英语听力精选进阶版 6103（在线收听）

A thirteen year old swimming success 十三岁的游泳健将

Need some inspiration? Looking for a sporting hero to emulate? Then look no further than thirteen-year-old Tom Daley from Plymouth in the UK.

Tom is the new European swimming champion following his win at the European Swimming Championships in The Netherlands.

Tom won the competition by being the best at diving. His dives were flawless according to sports commentators in the fourth and fifth rounds of the games, where he scored his best results.

His success qualifies him for the Olympic Games in Beijing, and he is feeling very proud. He told the BBC:

“To finish up and be standing on the top of the podium with your national anthem playing is not something that happens every day.”

He has broken a record with his win, and is now Britain’s youngest male medallist. The record until now was held by another diver, Brian Phelps, who was sixteen years old when he won the bronze medal at the European Championships when it was held in Rome.

There have been winners in the past that were even younger. Cecilia Colledge still holds the record for being the youngest British female Olympic competitor.

She was 11 years and 73 days old when she competed in the women’s single skating competition at the 1932 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid.

Tom has a track record of succeeding when young. He was given special permission to compete at the Youth Olympics when he was three years under the minimum age limit. He also outstripped all his contemporaries at school and at the Senior National Championships.

So, can Tom Daley, who will be 14 in August, go onto Olympic victory even at his first attempt? It seems his chances are quite good. Fellow sportsmen say he has the drive and determination to succeed.

GLOSSARY 词汇表

inspiration 激励/鼓舞

emulate 效仿

flawless 完美无暇的

sports commentators 体育评论/解说员

podium 主席台/（乐队）指挥台

broken a record 打破纪录

medallist 奖牌获得者

holds the record 保持纪录

track record 纪录

outstripped 超过/优于

contemporaries 同龄/同辈人

his chances 他的机会

fellow sportsmen 同行运动员

drive and determination 动力和决心