2006年VOA标准英语-Rahlves Hopes for Olympic Gold in Men's Sk

By David Byrd
Washington
02 February 2006

 
Daron Rahlves 
  
He is a three-time medalist at the World Alpine¹ Ski championships.  He has beaten the vaunted Austrians on their own course at Kitzbuehel, but Olympic success has eluded² him.  American skier³ Daron Rahlves aims to change that in Turin this month.

-------------------------------------------

Log on to Daron Rahlves' Internet site and you will learn that the song he most listens to is Pennywise's "Rise Up."

PENNYWISE:  "Well it's up to you.  What you really want to do, take time - to find a way.  Focus on your vision.  You're on a secret mission.  Ignore what the masses say."

Daron Rahlves has embraced that philosophy on the ski slopes, winning 11 World Cup races in his career, including three this season.  He is the most-successful U.S. speed skier, and the Walnut⁴ Creek⁵, California native seems to have been born to ski at high speed. 

Rahlves started skiing at age three, in Lake Tahoe, California.  Eventually he went to Vermont's Green Mountain Valley School where he started getting noticed.

Daron decided⁶ to focus on ski racing⁷ in 1993 after, on water, he had won the world jet-ski championship.  His first U.S. title was in the giant slalom, and he moved onto the World Cup circuit in both giant slalom and super giant slalom, now called super-G. 

His first Olympic appearance was in 1998, in Nagano, Japan, where he finished seventh in the super-G and 20th in the slalom.  Four years ago in Salt Lake City, Rahlves was eighth in the super-G and 16th in the downhill.  But he says he aims to change his Olympic record in Turin.

"You know I don't want to go there [Turin] just to be part of the team," he said.  "It is fun, it is great to be representing the United States and the U.S. ski team and my sponsors and myself.  But I am going there for one reason and that is to put down some impressive runs and that is it.  And hopefully come out with three medals in three events."

Daron Rahlves is often overshadowed by his more talkative teammate, reigning⁸ World Cup champion Bode⁹ Miller¹⁰.  At the 2005 World Championships in Bormio, Italy, Miller took the gold in the downhill while Rahlves finished second.  It was the first time Americans had taken the top two places at a World Alpine championship in any event.  Rahlves took bronze in the giant slalom that year as well.

But while Miller is not afraid of the spotlight¹¹, Rahlves prefers relaxing in a customized bus outfitted¹² by one of his corporate¹³ sponsors. The American skier uses the bus on the World Cup circuit, and says he plans to have the bus at the Olympics.

"It is not the easiest life to live, and I really have no days to come home, so last year I went that route and I got some space there in Sestriere [Italy]," he explained.  "Which is pretty lucky, because there is not that much space there as it is.  And to have like a 40-foot [14-meter] long bus parked up there and to have my own little getaway is pretty cool."

When he is not blasting down the slopes on the World Cup circuit, or the Olympics, Daron Rahlves enjoys riding motorcycles, water skiing and mountain biking.  He also enjoys watching surfing movies and has surfed some of the big waves off his native California.

Rahlves is also devoted¹⁴ to a cross-training regimen that features a variety of sports, not just skiing.  He says his training methods are very different from the methods European teams, like Austria, use.

"They are so by-the-book sometimes and just, almost like robots sometimes," he said.  "You know they just train for - those are just kind of like the European ski racers.  And when people think about ski racing, they think about that.  And I think Americans as a team have kind of changed that around a little bit and brought new perspectives to ski racing.  So I think there are two different sides to the quintessential ski racer."

It has been 12 years since an American skier took Olympic gold in the men's downhill or super-giant slalom.  This year's U.S. team, led by Daron Rahlves and Bode Miller, is hoping to change that statistic¹⁵. 

U.S. Alpine ski team director Jesse Hunt has said he hopes the team brings home eight medals from Turin.  Daron Rahlves hopes that at least one of those will be around his neck later this month.

1 alpine   

adj.高山的；n.高山植物

参考例句：

• Alpine flowers are abundant there.那里有很多高山地带的花。
• Its main attractions are alpine lakes and waterfalls .它以高山湖泊和瀑布群为主要特色。

2 eluded   

v.（尤指机敏地）避开( elude的过去式和过去分词 )；逃避；躲避；使达不到

参考例句：

• The sly fox nimbly eluded the dogs. 那只狡猾的狐狸灵活地躲避开那群狗。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The criminal eluded the police. 那个罪犯甩掉了警察的追捕。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

3 skier   

n.滑雪运动员

参考例句：

• She is a skier who is unafraid of danger.她是一名敢于冒险的滑雪者。
• The skier skimmed across the snow.滑雪者飞快地滑过雪地。

4 walnut   

n.胡桃，胡桃木，胡桃色，茶色

参考例句：

• Walnut is a local specialty here.核桃是此地的土特产。
• The stool comes in several sizes in walnut or mahogany.凳子有几种尺寸，材质分胡桃木和红木两种。

5 creek   

n.小溪，小河，小湾

参考例句：

• He sprang through the creek.他跳过小河。
• People sunbathe in the nude on the rocks above the creek.人们在露出小溪的岩石上裸体晒日光浴。

6 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。

7 racing   

n.竞赛，赛马；adj.竞赛用的，赛马用的

参考例句：

• I was watching the racing on television last night.昨晚我在电视上看赛马。
• The two racing drivers fenced for a chance to gain the lead.两个赛车手伺机竞相领先。

8 reigning   

adj.统治的，起支配作用的

参考例句：

• The sky was dark, stars were twinkling high above, night was reigning, and everything was sunk in silken silence. 天很黑，星很繁，夜阑人静。
• Led by Huang Chao, they brought down the reigning house after 300 years' rule. 在黄巢的带领下，他们推翻了统治了三百年的王朝。

9 bode   

v.预示

参考例句：

• These figures do not bode well for the company's future.这些数字显示出公司的前景不妙。
• His careful habits bode well for his future.他那认真的习惯预示著他会有好的前途。

10 miller   

n.磨坊主

参考例句：

• Every miller draws water to his own mill.磨坊主都往自己磨里注水。
• The skilful miller killed millions of lions with his ski.技术娴熟的磨坊主用雪橇杀死了上百万头狮子。

11 spotlight   

n.公众注意的中心，聚光灯，探照灯，视听，注意，醒目

参考例句：

• This week the spotlight is on the world of fashion.本周引人瞩目的是时装界。
• The spotlight followed her round the stage.聚光灯的光圈随着她在舞台上转。

12 outfitted   

v.装备，配置设备，供给服装( outfit的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• They outfitted for the long journey. 他们为远途旅行准备装束。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• They outfitted him with artificial legs. 他们为他安了假腿。 来自辞典例句

13 corporate   

adj.共同的，全体的；公司的，企业的

参考例句：

• This is our corporate responsibility.这是我们共同的责任。
• His corporate's life will be as short as a rabbit's tail.他的公司的寿命是兔子尾巴长不了。

14 devoted   

adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的

参考例句：

• He devoted his life to the educational cause of the motherland.他为祖国的教育事业贡献了一生。
• We devoted a lengthy and full discussion to this topic.我们对这个题目进行了长时间的充分讨论。

15 statistic   

n.统计量；adj.统计的，统计学的

参考例句：

• Official statistics show real wages declining by 24%.官方统计数字表明实际工资下降了24%。
• There are no reliable statistics for the number of deaths in the battle.关于阵亡人数没有可靠的统计数字。