Take Away English-Swimming Star 泳坛新星

Tom Daley, European diving champion with his medal.

Need some inspiration? Looking for a sporting hero to emulate¹? Then look no further than thirteen-year-old Tom Daley from Plymouth in the UK.

Tom is the new European swimming champion following his win at the European Swimming Championships in The Netherlands.

Tom won the competition by being the best at diving. His dives were flawless according to sports commentators² in the fourth and fifth rounds of the games, where he scored his best results.

His success qualifies him for the Olympic Games in Beijing, and he is feeling very proud. He told the BBC:

“To finish up and be standing³ on the top of the podium with your national anthem⁴ playing is not something that happens every day.”

He has broken a record with his win, and is now Britain’s youngest male medallist. The record until now was held by another diver, Brian Phelps, who was sixteen years old when he won the bronze medal at the European Championships when it was held in Rome.

There have been winners in the past that were even younger. Cecilia Colledge still holds the record for being the youngest British female Olympic competitor.

She was 11 years and 73 days old when she competed in the women’s single skating competition at the 1932 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid⁵.

Tom has a track record of succeeding when young. He was given special permission to compete at the Youth Olympics when he was three years under the minimum age limit. He also outstripped⁶ all his contemporaries at school and at the Senior National Championships.

So, can Tom Daley, who will be 14 in August, go onto Olympic victory even at his first attempt? It seems his chances are quite good. Fellow sportsmen say he has the drive and determination to succeed.

GLOSSARY 词汇表

inspiration 激励/鼓舞 flawless 完美无暇的 podium 主席台/（乐队）指挥台 medallist 奖牌获得者 track record 纪录 contemporaries 同龄/同辈人 fellow sportsmen 同行运动员

emulate 效仿 sports commentators 体育评论/解说员 broken a record 打破纪录 holds the record 保持纪录 outstripped 超过/优于 his chances 他的机会 drive and determination 动力和决心

1 emulate   

v.努力赶上或超越，与…竞争；效仿

参考例句：

• You must work hard to emulate your sister.你必须努力工作，赶上你姐姐。
• You must look at the film and try to emulate his behavior.你们必须观看这部电影，并尽力模仿他的动作。

2 commentators   

n.评论员( commentator的名词复数 )；时事评论员；注释者；实况广播员

参考例句：

• Sports commentators repeat the same phrases ad nauseam. 体育解说员翻来覆去说着同样的词语，真叫人腻烦。
• Television sports commentators repeat the same phrases ad nauseam. 电视体育解说员说来说去就是那么几句话，令人厌烦。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

4 anthem   

n.圣歌，赞美诗，颂歌

参考例句：

• All those present were standing solemnly when the national anthem was played.奏国歌时全场肃立。
• As he stood on the winner's rostrum,he sang the words of the national anthem.他站在冠军领奖台上，唱起了国歌。

5 placid   

adj.安静的，平和的

参考例句：

• He had been leading a placid life for the past eight years.八年来他一直过着平静的生活。
• You should be in a placid mood and have a heart-to- heart talk with her.你应该心平气和的好好和她谈谈心。

6 outstripped   

v.做得比…更好，（在赛跑等中）超过( outstrip的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• That manufacturer outstripped all his competitors in sales last year. 那个制造商家去年的销售量超过了所有竞争对手。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The imagination of her mother and herself had outstripped the truth. 母亲和她自己的想象力远远超过了事实。 来自辞典例句