英语听力精选进阶版 13873

Lost Boy runs for Olympic gold

Summary

7 August 2012

Olympic athletes have to go through many trials and work so hard to get to the Games, but none more so than Lopez Lomong, who is representing the United States in the 5,000m race.

Reporter:

Leana Hosea

Report

The journey to London 2012 for the American runner Lopez Lomong has been long and extraordinary. He was one of the so-called¹ Lost Boys - thousands of child refugees³ who fled civil war in Sudan.

Lopez Lomong:

My journey started when I was 6 years old, in the little village of Kimatong. We were in a church when the rebel⁴ soldiers came in and ordered everyone to lay down. They took all the young kids to the training camp - I was too young to hold an AK-47 and go to war because I was only 6 years old. I witnessed a lot of kids dying⁵ every day because of the food they were giving us. They were giving us a grain which was mixed with sand - a lot of kids were eating this food - but it doesn't digest in the stomach and they die.

One night Lopez Lomong managed to crawl⁶ out of the rebel camp and started running. He thought he was going back to his village, but his first ever race took him all the way to Kenya, where he spent the next 10 years in a refugee² camp. Life was hard and he would run to forget his hunger. But one day he caught a glimpse⁷ into another world. He spent all the money he had - five shillings⁸ - to watch one Olympic race on TV.

Lopez Lomong:

I saw Michael Johnson running the 400m final and he ran so fast. What really inspired me so much is that when he went to receive the medal I saw the tears come out of his face – in Africa, a grown-up person cannot cry like that. I thought, why did he cry? He just won the race, he wasn't last. But eventually I ended up seeing that he was running behind something bigger than himself – he was running for his country. From that moment, I said I would like to run for that country one day, and he became my role model from that point.

His dreams came true when the United States agreed to take 3,500 of Sudan's Lost Boys as part of a government resettlement programme. He even met his hero Michael Johnson and after years of training he qualified⁹ for the Beijing Olympics, where he was their flag bearer.

But he has never forgotten his roots and frequently visits South Sudan, where he helps to provide clean water, education and medicine through his foundation¹⁰, '4 South Sudan'. He truly represents these Olympics because he's not just running for gold for the glory, but to inspire the next generation in America and across Africa.

1 so-called   

adj.所谓的，号称的

参考例句：

• These were the so-called mainframe machines.它们被称为主机。
• Let's see what this so-called button does.让我们来看看为什么这个按钮叫这个名字。

2 refugee   

n.难民，流亡者

参考例句：

• The refugee was condemned to a life of wandering.这个难民注定要过流浪的生活。
• The refugee is suffering for want of food and medical supplies.难民苦于缺少食物和医药用品。

3 refugees   

n.避难者，难民( refugee的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The UN has begun making airdrops of food to refugees. 联合国已开始向难民空投食物。
• They claimed they were political refugees and not economic migrants. 他们宣称自己是政治难民，不是经济移民。

4 rebel   

n.叛徒，起义者；vi.造反，反抗，反感；adj.造反的，反抗的，反叛者的

参考例句：

• The rebel army is attempting to subvert the government.反叛军队企图颠覆政府统治。
• The rebel army has readjusted its strategy.叛军已经重新调整了策略。

5 dying   

adj.垂死的，临终的

参考例句：

• He was put in charge of the group by the dying leader.他被临终的领导人任命为集团负责人。
• She was shown into a small room,where there was a dying man.她被领进了一间小屋子，那里有一个垂死的人。

6 crawl   

vi.／n.爬行，匍匐行进；缓慢(费力)地行进

参考例句：

• We learn to crawl before we learn to walk.我们学会走路之前先要学会爬。
• She slowed the car to a crawl.她把车开得很慢。

7 glimpse   

vt.瞥见；n.一瞥，一看

参考例句：

• One glimpse at himself in the mirror was enough.让他照着镜子看自己一眼就够了。
• She catches a glimpse of a car in the distance.她一眼就瞥见了远处的汽车。

8 shillings   

n.先令（英国1971年以前的货币单位，为一镑的二十分之一）( shilling的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The charge for labor works out at almost ten shillings an hour. 付给工人的费用算下来每小时差不多十先令。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I will venture five shillings on it. 我愿为它赌五先令。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 qualified   

adj.合格的，有资格的，胜任的，有限制的

参考例句：

• He is qualified as a complete man of letters.他有资格当真正的文学家。
• We must note that we still lack qualified specialists.我们必须看到我们还缺乏有资质的专家。

10 foundation   

n.[pl.]地基；基础；基金会；建立，创办

参考例句：

• The foundation of the university took place 600 years ago.这所大学是600年前创办的。
• The Foundation gives money to help artists.那家基金会捐款帮助艺术家。