美国国家公共电台 NPR--Birmingham, Ala., is hosting athletes for the World Games

Birmingham, Ala., is hosting athletes for the World Games

Transcript¹

The 11-day competition — which is held every four years — kicks off with an opening ceremony Thursday night. The events, which include drone racing² and tug³ o' war, are anything but traditional.

LEILA FADEL, HOST:

Thousands of athletes from around the world are in Birmingham, Ala., to compete in the World Games. The 11-day competition, which is held every four years, kicks off with an opening ceremony tonight. As Kyra Miles from member station WBHM reports, it's a little like an edgier⁴, off-brand version of the Olympics.

KYRA MILES, BYLINE⁵: It's just the second time that the World Games have been held in the United States in the competition's 41-year history. Santa Clara, Calif., hosted the inaugural⁶ event. And this time, Birmingham beat out finalists Lima, Peru, and Ufa, Russia, to put on the competition for some 3,600 athletes representing more than a hundred countries. Rebekka Dahl will compete in jiujitsu for Denmark.

REBEKKA DAHL: I've never been in America before.

MILES: Dahl jokes that she's a little worried because she's vegan, and she's heard Alabama is known for its barbecue. But she's excited because she says the World Games is the biggest international jiujitsu event. And she looks forward to rubbing shoulders with other elite⁷ athletes.

DAHL: We're all here, like, the best of the best. It's a weird⁸ kind of mix that this is your biggest thing, but it's all of our biggest thing. And just enjoy that kind of special feeling that we get.

MILES: Dahl hopes to repeat the gold medal she won in the last World Games in Poland. Athletes will compete in 34 sports, including some unfamiliar⁹ to U.S. audiences like korfball, floorball and fistball. For some of these lesser-known sports, the World Games is an international showcase. Some eventually become Olympic events. And others are just making their debut¹⁰, like drone racing. Competitors sit in chairs and wear virtual reality goggles¹¹ to pilot their drones through an obstacle course at speeds as high as 100 miles per hour, which generated a lot of excitement at last year's world championship.

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UNIDENTIFIED COMMENTATOR¹²: This is an unbelievable race. These guys are neck and neck and back and forth¹³ the entire time. Remember, if these...

MILES: Evan Turner from Tennessee won and now represents Team USA at the World Games.

EVAN TURNER: I kind of worked my way up through the ranks. And it feels like a dream to be competing at the World Games.

MILES: Turner started out flying drones with his dad as a hobby just a few years ago. Ryan Lindsay Lessard is the female drone pilot for Team USA. She teaches elementary school in Maine. She hopes her participation¹⁴ encourages more women to join the sport.

RYAN LINDSAY LESSARD: There's very rarely a female even at the national level. So to have 12 of us competing at once, I'm really excited to meet all those ladies.

MILES: Excitement is an understatement to describe Tim Wilkerson's (ph) feelings about the games.

TIM WILKERSON: I mean, Atlanta has the Olympics of '96. We have the World Games of 2022, so - (laughter).

MILES: He lives in Birmingham and loves the Olympics. He became a World Games superfan the moment he heard it was similar and would be held in his city. Wilkerson's collected T-shirts, coins, buttons and set a timer on his phone to count down the hours until the opening ceremony tonight. Wilkerson says the World Games, with its lineup of new and emerging sports...

WILKERSON: It's definitely the future.

MILES: But it was an ancient sport that really caught fans' eyes, sumo wrestling. It was the first competition to sell out.

For NPR News, I'm Kyra Miles in Birmingham.

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1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 racing   

n.竞赛，赛马；adj.竞赛用的，赛马用的

参考例句：

• 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。

3 tug   

v.用力拖(或拉)；苦干；n.拖；苦干；拖船

参考例句：

• We need to tug the car round to the front.我们需要把那辆车拉到前面。
• The tug is towing three barges.那只拖船正拖着三只驳船。

4 edgier   

adj.不安的，易激怒的( edgy的比较级 )

参考例句：

• The Hill is an upstart competitor that's a little edgier. 国会山是一个有点边缘化的新晋竞争者。 来自互联网
• Despite the edgier aspects of his personality, Anakin possesses a guileless charm. 除去他性格中的边缘性，阿纳金拥有一种坦率的魅力。 来自互联网

5 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

6 inaugural   

adj.就职的；n.就职典礼

参考例句：

• We listened to the President's inaugural speech on the radio yesterday.昨天我们通过无线电听了总统的就职演说。
• Professor Pearson gave the inaugural lecture in the new lecture theatre.皮尔逊教授在新的阶梯讲堂发表了启用演说。

7 elite   

n.精英阶层；实力集团；adj.杰出的，卓越的

参考例句：

• The power elite inside the government is controlling foreign policy.政府内部的一群握有实权的精英控制着对外政策。
• We have a political elite in this country.我们国家有一群政治精英。

8 weird   

adj.古怪的，离奇的；怪诞的，神秘而可怕的

参考例句：

• From his weird behaviour,he seems a bit of an oddity.从他不寻常的行为看来，他好像有点怪。
• His weird clothes really gas me.他的怪衣裳简直笑死人。

9 unfamiliar   

adj.陌生的，不熟悉的

参考例句：

• I am unfamiliar with the place and the people here.我在这儿人地生疏。
• The man seemed unfamiliar to me.这人很面生。

10 debut   

n.首次演出，初次露面

参考例句：

• That same year he made his Broadway debut, playing a suave radio journalist.在那同一年里，他初次在百老汇登台，扮演一个温文而雅的电台记者。
• The actress made her debut in the new comedy.这位演员在那出新喜剧中首次登台演出。

11 goggles   

n.护目镜

参考例句：

• Skiers wear goggles to protect their eyes from the sun.滑雪者都戴上护目镜使眼睛不受阳光伤害。
• My swimming goggles keep steaming up so I can't see.我的护目镜一直有水雾，所以我看不见。

12 commentator   

n.注释者，解说者；实况广播评论员

参考例句：

• He is a good commentator because he can get across the game.他能简单地解说这场比赛，是个好的解说者。
• The commentator made a big mistake during the live broadcast.在直播节目中评论员犯了个大错误。

13 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

14 participation   

n.参与，参加，分享

参考例句：

• Some of the magic tricks called for audience participation.有些魔术要求有观众的参与。
• The scheme aims to encourage increased participation in sporting activities.这个方案旨在鼓励大众更多地参与体育活动。