VOA标准英语2008年-US Athlete Makes History, Qualifies for Three O

She has Olympic gold in her trophy¹ case, but American Sheila Taormina has achieved more than victory - she has made history by becoming the first American athlete to make the Olympics in three different sports. VOA's David Byrd has this look at Taormina, who will compete in Beijing in the grueling, five-event modern pentathlon.
　
Sheila Taormina

Sheila Taormina is no stranger to Olympic success. She won a gold medal in swimming in 1996 in Atlanta, swimming the third leg of the 800-meter freestyle relay² race for the United States. She then qualified³ for the 2000 and 2004 Olympic teams in the sport of triathlon, which includes swimming, cycling and running. Taormina finished sixth in the triathlon in Sydney and 23rd in Athens.

At the Beijing Olympics, she will compete in the five-sport modern pentathlon. The event is meant to imitate the skills needed by a Napoleonic courier and includes fencing, swimming, running, shooting and horseback riding. Athletes must start with air pistol⁴ shooting, then epee fencing. After that comes a 200-meter swim followed by equestrian⁵ show jumping. The final event is a three-kilometer run. And it all takes place in one day.

In early June, the 39-year-old Taormina made history when she qualified for the U.S. team, making her the first woman to earn an Olympic berth⁶ in three different sports. And the milestone⁷ is doubly special because four years ago Taormina had never picked up a pistol, an epee, or ridden any animal larger than a pony⁸. Taormina said that her new sport demands a great deal of her.

"I'll train no more than four sports in a day," said Sheila Taormina. "I used to try to train five on some days, but it is just too difficult. And so usually on any given day there is just one of the sports I am not doing. And it goes from about 7am; I am starting the training and I am finishing up about 5 to 6pm, with very little time in between there for anything else but getting to the next practice. But Sundays I have off completely. I don't go take any day trips anywhere. I just want to stay home when I've got my days off."

Taormina is the youngest of eight children, with 11 nieces and nephews, and says she values her time with her family. In fact, her favorite Olympic memory is not winning the gold in Atlanta, but her sixth place finish in Sydney in the triathlon. Even though she had no chance of finishing higher, Taormina says that the sight of her family cheering made her sacrifices worth it.

"I was coming down to the last 200 meters of the run to finish, and I was in sixth place," she said. "And fifth place was too far away to sprint⁹; I couldn't catch her. And I ran past the 20 members of my family who were at the Sydney Olympics and all of them were jumping up and down. And that became my Olympic moment because at that moment I realized that the people who care about you the most and who I love the most - the relationships that count the most with your family, your close friends, your God - those never changed based on whether you are going to win a gold medal or not going to win a medal at all."

Sheila Taormina almost did not achieve her dream of qualifying¹⁰ in three sports. Because of its elite¹¹ - but small - following, modern pentathlon was almost eliminated from the Olympics six years ago. Then the U.S. organization that that oversaw¹² its development in the United States for more than 50 years folded.

And there were financial problems. Modern pentathlon does not draw nearly the support as marquee sports like athletics¹³, gymnastics, or swimming. But Taormina persevered¹⁴. As part of her efforts to make the team, she sold her house - at a loss - in 2006. Taormina said she counted that setback¹⁵ as part of the sacrifice needed to achieve her larger goal of making the Olympic team.

Then there was doubt whether she would be on the team. Nations can send just two athletes per gender¹⁶ to the Olympic competition, and Taormina was one of three American women to meet the international modern pentathlon standard. However, she beat out teammates Michelle Kelly and Margo Isaksen in the USOC's tiebreaker - her performance in the World Cup this year. Taormina finished ninth while Isaksen was 10th and Kelly was 29th.

Taormina says that her goal in Beijing is simple - to enjoy the Olympics again as she did in 1996 - with wide eyes. She says that while her main goal - getting to Beijing - has been achieved, she will be trying to make the podium. But even if she does not medal, Sheila Taormina says that she is satisfied to finish what she started - and to prove that someone her age can learn - and compete - at a new sport at the international level.

