VOA标准英语2008年-Age is Only a Number for Olympic Hopeful, Role-

Swimmer Dara Torres of the United States has tasted Olympic victory. But this year, the 41-year-old mother is carrying more than aspirations¹ for a gold medal on her shoulders - she is carrying the hopes of a generation of athletes and fans. Torres won her first Olympic gold medal in Los Angeles 24 years ago. Now she is the first swimmer to qualify for five Olympics. As VOA's David Byrd reports, Torres has made a remarkable² comeback and hopes to add to her collection of nine Olympic medals.
　

Dara Torres (file photo)

Dara Torres earned her first Olympic gold medal in 1984 as part of the U.S. 4x100 meter relay team. At only 17 years old, Torres swam her leg in a personal best of 55.92 seconds, but described the whole experience as "scary."

The Beverly Hills, California native attended the University of Florida in 1985 where she earned 28 National Collegiate Athletic³ Association swimming awards. However, it was there that Torres also began a battle with the eating disorder⁴ bulimia. It was an affliction that would haunt her for the next seven years.

At the 1988 Games in Seoul, South Korea, Torres finished seventh in the women's 100-meter freestyle race. But she earned a silver and a bronze medal in the relays. Once she was out of college, Torres decided⁵ to retire from the pool, but the pull of competition was too great. She made the 1992 team and won a gold in the freestyle relay. She also was able to win her battle with bulimia.

Bye bye bulimia, hello glamorous⁶ life

During the next few years Torres lived a glamorous life - including being the first athlete to model in the annual Sports Illustrated⁷ magazine swimsuit issue. She worked as a spokesperson for the Reebok sporting goods company at the 1996 Games in Atlanta.

But by 1999, the old competitive urges had come back and Torres moved to California to train. By the time of the Sydney Games, Torres had swum the 50-meter freestyle in a time that beat her world record time 15 years earlier. In Sydney, Torres won three individual bronze medals - in the 50-meter freestyle, 100-meter freestyle and 100-meter butterfly. She won two gold medals in relay races as well. At age 33, Torres said she had swum her last Olympic race.

Baby brings benefits
　

Dara Torres walks to the awards ceremony for the women's 50-meter freestyle with her daughter Tessa at the US Olympic swimming trials in Omaha, 06 Jul 2008

But now, Dara Torres says that she could not stay away from the pool - even when she was pregnant with her daughter Tessa.

"I got back into swimming when I was pregnant just for exercise," she explained. "And I started swimming swim meets just for fun. And I went to Masters world championships and there were about 5,000 people there. And about 5,000 of them came up to me and said, 'oh, it would be great to have a 40-year-old in the Olympics!' And that got my wheels turning and that was it; I was toast [convinced]."

In July, