2-76

 

76.

A few weeks later, after more than a year of talking and planning, thinking and worrying, seventhousand fans packed into the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park for the opening ceremony. TheInvictus Games were born.

It had been decided¹ that the International Warrior² Games was a tongue twister, a mouthful. Aclever Royal Marine³ had then come up with this far better alternative.

As soon as he suggested it we all said: Of course! After the William Ernest Henley poem!

Every Brit knew that poem. Many had the first line by heart.

Out of the night that covers me…

And what schoolboy or schoolgirl didn’t encounter at least once those sonorous⁴ final lines?

I am the master of my fate,

I am the captain of my soul.

Minutes before my speech at the opening ceremony, I stood in the wings, holding notecards inmy hands, which were visibly shaking. Before me, the podium looked like a gallows⁵. I read mycards over and over, while nine Red Arrows did a flypast, streaming smoke colored red, white andblue. Then Idris Elba read “Invictus,” maybe as well as anyone ever has, and then MichelleObama, via satellite, said some eloquent⁶ words about the meaning of the games. Finally, sheintroduced me.

Long walk. Through a red-carpeted labyrinth⁷. My cheeks looked red-carpeted as well. Mysmile was frozen, the fight-or-flight response in full effect. I scolded myself under my breath forbeing this way. These games were celebrating men and women who’d lost limbs, pushed theirbodies to the limit and beyond, and here I was freaking out about a little speech.

But it wasn’t my fault. Anxiety, by this point, was controlling my body, my life. And thisspeech, which I believed meant so much to so many, couldn’t help but exacerbate⁸ my condition.

Plus, the producer told me as I walked onstage that we were running behind on time. Ah, great,something else to think about. Thanks.

As I reached the lectern, which I’d personally and carefully positioned, I berated⁹ myself,because it afforded a perfect view of all the competitors. All those trusting, wholesome¹⁰, expectantfaces — counting on me. I forced myself to look away, to look at nothing. Hurrying, hyper-conscious of the clock, I bleated¹¹ out: For some of those taking part this will be a stepping-stone toelite sport. But for others it will mark the end of a chapter in their recovery and the beginning of anew one.

I went and found my seat, down front, beside Pa, who put a hand on my shoulder. Well done,darling boy. He was being kind. He knew I’d rushed the speech. For once I was glad not to hearthe raw truth from him.

Just on the numbers, Invictus was a hit. Two million people watched on TV, thousands filledthe arenas¹² for each event. Among the highlights, for me, was the wheelchair rugby final, Britainversus America, thousands of fans cheering Britain on to victory in the Copper¹³ Box.

Wherever I went that week, people came up to me, shook my hand, told me their stories.

Children, parents, grandparents, always with tears in their eyes, told me that these games hadrestored something they’d feared forever lost: the true spirit of a son, a daughter, a brother, asister, a mum, a dad. One woman tapped me on the shoulder and told me I’d resurrected herhusband’s smile.

Oh, that smile, she said. I hadn’t seen it since he got injured.

I knew Invictus would do some good in the world, I always knew, but I was caught off guardby this wave of appreciation¹⁴ and gratitude¹⁵. And joy.

Then came the emails. Thousands, each more moving than the last.

I’ve had a broken back for five years, but after watching these brave men and women I’ve gotoff the sofa today and I’m ready to begin again.

I’ve been suffering depression since returning from Afghanistan but this demonstration¹⁶ ofhuman courage and resilience has made me see…At the closing ceremony, moments after I introduced Dave Grohl and the Foo Fighters, a manand woman approached, their young daughter between them. The daughter was wearing a pinkhoodie and orange ear defenders¹⁷. She looked up at me: Thank you for making my daddy…Daddyagain.

He’d won a gold medal.

Just one problem, she said. She couldn’t see the Foo Fighters.

Ah well, we can’t have that!

I lifted her onto my shoulders and together the four of us watched, danced, sang, andcelebrated being alive.

It was my thirtieth birthday.

