英语听力—环球英语 658 Germany’s Sporting Shame, Part One

　　Voice 1
Hello, and welcome to Spotlight¹. I'm Robin² Basselin.
Voice 2
And I'm Steve Myersco. This programme uses a special English method of broadcasting. It is easier for people to understand, no matter where in the world they live.
Voice 1
The World Athletics³ Championships, Berlin. Germany's capital city held this event in September 2009. Hundreds of sportsmen⁴ and women competed. And thousands of people came from all over the world to support them. They saw some of the sports people achieve great results. And the German people did all that they could to make visitors feel welcome. People said that the whole week was a huge success. But sport in Germany has not always been in such good health.
Voice 2
Between 1949 and 1990, the country of Germany was divided into two states - East Germany and West Germany. This was one of the results of the Second World War. Germany was in ruins. Each of the four allied⁵ countries took control of one part of it - France, the United Kingdom, the United States and Russia. They wanted to help re-build the country both economically and physically⁶. However the allies⁷ did not all agree on the best way to do this. France, the UK and the US had similar ideas. For them, the individual person was at the heart of any social and economic progress. However, the Russian authorities⁸ followed communist beliefs. Communist ideas set the needs of the state above the needs of the individual. The two groups could not reach an agreement. And so, they decided⁹ to divide the country. In 1949, the areas controlled by France, the UK and the United States united to form West Germany. And Russia's area of control became East.
Voice 1
West Germany's population was almost three and a half times bigger than East Germany's. The East German economy was too small to compete with larger European nations. And the international community often criticised the East German political system because people lacked individual freedom. East Germany was not a very popular country! This pushed the government to search for an area where East Germany could be as good, or even better, than anywhere else. And the area that they chose was sport!
Voice 2
In 1974 the East German government introduced a plan. It was called State Plan 14.25. This was a project designed to produce hundreds of top East German sports men and women. Children who were good at sport attended ‘Centres of Excellence¹⁰'. These centres were sports schools. Here, the children learned¹¹ more about the skills involved in their chosen sport. And they trained very hard. However, State Plan 14.25 involved more than just hard work. Victory on the sports field was the goal - at any price. And the government believed it had designed a way to make this happen for sure - by using drugs!
Voice 1
At the special sports schools, government officials ordered doctors to give the children drugs. However, the children did not know that they were taking drugs. Birgit Boese was one of those children. She told the BBC:
Voice 3
"They told us to keep quiet about everything - the healthy food, our training programmes - everything. We could not even say anything to our families when we went home. Our trainers gave the reason that they did not want our families to envy us having healthy food...we did not think anything about it, not even when they gave us drugs. They looked like vitamins - natural substances your body needs. And they told us they were vitamins and minerals."
Voice 2
But the trainers were not giving the children natural vitamins. They were giving them a drug called Oral Turinabol. East German scientists had developed this drug. It was designed to build up a person's muscles - the parts of the body responsible for movement. Birgit and the other children received large amounts of these drugs every day. They did not know then how these drugs would change and damage their bodies.
Voice 1
After some time, people began to notice how well East German sports men and women were performing. And the 1976 Olympic Games showed just how great this improvement¹² was! East Germany won the second highest number of awards. And the East German women were particularly successful.
Voice 2
East German sports teams continued to be successful in competitions. But as the years passed by, people began to suspect that these victories were not the result of hard training alone. Sharon Davies is a British swimmer. She competed at the 1980 Olympic Games. She told the BBC:
Voice 4
"Their women looked like men...they had huge muscles that were impossible to build unless you were taking something... At world championships, new East German competitors would come. No one had heard of them. But suddenly they were there - and they would break a world record and win three races!"
Voice 1
People suspected that the East German sportsmen and women were using drugs. But nobody could prove anything. Sharon Davies continues:
Voice 4
"We knew the drug testers were only testing people for particular drugs. The East Germans knew what they were testing for. Their team had doctors who were part of the testing system...They made sure that all their sports people were free from drugs before they left the country. They performed their own drug tests on them there. They did not send out any sportsman¹³ who tested positive for drugs."
Voice 2
Seoul, South Korea. This city organised the Olympic Games in 1988. The East German team came second again on the winners' list. They gained an amazing 102 medals! However, this was the last year of East German sporting success. The dream of sporting excellence was about to burst. In another Spotlight programme, we will examine the events that led to the end of State Plan 14.25. And we discuss the effects that it had on the country and the sportspeople involved.
 

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 robin   

n.知更鸟，红襟鸟

参考例句：

• The robin is the messenger of spring.知更鸟是报春的使者。
• We knew spring was coming as we had seen a robin.我们看见了一只知更鸟，知道春天要到了。

3 athletics   

n.运动，体育，田径运动

参考例句：

• When I was at school I was always hopeless at athletics.我上学的时候体育十分糟糕。
• Our team tied with theirs in athletics.在田径比赛中，我们队与他们队旗鼓相当。

4 sportsmen   

运动员( sportsman的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• He is one of this country's top professional sportsmen. 他是本国的顶级职业运动员之一。
• He is one of this country's top professional sportsmen. 他是本国的顶级职业运动员之一。

5 allied   

adj.协约国的；同盟国的

参考例句：

• Britain was allied with the United States many times in history.历史上英国曾多次与美国结盟。
• Allied forces sustained heavy losses in the first few weeks of the campaign.同盟国在最初几周内遭受了巨大的损失。

6 physically   

adj.物质上，体格上，身体上，按自然规律

参考例句：

• He was out of sorts physically,as well as disordered mentally.他浑身不舒服，心绪也很乱。
• Every time I think about it I feel physically sick.一想起那件事我就感到极恶心。

7 allies   

联盟国，同盟者； 同盟国，同盟者( ally的名词复数 )； 支持者； 盟军

参考例句：

• The allies would fear that they were pawns in a superpower condominium. 这个联盟担心他们会成为超级大国共管的牺牲品。
• A number of the United States' allies had urged him not to take a hasty decision. 美国的一些盟友已力劝他不要急于作决定。

8 authorities   

n.当局，权力，权威；权威( authority的名词复数 )；权力；学术权威；[复数]当权者

参考例句：

• They interceded with the authorities on behalf of the detainees. 他们为被拘留者向当局求情。
• At his instigation we conceal the fact from the authorities. 我们受他的怂恿向当局隐瞒了事实。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 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。

10 excellence   

n.优秀，杰出，(pl.)优点，美德

参考例句：

• His art has reached a high degree of excellence.他的艺术已达到炉火纯青的地步。
• My performance is far below excellence.我的表演离优秀还差得远呢。

11 learned   

adj.有学问的，博学的；learn的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He went into a rage when he learned about it.他听到这事后勃然大怒。
• In this little village,he passed for a learned man.在这个小村子里，他被视为有学问的人。

12 improvement   

n.改进，增进；改进之处，改善的地方

参考例句：

• The doctor noticed a gradual improvement in his patient.医生注意到病人在逐渐恢复健康。
• I can detect signs of improvement in your thinking.我可以察觉出你思考问题方面的进步。

13 sportsman   

n.运动员

参考例句：

• His brother is a sportsman of our school.他弟弟是我校的运动员。
• Everybody thinks he is an all-round sportsman.大家认为他是一个全能运动员。