英语听力精选进阶版 6208

The Comeback King and Queen 冰上王子和公主复出夺冠

Chinese figure skaters Shen Xue and Zhao Hongbo rolled back the years to win China's first gold medal at the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics on Monday.

Their victory came as a fairytale ending to a story that seems more like a Hollywood movie than real life.

The veteran husband and wife duo were lured¹ out of retirement² for one last crack at Olympic gold, having previously³ won bronze medals in the 2002 and 2006 Winter Games.

At the age of 36 and 31 respectively Zhao Hongbo and Shen Xue defied sporting convention by overcoming the figure-skating world's young whippersnappers.

Ordinarily at such an age the married couple should not be competing in international events let alone bringing home Olympic gold.

To add to the drama the pair had been the lowest-ranked competitors going into the competition due to their lengthy⁴ absence from the ice.

But against all odds⁵ their superb short programme score from Sunday was enough to see them win the overall competition despite some small errors in Monday's free skate event.

An emotional Zhao said, "It's been so many years - to finally get this gold is so exciting. So many years have been devoted⁶ to this dream."

China has now won three medals at the Vancouver Games – one gold, one silver, and one bronze for Wang Beixing in the women's 500m speed skating.

So what next for Zhao and Shen? Will they defend their medals in the next games?

Well, Shen indicated that the couple may have other plans:

"It's hard to continue skating - maybe it's time to have a baby," she said.

Glossary 词汇表

figure skaters 花样滑冰选手 

rolled back the years 时光倒流 

fairytale ending 神话般的结尾 

veteran 经验丰富的老手 

lured out of retirement 复出 

crack 尝试 

defied sporting convention 反运动常规的 

overcoming 克服，战胜 

whippersnappers 自以为了不起的年轻人 

let alone 更别说 

lowest-ranked 排名最低的 

lengthy absence 长期缺席 

against all odds 克服了重重困难 

short programme 短节目 

free skate 自由滑 

emotional 情绪激动的 

devoted 挚爱的，全身心地投入

speed skating 速滑 

defend 捍卫，保住 

indicated 表示

1 lured   

吸引，引诱（lure的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• The child was lured into a car but managed to escape. 那小孩被诱骗上了车，但又设法逃掉了。
• Lured by the lust of gold,the pioneers pushed onward. 开拓者在黄金的诱惑下，继续奋力向前。

2 retirement   

n.退休，退职

参考例句：

• She wanted to enjoy her retirement without being beset by financial worries.她想享受退休生活而不必为金钱担忧。
• I have to put everything away for my retirement.我必须把一切都积蓄起来以便退休后用。

3 previously   

adv.以前，先前（地）

参考例句：

• The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
• Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿，解释原先发生了什么。

4 lengthy   

adj.漫长的，冗长的

参考例句：

• We devoted a lengthy and full discussion to this topic.我们对这个题目进行了长时间的充分讨论。
• The professor wrote a lengthy book on Napoleon.教授写了一部有关拿破仑的巨著。

5 odds   

n.让步，机率，可能性，比率；胜败优劣之别

参考例句：

• The odds are 5 to 1 that she will win.她获胜的机会是五比一。
• Do you know the odds of winning the lottery once?你知道赢得一次彩票的几率多大吗？

6 devoted   

adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的

参考例句：

• He devoted his life to the educational cause of the motherland.他为祖国的教育事业贡献了一生。
• We devoted a lengthy and full discussion to this topic.我们对这个题目进行了长时间的充分讨论。