 

1 trophy   

n.优胜旗，奖品，奖杯，战胜品，纪念品

参考例句：

• The cup is a cherished trophy of the company.那只奖杯是该公司很珍惜的奖品。
• He hung the lion's head as a trophy.他把那狮子头挂起来作为狩猎纪念品。

2 relay   

n.接力赛，中继转播（设备）；vt.转述，转播

参考例句：

• They will relay your message.他们会转达你的口信。
• This metal tower is used to relay television signals to distant villages.这个金属塔是用于向遥远的村子转播电视讯号的。

3 qualified   

adj.合格的，有资格的，胜任的，有限制的

参考例句：

• He is qualified as a complete man of letters.他有资格当真正的文学家。
• We must note that we still lack qualified specialists.我们必须看到我们还缺乏有资质的专家。

4 pistol   

n.手枪

参考例句：

• He drew his pistol and aimed at the enemy soldier.他拔出枪对准敌兵。
• The escaped criminal fell at the sound of a pistol.手枪一响，逃犯应声倒下。

5 equestrian   

adj.骑马的；n.马术

参考例句：

• They all showed extraordinary equestrian skills.他们的骑术都很高超。
• I want to book two equestrian tickets.我想订两张马术比赛的票。

6 berth   

n.卧铺，停泊地，锚位；v.使停泊

参考例句：

• She booked a berth on the train from London to Aberdeen.她订了一张由伦敦开往阿伯丁的火车卧铺票。
• They took up a berth near the harbor.他们在港口附近找了个位置下锚。

7 milestone   

n.里程碑；划时代的事件

参考例句：

• The film proved to be a milestone in the history of cinema.事实证明这部影片是电影史上的一个里程碑。
• I think this is a very important milestone in the relations between our two countries.我认为这是我们两国关系中一个十分重要的里程碑。

8 pony   

adj.小型的；n.小马

参考例句：

• His father gave him a pony as a Christmas present.他父亲给了他一匹小马驹作为圣诞礼物。
• They made him pony up the money he owed.他们逼他还债。

9 sprint   

n.短距离赛跑；vi. 奋力而跑，冲刺；vt.全速跑过

参考例句：

• He put on a sprint to catch the bus.他全速奔跑以赶上公共汽车。
• The runner seemed to be rallied for a final sprint.这名赛跑者似乎在振作精神作最后的冲刺。

10 qualifying   

使具有资格的

参考例句：

• players who fail at the pre-qualifying stage 在预选赛中淘汰掉的选手
• A doctoral candidate is required to pass a qualifying examination. 考博士需通过一个资格考试。

11 elite   

n.精英阶层；实力集团；adj.杰出的，卓越的

参考例句：

• The power elite inside the government is controlling foreign policy.政府内部的一群握有实权的精英控制着对外政策。
• We have a political elite in this country.我们国家有一群政治精英。

12 oversaw   

v.监督，监视( oversee的过去式 )

参考例句：

• He will go down as the president who oversaw two historic transitions. 他将作为见证了巴西两次历史性转变的总统，安然引退。 来自互联网
• Dixon oversaw the project as creative director of Design Research Studio. 狄克逊监督项目的创意总监设计研究工作室。 来自互联网

13 athletics   

n.运动，体育，田径运动

参考例句：

• When I was at school I was always hopeless at athletics.我上学的时候体育十分糟糕。
• Our team tied with theirs in athletics.在田径比赛中，我们队与他们队旗鼓相当。

14 persevered   

v.坚忍，坚持( persevere的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She persevered with her violin lessons. 她孜孜不倦地学习小提琴。
• Hard as the conditions were, he persevered in his studies. 虽然条件艰苦，但他仍坚持学习。 来自辞典例句

15 setback   

n.退步，挫折，挫败

参考例句：

• Since that time there has never been any setback in his career.从那时起他在事业上一直没有遇到周折。
• She views every minor setback as a disaster.她把每个较小的挫折都看成重大灾难。

16 gender   

n.（生理上的）性，（名词、代词等的）性

参考例句：

• French differs from English in having gender for all nouns.法语不同于英语，所有的名词都有性。
• Women are sometimes denied opportunities solely because of their gender.妇女有时仅仅因为性别而无法获得种种机会。