环球英语 — 230：Difficult to Compete

Voice 1
Welcome to Spotlight¹. I’m Ryan Geertsma.

Voice 2
And I’m Ruby² Jones. Spotlight uses a special English method of broadcasting. It is easier for people to understand, no matter where in the world they live.

Voice 1
In 2008, the summer Olympics took place in Beijing, China. Athletes from around the world gathered there to compete in many sports. All of them dreamed of winning³ their events – winning a gold medal! The Olympics are over, but the stories of the athletes continue to encourage people around the world.

Voice 2
Most of the athletes were given much support from their home countries. They trained using the best equipment. Many had experienced⁴ teachers to help them succeed. They worked hard for months, even years to become the best at their sport.

Voice 1
But for some athletes, it was very difficult to train for the Olympics. Some came from poor countries that could not give them the best equipment or teachers. Others lived in cities divided by violence⁵ or war. And other athletes struggled with sickness, injuries or family problems. For these athletes, simply competing in the Olympics was an amazing achievement!

Voice 2
So on today’s Spotlight we share the stories of two of these athletes.

Voice 1
Samiya Yuusf Omar is a seventeen year old runner from the country of Somalia, in Africa. At the 2008 Olympics, she ran the two hundred meter race.

Voice 2
For Samiya, training for the Olympics was difficult for many reasons. One of the biggest reasons was her home country. Somalia has been divided by conflict⁶ since before Samiya was born. The government does not control the country. Soldiers from different groups are everywhere, and violence is common.

Voice 1
The war destroyed most of Somalia’s sport buildings and training centres, so Samiya did not have a safe place to run. Most of the time, she ran in an area full of holes, created by bombs. But on some days, she could not even run there. Soldiers would stop her, saying that women should not run. Samiya said,

Voice 3
“Traditionally Somalis see the girls as ruined if they join in with things like sports and music... So I have been coming under pressure from all different sides. Some days, early in the morning... I come to a road block, set up by soldiers. They prevent me from going to the training.”

Voice 2
Samiya’s family could not provide her with many resources⁷ for her training either. Her father died when she was very young, so her mother cares for Samiya on her own. They live in a very small house near the area where Samiya trained.

Voice 1
With her mother’s support, Samiya earned a place on Somalia’s Olympic team. This made her very happy, and very proud. She never expected to be chosen, because she is so young and because she is from a minority ethnic⁸ group.

Voice 2
At the Beijing Olympics, Samiya ran the slowest time of all the runners in her event. But she still felt very happy that she got to compete.

Voice 3
“This is the best thing any athlete can hope for. It has been a very happy experience for me. I am proud to bring the Somali flag to fly with all of these countries, and to stand with the best athletes in the world.”

Voice 1
Because Samiya is only seventeen years old, she will probably run in the next summer Olympic Games. There, she hopes that she will have a chance to win! She said,

Voice 3
“I think right now... I am on my way to a bright future.”

Voice 2
Like Samiya, Nery Brenes also ran at the Beijing Olympics. He is twenty two years old, and lives in Costa Rica. His event was the four hundred meter race.

Voice 1
Many people believe Nery Brenes is the best runner in all of Costa Rica. Before the Olympics, they believed he was the country’s best chance of winning an event! But for Nery, life was not always easy. His home city, Lim

1 spotlight   

n.公众注意的中心，聚光灯，探照灯，视听，注意，醒目

参考例句：

• This week the spotlight is on the world of fashion.本周引人瞩目的是时装界。
• The spotlight followed her round the stage.聚光灯的光圈随着她在舞台上转。

2 ruby   

n.红宝石，红宝石色

参考例句：

• She is wearing a small ruby earring.她戴着一枚红宝石小耳环。
• On the handle of his sword sat the biggest ruby in the world.他的剑柄上镶有一颗世上最大的红宝石。

3 winning   

adj.获胜的，胜利的；吸引人的，有说服力的

参考例句：

• Team A has no chance of winning.A队没有获胜的可能。
• They have great hopes of winning.他们获胜的希望极大。

4 experienced   

adj.有经验的；经验丰富的，熟练的

参考例句：

• Experienced seamen will advise you about sailing in this weather.有经验的海员会告诉你在这种天气下的航行情况。
• Perhaps you and I had better change over;you are more experienced.也许我们的工作还是对换一下好，你比我更有经验。

5 violence   

n.暴力，暴虐，暴行，猛烈，强烈，强暴

参考例句：

• It was an absolutely senseless act of violence.这是毫无意义的暴力行为。
• They attacked with violence.他们猛烈攻击。

6 conflict   

n.冲突，矛盾，争执；vi.争执，撞斗，冲突，抵触

参考例句：

• Your statement is in conflict with the rest of the evidence.你的陈述同其余证据有矛盾。
• The conflict between them seems ceaseless.他们之间冲突似乎没个止息。

7 resources   

n.勇气；才智；谋略；有助于实现目标的东西；资源( resource的名词复数 )；[复数]物力；办法；来源

参考例句：

• The world's resources are rapidly diminishing. 世界资源正在迅速减少。
• a policy to equalize the distribution of resources throughout the country 使资源在全国分布均衡的政策

8 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。