英语听力精选进阶版 6352

Can we expect many world records at the Games? Some experts aren't holding their breath.

Meaningful world records have only been achieved in a few Olympic sports. At the Beijing Games, world records were broken in 33 separate events: one in women's team archery, four in weightlifting, five in athletics¹ (of which Usain Bolt set three), two in track cycling and the remainder in swimming.

Yet swimming world records might be scarce in the London Aquatics² Centre. In the aftermath of Beijing 2008, the sport spent a year involved in technological³ warfare⁴ as rival companies vacuum-packed their swimmers in ultra-aerodynamic suits to give them a competitive edge. Then the world governing body, FINA, rewrote the rules on swimsuits and restored some order, but by then the damage to the record books had been done.

Since 2009, wearing considerably⁵ slower suits, only Ryan Lochte in the men's 200m medley⁶ and China's Sun Yang in the men's 1500m freestyle have set new world records, both at last year's World Championships. No woman has broken a world record since the 2009 suits were banned.

In the 1980s mostly Eastern Bloc⁷ athletes set records. In the years since, a succession of doping revelations has left the authenticity⁸ of many from that era in doubt.

David Moorcroft, Britain's former 5,000m world record-holder, thinks records are more credible⁹ now and we're getting performances more representative of what athletes are naturally capable of.

Some are betting the hunt for records at London 2012 may come from the Olympic Velodrome. "It's going to be an extremely fast venue," said British Cycling's performance director, Dave Brailsford. "Hopefully we'll see some records fall."

Quiz 测验

1. According to the article, what did FINA do when companies were developing more technology to make swimmers faster?

It rewrote the rules about what swimmers could wear in competitions.

2. Who set most records in the 1980s?

Eastern bloc athletes.

3. Is this true, false or not given? Cases of doping have made people doubt world records from the past.

True.

4. What expression refers to people who don't believe something is going to happen for sure?

They don't hold their breath.

5. What word means 'it's not allowed'?

Banned.

Glossary 词汇表

to hold (their) breath 屏住呼吸

to achieve 取得

archery 射箭（术）

weightlifting 举重

athletics 田径运动员

track cycling 场地自行车

swimming 游泳

scarce 稀少的

technological warfare 技术战

ultra-aerodynamic 超级空气动力学的

a competitive edge 竞争优势

a world governing body 世界管理机构

a record book 一个记录本

200m medley 女子200米混合泳

1500m freestyle 1500米自由泳

to be banned 禁止

doping 服用兴奋剂

the world record-holder 世界纪录保持者

The Olympic Velodrome 奥林匹克自行车赛场

1 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。

2 aquatics   

n.水生植物，水生动物( aquatic的名词复数 )；水上运动

参考例句：

• Pasturage breed aquatics basically has pig, ox, sheep and fowl. 畜牧养殖主要有猪、牛、羊和家禽。 来自互联网
• So in English they are National Stadium and National Aquatics Center. 这两处场馆的正式名字叫做”国家体育场”和”国家游泳中心“。 来自互联网

3 technological   

adj.技术的；工艺的

参考例句：

• A successful company must keep up with the pace of technological change.一家成功的公司必须得跟上技术变革的步伐。
• Today,the pace of life is increasing with technological advancements.当今， 随着科技进步，生活节奏不断增快。

4 warfare   

n.战争(状态)；斗争；冲突

参考例句：

• He addressed the audience on the subject of atomic warfare.他向听众演讲有关原子战争的问题。
• Their struggle consists mainly in peasant guerrilla warfare.他们的斗争主要是农民游击战。

5 considerably   

adv.极大地；相当大地；在很大程度上

参考例句：

• The economic situation has changed considerably.经济形势已发生了相当大的变化。
• The gap has narrowed considerably.分歧大大缩小了。

6 medley   

n.混合

参考例句：

• Today's sports meeting doesn't seem to include medley relay swimming.现在的运动会好象还没有混合接力泳这个比赛项目。
• China won the Men's 200 metres Individual Medley.中国赢得了男子200米个人混合泳比赛。

7 bloc   

n.集团；联盟

参考例句：

• A solid bloc of union members support the decision.工会会员团结起来支持该决定。
• There have been growing tensions within the trading bloc.贸易同盟国的关系越来越紧张。

8 authenticity   

n.真实性

参考例句：

• There has been some debate over the authenticity of his will. 对于他的遗嘱的真实性一直有争论。
• The museum is seeking an expert opinion on the authenticity of the painting. 博物馆在请专家鉴定那幅画的真伪。

9 credible   

adj.可信任的，可靠的

参考例句：

• The news report is hardly credible.这则新闻报道令人难以置信。
• Is there a credible alternative to the nuclear deterrent?是否有可以取代核威慑力量的可靠办法？