时间:2018-12-16 作者:英语课 分类:VOA标准英语2012年(六月)


英语课

 


Olympic Power Couple Loyal to Two Nations



By tradition, the Olympic decathlon champion assumes the title of the "world's greatest athlete." Those are big shoes to fill. But this month, a 24-year-old from the U.S. state of Oregon installed himself as the gold medal favorite.


The U.S. Olympic Team Trials coincidentally took place on Ashton Eaton's home field in Eugene, Oregon. The fans were behind him from the beginning of the 10-event competition. Eaton started off strong by setting new decathlon records for the 100 meter dash and long jump.


Then the decathlon moved into more difficult events, the shot put and high jump. The first day finished with the 400-meter sprint 1. Day two started with the high hurdles 2.


And then in quick succession: discus and pole vault 3, where Eaton set a new personal best. He stopped to consult his coach before the final events, the javelin 4 throw and the 1,500-meter race.


"I look at him and I go, 'Alright, what do I have to throw and what do I have to run to get the American record?' He stopped and looked at me, 'No, Ashton, the world record.' At that moment I saw his belief in me and I was like, 'Let's go do it then,'" Eaton said.


And he did. Ashton Eaton set a new world record in the decathlon as he qualified 5 for Team USA.


But Eaton is not the only one in his household with Olympic dreams. This week, his fiancée, Brianne Theisen, attempts to qualify for the Summer Games in the heptathlon, a seven-event endurance fest. Theisen was a three-time collegiate heptathlon champion at the University of Oregon, which is where the couple met.


However, there's a twist. Theisen won't compete for an Olympic slot on her home field in Eugene. She's in Calgary for the Canadian Olympic Trials. That’s because Theisen grew up on the plains of Saskatchewan and retains Canadian citizenship 6. She figures Canadian fans won't hold it against her if they see her cheering in London for her American fiancée.


"A lot of them also went to NCAA schools and have friends in the U.S. So I think, you know, they understand," Theisen said.


Ashton Eaton doesn't foresee any problems with divided loyalties 7 in the relationship either.


"Yeah, she's Canadian and yeah, I'm going to be for the U.S. team. But if everything goes well and she has the opportunity to hold up the Canadian flag, I'm going to be freaking out. The whole experience is cool. It has nothing to do with countries; it's just an event," Eaton added.


Eaton and Theisen say if there's a neutral zone in the athlete's village in London, they'll find it.


Finding time for a proper wedding is also a challenge, but not of quite Olympic proportions. They've put off getting married until July of 2013.




1 sprint
n.短距离赛跑;vi. 奋力而跑,冲刺;vt.全速跑过
  • He put on a sprint to catch the bus.他全速奔跑以赶上公共汽车。
  • The runner seemed to be rallied for a final sprint.这名赛跑者似乎在振作精神作最后的冲刺。
2 hurdles
n.障碍( hurdle的名词复数 );跳栏;(供人或马跳跃的)栏架;跨栏赛
  • In starting a new company, many hurdles must be crossed. 刚开办一个公司时,必须克服许多障碍。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • There are several hurdles to be got over in this project. 在这项工程中有一些困难要克服。 来自辞典例句
3 vault
n.拱形圆顶,地窖,地下室
  • The vault of this cathedral is very high.这座天主教堂的拱顶非常高。
  • The old patrician was buried in the family vault.这位老贵族埋在家族的墓地里。
4 javelin
n.标枪,投枪
  • She achieved a throw of sixty metres in the javelin event.在掷标枪项目中,她掷了60米远。
  • The coach taught us how to launch a javelin.教练教我们投标枪。
5 qualified
adj.合格的,有资格的,胜任的,有限制的
  • He is qualified as a complete man of letters.他有资格当真正的文学家。
  • We must note that we still lack qualified specialists.我们必须看到我们还缺乏有资质的专家。
6 citizenship
n.市民权,公民权,国民的义务(身份)
  • He was born in Sweden,but he doesn't have Swedish citizenship.他在瑞典出生,但没有瑞典公民身分。
  • Ten years later,she chose to take Australian citizenship.十年后,她选择了澳大利亚国籍。
7 loyalties
n.忠诚( loyalty的名词复数 );忠心;忠于…感情;要忠于…的强烈感情
  • an intricate network of loyalties and relationships 忠诚与义气构成的盘根错节的网络
  • Rows with one's in-laws often create divided loyalties. 与姻亲之间的矛盾常常让人两面为难。 来自《简明英汉词典》
学英语单词
actuating lever
ageing hardening
air launched cruise missile
Amphicoelia
approximation by operator
Atherolipin
athletic communication psychology
back out
baggage-rooms
beef-witted
bimorphic male
bottle track
brachyeardia
catch ratline
central tegmental tract
climatic stability theory
communication modem
counterguerilla
couplets on pillar
cylindruria
derne
design-construction team
dirty Sanchezes
Edlitz
electrolytic gravimetry
electronic inductivity
enterocardiovirus
Every bean has its black
exit jewel
fast loading
fault tolerant routing algorithm
feature-based design
fenestellae
filicanes
fluid state
full circle girder erecting crane
future light cone
grieve
histrionic
i-wived
identification of immature infant
Insiza
integrated trajectory system
issue in
kilogal meter
left internal spermatic vein
lifoes
low pump suction pressure
low-voltage capacitor discharge
make your bread
Mankayan
Mexican stand-off
National Association of Precancel Collectors
navarea warning service
nickums
nonmythic
North Fareham
octonare
Olorani
Oseen force
outcools
paciest
padbolt
panoptically
pinest
plane bed
plusia agnata staudinger
polytropic expansion
promotion and transfer
propositional dynamic logic
protanabol
quarter moon
radiatio
radio environment
regular epitaxy
road level
rotating contactor
sales representatives
sell't
shifting shaft
slugginess
soil bearing value
spice mixture
stinking rich
stitch line
subdermal vascular plexus free skin graft
subintrance
technically strong market
temperature expansion of pipes
terminal interchange
thyroid hormone evaluation
tongbok (dongbog)
trigyric
upbar
verbal creation
Vilna Gaon
vitamin b12 monocarboxylic acid
wako
Wiesentheid
wound heart wood
yahe (papua new guinea)
yoy