时间:2018-12-05 作者:英语课 分类:PBS访谈娱乐系列


英语课

   The last 100-meter race of his career did not go as planned for Usain Bolt.


  He came in third place at the world championships in London, losing to two Americans, Justin Gatlin who took the gold and Chris Coleman who took the silver.
  Bolt, still the world record holder 1, said this would be his last competition.
  For more context about the Bolt effect, earlier I spoke 2 with Christopher Clarey of "The New York Times" who joined me via Skype from London.
  Chris, is it possible to overestimate 3 the as a matter of impact of Usain Bolt on track and field and sports?
  You know, he has been the face and the soul of the sport for almost a decade now, and it's extraordinary.
  It really is. He has been the one global figure that they've had,
  and also he's been pretty good news for the sport, instead of a lot of bad news. So, definitely, a seminal 4 figure.
  It's a bit like Michael Phelps is to swimming, or Tiger Woods as to golf.
  When you think of track and field, you have that, you know, million watts 5 smile and the guy doing the lightning bolt dance at the end of his races.
  No, it's true. He and Phelps are a good comparison. I mean, they've just been the kings of their sports in the same period of time.
  They kind of broke through in Beijing and dominated that Olympics at the same time. Very similar. Dominant 6 figures, huge appetite for success, and really enduring.
  You know, even if track and field -- as track and field had these sort of repeated, high-profile doping incidents,
  Usain Bolt was able to just kind of glide 7 above it all, winning match -- or meet after meet.
  In a way, that's been maybe his greatest accomplishment 8 in some way, greatest act he's pulled up in a sense that he's been able to really remain above that fray 9.
  It's been quite a fray. A lot of scandals in track and field, a lot of credibility crises, and Bolt really has been able to stay above that.
  There have been things that have affected 10 him. He's lost a medal in the relay because one of his teammates was involved in a doping infraction 11.
  There have been, you know, fellow Jamaicans who tested positive for banned substances as well, including Asafa Powell.
  But Usain has never tested positive, never been sanctioned. So, that's a bit of good news for the sport.
  Is there a reason he chose to retire now? I mean, you can see that his times have been slowing, and -- but this is a guy who loves the competition, who loves to get in there and win.
  I mean, I don't think, at least in the interviews that I've read, I don't think he particularly likes to train and put the work in, but he does it because he loves to win.
  I think that's it. I think that's -- you put your finger on it. I mean, he's had injury problems throughout his career.
  He's got to come in to major championships for the last five years fighting injuries almost every time. So, I think he's tired of that.
  And, really, I mean, he did a great documentary last year which was a lot of fun to watch called "I Am Bolt," and you can see him complaining about the training in almost every scene.
  I mean, I think he really enjoys the competition, enjoys that magnetic moment when he's out there and the crowd is communing with him and racing 12 and beating everybody.
  But when it comes to the day-to-day drudgery 13 of being a sprinter 14, I think he would be happy to leave that behind, and I think, also, he's really done all there is to do in this sport.
  And this is a guy, when you look at him, he doesn't look like a sprinter that has been the archetype that we've had, especially in the 100 meters.
  This short, super, stocky, muscular guys that explode out of the blocks. He's literally 15, at times a foot taller than his competition.
  Yes, it's true. When he lines up to race and get in a set position, you can see he's already higher than everybody else even with his head down. He's a much taller person, about 6'5.
  You look back in the past of track and field, Carl Lewis obviously wasn't as tall as Usain, but he was the same sort of -- same sort of lines.
  You know, a tall -- a tall sprinter by those standards of that day.
  And I think now what Bolt has really done is being able to combine the two of being a tall sprinter but he also has a very quick turnover 16,
  able to explode off the track and really produce tremendous power in each of his strides.
  And also, he has long strides so he's able to cover the whole race, 100 meters in about 41 strides whereas a lot of his competitors are 44, 45, 46.
  So, that's all been a big factor and many will try to replicate 17 it in the years to come.
  Do you ever wonder what that world record time could have been in Beijing or other places where it almost seemed like in the last 10 meters,
  he's looking up at the big screen, and he's almost coasting in?
  I mean, there wasn't anybody just kind of breathing down his neck, and if he'd just given us that last extra 10 percent.
  Yes, you're right. I mean, that was the first breakthrough globally at the Beijing Olympics when he did let up in the 100 when he got to the finish line.
  But a year later in Berlin, when he set the world record that still exist, 9.58 seconds, he ran through the tape, and you saw what happened, a world record.
  But he's been unable to touch, maybe nobody will touch for many, many years to come.
  And he himself was quite young at the time, we figured he'd be able to go on, maybe get into the 9.4s, never did for a variety of reasons,
  but he did run through the tape and that record is there to prove it.
  All right. Christopher Clarey of "The New York Times," thanks so much for joining us. My pleasure. undefined

