VOA慢速英语2016 105岁高龄老人再创骑行纪录

This is What's Trending Today.

World records can be set even if you are over 100 years old.

Robert Marchand was born in 1911 in northern France. He enjoys riding a bicycle, and started cycling seriously when he was in his 60s.

Marchand is now 105 years old.

On Wednesday, a crowd gathered at the Velodrome National, about 30 kilometers outside of Paris. They were there to see how far he could travel in one hour.

The record for one hour is held by Britain's Bradley Wiggins, a former Tour de France winner. Wiggins covered 54.5 kilometers in 2015.

Evelyn Stevens of the United States holds the women's record. She went almost 48 kilometers in an hour last year.

In 2012, Marchand set a record for riders over 100 years old when he traveled almost 27 kilometers in an hour. So the question many people asked this week was: "Could he break his own record?"

Marchand set off on his record attempt as sports lovers¹ cheered and photographers watched. He moved slowly, but steadily², around the cycling track.

Marchand is relatively³ small. He is only 1.52 meters tall and weighs 52 kilograms.

When the hour ended, he completed 92 times around the track. That is just over 22.5 kilometers.

After the event, Marchand said he could have done better. He did not see his trainers telling him he only had 10 minutes remaining.

"I would have gone faster. I would have posted a better time," he said.

But the news was still good, as he did set a new record for riders 105-years-old or older.

"I'm now waiting for a rival," he said.

And that's What's Trending Today.

这里是《今日热点》栏目。

即便百岁高龄也能创造世界纪录。

1911年，罗伯特马桑(Robert Marchand)出生在法国北部。马桑热爱骑行，但其正式开启骑行之旅是在耳顺之年。

如今，马桑已是105岁高龄。

本周三，熙攘的人群聚集在巴黎城外30公里处的国家自行车场，想一睹这位百岁老人能在1小时的时间里骑多远。

当时，1小时骑行世界纪录的保持者是英国的布拉德利?威金斯，威金斯曾是环法自行车赛的上一届冠军。威金斯在2015年创造的纪录是54.5公里。

而女子骑行的世界纪录创造者是美国的艾芙林?斯蒂文斯(Evelyn Stevens)。艾芙林去年创造的1小时骑行纪录是48公里。

2012年，马桑为100岁以上的老人组创造了1小时27公里的骑行纪录。所以本周，很多人都想知道的问题是：“他能打破自己创造的纪录吗？”

在体育迷的欢呼声中以及摄影师的拍摄中，马桑踏上了其打破纪录的尝试之旅。虽然行动缓慢，但他步步坚实地在跑道上前行着。

马桑个头不算高。他只有1米52，体重104斤。

1小时结束的时候，他已经完成了跑道的92倍长。超过了22.5公里。

赛后，马桑表示他本可以做得更好。因为他没看到训练员告诉他剩余10分钟的提醒。

“我还可以骑得更快。我还可以更好的纪录，”他说。

但他创造的纪录已足够优秀，因为他已为105岁以上的老人组中创造了新纪录。

“我孤独求败啊，”他说。

以上就是本期的《今日热点》。

1 lovers   

爱好者( lover的名词复数 )； 情人； 情夫； 情侣

参考例句：

• They were off-screen lovers. 他们是真实生活中的情侣。
• Shakespeare's star-crossed lovers, Romeo and Juliet 罗密欧和朱丽叶这一对莎士比亚笔下命运多舛的恋人

2 steadily   

adv.稳定地；不变地；持续地

参考例句：

• The scope of man's use of natural resources will steadily grow.人类利用自然资源的广度将日益扩大。
• Our educational reform was steadily led onto the correct path.我们的教学改革慢慢上轨道了。

3 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。