VOA慢速英语2013 AS IT IS 2013-06-02 Wrestling May Still Be an Olympic Sport

 

AS IT IS 2013-06-02 Wrestling May Still Be an Olympic Sport

Hi again. Nice to have you with us on As It Is. I’m Kelly Jean Kelly.

People who like the sport of wrestling can breathe a sigh of relief – at least for now. Wrestling has passed the first test to get back on the schedule for the 2020 Olympic Games.

Wrestling was allowed to reapply, along with squash, sport climbing, karate¹, the Chinese martial² art of wushu, roller sports, wakeboarding, and a combined application from baseball and softball.

Representatives from all eight sports made a presentation to a committee in St. Petersburg, Russia about why their sport should be included in the 2020 Olympic Games. The committee voted by secret ballot³ and decided⁴ that wrestling, squash, and baseball/softball would advance to the next level.

The International Olympic Committee will decide in September in Buenos Aires, Argentina which one of those three sports will remain in the Games.

Mario Ritter gives us the background on how wrestling was cut from the Olympics in the first place.

Wrestling in Trouble

The International Olympic Committee, or IOC, decided last February to take wrestling out of the Olympics. VOA’s Ardita Dunellari spoke⁵ with a former wrestler⁶ to try to understand the IOC’s decision.

Wade⁷ Schalles has won 15 national wrestling titles and one world wrestling title. He is also recognized by the Guinness Book of Records for the most pins in his career—in other words, wrestling his opponent to the floor and holding him there. Mr. Schalles says he thinks the sport is in trouble.

“We lost the sport primarily because we were arrogant⁸. We were unwilling⁹ to follow the suggestion of the IOC. It was a very strong suggestion, but we overlooked it thinking we were immune from that, because we are wrestling.”

Wrestling has a long tradition in the Olympics. It was featured in the first modern Olympics in Athens, Greece, in 1896. But today’s Olympic Games are much more than tradition. The Olympics are a major television event. And for the IOC—a for-profit organization—the money a sport makes and how popular it is on TV are important considerations.

Mr. Schalles says wrestling has not kept people interested in the sport and has lost TV audiences.

“Wrestling internationally is not fun to watch, in my opinion. Some people would disagree with me. Today, wrestling is so slippery because of the perspiration¹⁰. Half of your moves you can’t get because you slip off the guy, which then keeps the scoring low, takes away the excitement from the crowd.”

Mr. Schalles proposes major changes. They include adding long sleeves to uniforms and making point-scoring easier.

He also says one big lesson that came from February’s decision is the importance of promoting sports. That lesson is not lost on the sport’s governing organization. The International Wrestling Federation¹¹ has already hired consultants¹² to help make the sport more popular and more interesting to more people.

I’m Mario Ritter.

The Future of Wrestling

We also spoke to VOA’s Sonny Young about the future of wrestling. You may recognize Sonny from his show, “The Sonny Side of Sports.”

He explains that the Olympics can support only about 25 sports. And even though wrestling has been around since ancient times, Olympic officials are trying to appeal to a younger audience with newer sports such as BMX cycling. So, Sonny says wrestling and Olympic officials are likely to make some changes.

“One of the changes, they say they want to make the Olympic rules for wrestling easier to understand – easier for offense¹³, easier for a wrestler to score points. That’s basically how they judge a wrestling match.”

“Because right now, it’s very low-scoring, and it takes a long time for somebody to win, is that the deal?”

“Yes, yes, that’s part of it. Another change that they have made recently, they would like to see more women in wrestling. And in London last year when I was at the Games they did have female Olympic wrestling. That’s relatively¹⁴ new that we’ve had female wrestlers, including some from Africa.”

“So let me ask you this. Let’s say, let’s say wrestling doesn’t make it. Squash is also very popular, softball, baseball, also very popular. It’s a very real possibility that wrestling just does not make the cut. What’s at stake? What does that mean for the sport if it’s no longer an Olympic sport?”

“I think it would be a huge blow. To compare it with track and field, track and field is popular in Europe. The meets are broadcast on television and it has a pretty wide audience.

Here in the United States, many people watch track and field only every four years when the Olympics come around. It’s almost like a lull¹⁵ that these sports have prior to the Olympics. Wrestling gets much of its exposure at the Olympics. So I think it would be a huge blow if they take it out of the Games.”