1 holder
n.持有者,占有者;(台,架等)支持物
  • The holder of the office of chairman is reponsible for arranging meetings.担任主席职位的人负责安排会议。
  • That runner is the holder of the world record for the hundred-yard dash.那位运动员是一百码赛跑世界纪录的保持者。
2 spoke
n.(车轮的)辐条;轮辐;破坏某人的计划;阻挠某人的行动 v.讲,谈(speak的过去式);说;演说;从某种观点来说
  • They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
  • The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。
3 overestimate
v.估计过高,过高评价
  • Don't overestimate seriousness of the problem.别把问题看重了。
  • We overestimate our influence and our nuisance value.我们过高地估计了自己的影响力和破坏作用。
4 seminal
adj.影响深远的;种子的
  • The reforms have been a seminal event in the history of the NHS.这些改革已成为英国国民保健制度史上影响深远的一件大事。
  • The emperor's importance as a seminal figure of history won't be diminished.做为一个开创性历史人物的重要性是不会减弱的。
5 watts
(电力计量单位)瓦,瓦特( watt的名词复数 )
  • My lamp uses 60 watts; my toaster uses 600 watts. 我的灯用60瓦,我的烤面包器用600瓦。
  • My lamp uses 40 watts. 我的灯40瓦。
6 dominant
adj.支配的,统治的;占优势的;显性的;n.主因,要素,主要的人(或物);显性基因
  • The British were formerly dominant in India.英国人从前统治印度。
  • She was a dominant figure in the French film industry.她在法国电影界是个举足轻重的人物。
7 glide
n./v.溜,滑行;(时间)消逝
  • We stood in silence watching the snake glide effortlessly.我们噤若寒蝉地站着,眼看那条蛇逍遥自在地游来游去。
  • So graceful was the ballerina that she just seemed to glide.那芭蕾舞女演员翩跹起舞,宛如滑翔。
8 accomplishment
n.完成,成就,(pl.)造诣,技能
  • The series of paintings is quite an accomplishment.这一系列的绘画真是了不起的成就。
  • Money will be crucial to the accomplishment of our objectives.要实现我们的目标,钱是至关重要的。
9 fray
v.争吵;打斗;磨损,磨破;n.吵架;打斗
  • Why should you get involved in their fray?你为什么要介入他们的争吵呢?
  • Tempers began to fray in the hot weather.大热天脾气烦燥。
10 affected
adj.不自然的,假装的
  • She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
  • His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。
11 infraction
n.违反;违法
  • He was criticized for his infraction of the discipline.他因违反纪律而受到了批评。
  • Parking at the bus stop is illegal,Motorists committing this infraction are heavily fined.在公交站停车是违法的,触犯此条的司机将受重罚。
12 racing
n.竞赛,赛马;adj.竞赛用的,赛马用的
  • I was watching the racing on television last night.昨晚我在电视上看赛马。
  • The two racing drivers fenced for a chance to gain the lead.两个赛车手伺机竞相领先。
13 drudgery
n.苦工,重活,单调乏味的工作
  • People want to get away from the drudgery of their everyday lives.人们想摆脱日常生活中单调乏味的工作。
  • He spent his life in pointlessly tiresome drudgery.他的一生都在做毫无意义的烦人的苦差事。
14 sprinter
n.短跑运动员,短距离全速奔跑者
  • He is more a sprinter than a swimmer. 他是短跑健将,而不是游泳选手。 来自辞典例句
  • The sprinter himself thinks he can run the race at 9.4 seconds. 这位短跑运动员自认为可以用9.4秒跑完比赛。 来自互联网
15 literally
adv.照字面意义,逐字地;确实
  • He translated the passage literally.他逐字逐句地翻译这段文字。
  • Sometimes she would not sit down till she was literally faint.有时候,她不走到真正要昏厥了,决不肯坐下来。
16 turnover
n.人员流动率,人事变动率;营业额,成交量
  • The store greatly reduced the prices to make a quick turnover.这家商店实行大减价以迅速周转资金。
  • Our turnover actually increased last year.去年我们的营业额竟然增加了。
17 replicate
v.折叠,复制,模写;n.同样的样品;adj.转折的
  • The DNA of chromatin must replicate before cell division.染色质DNA在细胞分裂之前必须复制。
  • It is also easy to replicate,as the next subsection explains.就像下一个小节详细说明的那样,它还可以被轻易的复制。
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