英语听力精选进阶版 13877

The Crying Games

Summary

9 August 2012

The Olympic Games could be renamed the Crying Games; such is the outpouring of emotion at London 2012.

Reporter:

Beth McLeod

Report

As the national anthem¹ of the Dominican Republic played, Felix Sanchez cried uncontrollably. The winner of the 400m hurdles² took deep breaths, trying to regain³ his composure, but his bottom lip continued to wobble and his tears continued to flow. He is not the only one to have shown his soft side at London 2012. Countless⁴ athletes across all disciplines have been weeping on podiums. The former Olympic table tennis player, Matthew Syed, says this wellspring of emotion is understandable.

Matthew Syed, former Olympic table tennis player:

This is one of the great joys of the Olympics. It is like a wonderful opportunity to experience emotional intensity⁵, for us as viewers, for the athletes too. And when you deconstruct what they've gone through to get to this stage: the sacrifices, all of the hardships, the ambitions, the neurosis, that is wound up in that moment, you can kind of understand why it sometimes gets too much for them.

All that pressure leads to tears of despair as well. The Chinese weightlifter, Wu Jingbao, said he was ashamed for disgracing the motherland after failing to win gold. And the Olympic hosts - famed for their stiff upper lip - have been choking up along with the best of them. The British Olympic champions Victoria Pendleton, Chris Hoy, and Jess Ennis, all wept openly as they collected their medals.

1 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。

2 hurdles   

n.障碍( hurdle的名词复数 )；跳栏；（供人或马跳跃的）栏架；跨栏赛

参考例句：

• In starting a new company, many hurdles must be crossed. 刚开办一个公司时，必须克服许多障碍。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• There are several hurdles to be got over in this project. 在这项工程中有一些困难要克服。 来自辞典例句

3 regain   

vt.重新获得，收复，恢复

参考例句：

• He is making a bid to regain his World No.1 ranking.他正为重登世界排名第一位而努力。
• The government is desperate to regain credibility with the public.政府急于重新获取公众的信任。

4 countless   

adj.无数的，多得不计其数的

参考例句：

• In the war countless innocent people lost their lives.在这场战争中无数无辜的人丧失了性命。
• I've told you countless times.我已经告诉你无数遍了。

5 intensity   

n.强烈，剧烈；强度；烈度

参考例句：

• I didn't realize the intensity of people's feelings on this issue.我没有意识到这一问题能引起群情激奋。
• The strike is growing in intensity.罢工日益加剧。