“So it would just mean probably that fewer schools would offer it, fewer kids would start to pursue wrestling, there would be less interest even in community clubs or in cities or whatever it is.”

“In fact, on that note, I read an article recently, this was a local wrestler, from the Washington, DC, area. He’s a high school student, and he decided to forego his senior year of high school in order to go to this Olympic development center out in Colorado, where he would receive specific training in wrestling from the best American coaches, and he would be practicing against some of the best wrestlers in the United States. If they take wrestling out of the Olympics, that type of development will go away.”

“What do you think? Should wrestling stay in, especially given the other two sports that it’s up against?”

“Unquestionably I feel wrestling should remain in the Olympics. I think it’s a great sport. Just because of its Olympic legacy¹⁶, going back to ancient times. I think it definitely belongs in the Olympics. And my feeling, just by the sports it’s going up against, squash and baseball/ softball, I think they will vote in September to keep it in the Games. That’s my early prediction.”

That was Sonny Young, talking to us about the future of Olympic wrestling.

1 karate   

n.空手道(日本的一种徒手武术)

参考例句：

• Alice's boyfriend knew a little karate.艾丽斯的男朋友懂一点儿空手道。
• The black belt is the highest level in karate.黑腰带级是空手道的最高级别。

2 martial   

adj.战争的，军事的，尚武的，威武的

参考例句：

• The sound of martial music is always inspiring.军乐声总是鼓舞人心的。
• The officer was convicted of desertion at a court martial.这名军官在军事法庭上被判犯了擅离职守罪。

3 ballot   

n.（不记名）投票，投票总数，投票权；vi.投票

参考例句：

• The members have demanded a ballot.会员们要求投票表决。
• The union said they will ballot members on whether to strike.工会称他们将要求会员投票表决是否罢工。

4 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

5 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

6 wrestler   

n.摔角选手，扭

参考例句：

• The wrestler tripped up his opponent.那个摔跤运动员把对手绊倒在地。
• The stronger wrestler won the first throw.较壮的那个摔跤手第一跤就赢了。

7 wade   

v.跋涉，涉水；n.跋涉

参考例句：

• We had to wade through the river to the opposite bank.我们只好涉水过河到对岸。
• We cannot but wade across the river.我们只好趟水过去。

8 arrogant   

adj.傲慢的，自大的

参考例句：

• You've got to get rid of your arrogant ways.你这骄傲劲儿得好好改改。
• People are waking up that he is arrogant.人们开始认识到他很傲慢。

9 unwilling   

adj.不情愿的

参考例句：

• The natives were unwilling to be bent by colonial power.土著居民不愿受殖民势力的摆布。
• His tightfisted employer was unwilling to give him a raise.他那吝啬的雇主不肯给他加薪。

10 perspiration   

n.汗水；出汗

参考例句：

• It is so hot that my clothes are wet with perspiration.天太热了，我的衣服被汗水湿透了。
• The perspiration was running down my back.汗从我背上淌下来。

11 federation   

n.同盟，联邦，联合，联盟，联合会

参考例句：

• It is a federation of 10 regional unions.它是由十个地方工会结合成的联合会。
• Mr.Putin was inaugurated as the President of the Russian Federation.普京正式就任俄罗斯联邦总统。

12 consultants   

顾问( consultant的名词复数 )； 高级顾问医生，会诊医生

参考例句：

• a firm of management consultants 管理咨询公司
• There're many consultants in hospital. 医院里有很多会诊医生。

13 offense   

n.犯规，违法行为；冒犯，得罪

参考例句：

• I hope you will not take any offense at my words. 对我讲的话请别见怪。
• His words gave great offense to everybody present.他的发言冲犯了在场的所有人。

14 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

15 lull   

v.使安静，使入睡，缓和，哄骗；n.暂停，间歇

参考例句：

• The drug put Simpson in a lull for thirty minutes.药物使辛普森安静了30分钟。
• Ground fighting flared up again after a two-week lull.经过两个星期的平静之后，地面战又突然爆发了。

16 legacy   

n.遗产，遗赠；先人(或过去)留下的东西

参考例句：

• They are the most precious cultural legacy our forefathers left.它们是我们祖先留下来的最宝贵的文化遗产。
• He thinks the legacy is a gift from the Gods.他认为这笔遗产是天赐之物。