 

1 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

2 warrior   

n.勇士，武士，斗士

参考例句：

• The young man is a bold warrior.这个年轻人是个很英勇的武士。
• A true warrior values glory and honor above life.一个真正的勇士珍视荣誉胜过生命。

3 marine   

adj.海的；海生的；航海的；海事的；n.水兵

参考例句：

• Marine creatures are those which live in the sea. 海洋生物是生存在海里的生物。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

4 sonorous   

adj.响亮的，回响的；adv.圆润低沉地；感人地；n.感人，堂皇

参考例句：

• The sonorous voice of the speaker echoed round the room.那位演讲人洪亮的声音在室内回荡。
• He has a deep sonorous voice.他的声音深沉而洪亮。

5 gallows   

n.绞刑架，绞台

参考例句：

• The murderer was sent to the gallows for his crimes.谋杀犯由于罪大恶极被处以绞刑。
• Now I was to expiate all my offences at the gallows.现在我将在绞刑架上赎我一切的罪过。

6 eloquent   

adj.雄辩的，口才流利的；明白显示出的

参考例句：

• He was so eloquent that he cut down the finest orator.他能言善辩，胜过最好的演说家。
• These ruins are an eloquent reminder of the horrors of war.这些废墟形象地提醒人们不要忘记战争的恐怖。

7 labyrinth   

n.迷宫；难解的事物；迷路

参考例句：

• He wandered through the labyrinth of the alleyways.他在迷宫似的小巷中闲逛。
• The human mind is a labyrinth.人的心灵是一座迷宫。

8 exacerbate   

v.恶化，增剧，激怒，使加剧

参考例句：

• WMO says a warming climate can exacerbate air pollution.世界气象组织说，气候变暖可能会加剧空气污染。
• In fact efforts will merely exacerbate the current problem.实际上努力只会加剧当前的问题。

9 berated   

v.严厉责备，痛斥( berate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Marion berated Joe for the noise he made. 玛丽昂严厉斥责乔吵吵闹闹。 来自辞典例句
• It berated Mussolini for selling out to Berlin. 它严厉谴责了墨索里尼背叛、投靠柏林的行径。 来自辞典例句

10 wholesome   

adj.适合；卫生的；有益健康的；显示身心健康的

参考例句：

• In actual fact the things I like doing are mostly wholesome.实际上我喜欢做的事大都是有助于增进身体健康的。
• It is not wholesome to eat without washing your hands.不洗手吃饭是不卫生的。

11 bleated   

v.（羊，小牛）叫( bleat的过去式和过去分词 )；哭诉；发出羊叫似的声音；轻声诉说

参考例句：

• The lost lamb bleated. 迷路的小羊咩咩的叫。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• She bleated her disapproval of her son's marriage to Amy. 她用颤抖的声音表示不赞成儿子与艾米的婚事。 来自辞典例句

12 arenas   

表演场地( arena的名词复数 )； 竞技场； 活动或斗争的场所或场面； 圆形运动场

参考例句：

• Demolition derbies are large-scale automobile rodeos that take place in big arenas. 撞车比赛指的是在很大的竞技场上举行的大型汽车驾驶技术表演。
• Are there areas of privacy in the most public of arenas? 在绝大部分公开的场合中存在需要保护隐私的领域吗？

13 copper   

n.铜；铜币；铜器；adj.铜(制)的；(紫)铜色的

参考例句：

• The students are asked to prove the purity of copper.要求学生们检验铜的纯度。
• Copper is a good medium for the conduction of heat and electricity.铜是热和电的良导体。

14 appreciation   

n.评价；欣赏；感谢；领会，理解；价格上涨

参考例句：

• I would like to express my appreciation and thanks to you all.我想对你们所有人表达我的感激和谢意。
• I'll be sending them a donation in appreciation of their help.我将送给他们一笔捐款以感谢他们的帮助。

15 gratitude   

adj.感激，感谢

参考例句：

• I have expressed the depth of my gratitude to him.我向他表示了深切的谢意。
• She could not help her tears of gratitude rolling down her face.她感激的泪珠禁不住沿着面颊流了下来。

16 demonstration   

n.表明，示范，论证，示威

参考例句：

• His new book is a demonstration of his patriotism.他写的新书是他的爱国精神的证明。
• He gave a demonstration of the new technique then and there.他当场表演了这种新的操作方法。

17 defenders   

n.防御者( defender的名词复数 )；守卫者；保护者；辩护者

参考例句：

• The defenders were outnumbered and had to give in. 抵抗者寡不敌众，只能投降。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• After hard fighting,the defenders were still masters of the city. 守军经过奋战仍然控制着城市。 来自《简明英汉词典》