来说已经习以为常了，但是对于我的小孩的国籍这个问题，这应该是我考虑的问题，这是我们的私事，我们需要一些空间。”

　　叶莉怀孕的消息是在今年1月4日爆出，当时叶莉的圈内好友苗立杰在上海参加一个活动时透露，叶莉的确已经怀有身孕。当时预测的预产期是今年五、六月，而北京时间5月22日则成为了姚千金的生日。