英语听力精选进阶版 6130

How Is He So Good? 他怎么能表现非凡？

Phelps's total of eight golds in Beijing put him one ahead of compatriot Mark Spitz's previous tally¹ set in 1972.

Michael Phelps dominated² the field in seven of his races and set an amazing seven world records in the process. He did, however, have one close shave in the 100m butterfly which he won by the smallest possible margin³ of just 0.01 seconds, and in another he had to contend⁴ with a faulty pair of goggles⁵.

Now people are already calling him the greatest Olympian of all time. But whether he is or not, what is it that makes Michael Phelps so good?

A good place to start might be his physique. Phelps has the perfect body shape for a swimmer: his armspan is longer than his height, he has very flexible joints⁶, huge lungs, and his incredibly large feet (size 14 in the US, size 49 in China) act like flippers in the water.

To feed his huge swimmer's body, Phelps eats an astonishing 12,000 calories a day, six times the average for a man of his age.

According to his coach, Phelps starts with a breakfast of champions: "Three fried egg sandwiches with cheese, tomatoes, fried onions and mayo, a five egg omelette, a bowl of grits⁷, three slices of French toast and three pancakes with chocolate chips."

He then slips into a swimsuit which has been making waves in the world of swimming. Designed by NASA, the American space agency, the suit is made of a special material which is said to help athletes swim 2% faster.

Michael Phelps should spare a thought for his mum, who first pushed him into swimming as a way of making friends, and who believed in him when one teacher said he would never be a success.

Whatever the reason for his success, Phelps admits there was perhaps also a bit of luck involving in winning his eight medals.

"I guess eight is a lucky number for me, too, now. The opening ceremony started on 8/8/08. Maybe it was meant to be," he said.

GLOSSARY 词汇表

bullet 子弹

destined to become 命中注定成为

household name 家喻户晓的名字

compatriot 同胞

tally （奖牌）总数

dominated the field 独霸泳池

close shave 差一点（输掉）；死里逃生

margin 相差时间

goggles 游泳镜

physique 体格

armspan 两只胳膊的长度（从一手指尖到另一手指尖）

flexible joints 灵活柔韧的关节

flippers 橡胶蹼， 鸭脚板

calories 卡路里，热量

mayo mayonnaise 的缩写，蛋黄酱

grits 粗燕麦粉

swimsuit （连体）游泳衣

making waves 引起轰动，制造浪潮

spare a thought 关心，想着

meant to be 命中注定的

1 tally   

n.计数器，记分，一致，测量；vt.计算，记录，使一致；vi.计算，记分，一致

参考例句：

• Don't forget to keep a careful tally of what you spend.别忘了仔细记下你的开支账目。
• The facts mentioned in the report tally to every detail.报告中所提到的事实都丝毫不差。

2 dominated   

受控的 -tive

参考例句：

• As a child he was dominated by his father. 他小时候由父亲主宰一切。
• His personality dominated over the other members of the committee. 他的人格影响委员会的其他成员。

3 margin   

n.页边空白；差额；余地，余裕；边，边缘

参考例句：

• We allowed a margin of 20 minutes in catching the train.我们有20分钟的余地赶火车。
• The village is situated at the margin of a forest.村子位于森林的边缘。

4 contend   

vi.竞争，搏斗，声称，主张；vt.坚持主张

参考例句：

• The firm is too small to contend against large international companies.这家公司太小，无法与国际性的大公司竞争。
• Let a hundred flowers blossom,let a hundred schools of thought contend.百花齐放，百家争鸣。

5 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。

6 joints   

接头( joint的名词复数 )； 关节； 公共场所（尤指价格低廉的饮食和娱乐场所） （非正式）； 一块烤肉 （英式英语）

参考例句：

• Expansion joints of various kinds are fitted on gas mains. 各种各样的伸缩接头被安装在煤气的总管道上了。
• Expansion joints of various kinds are fitted on steam pipes. 各种各样的伸缩接头被安装在蒸气管道上了。

7 grits   

n.粗磨粉；粗面粉；粗燕麦粉；粗玉米粉；细石子，砂粒等( grit的名词复数 )；勇气和毅力v.以沙砾覆盖（某物），撒沙砾于( grit的第三人称单数 )；咬紧牙关

参考例句：

• The sands [grits] in the cooked rice made my tooth ache. 米饭里的砂粒硌痛了牙。 来自辞典例句
• This process also produces homing and corn grits. 此法也产生玉米麸(homing)和玉米粗粉。 来自辞典例句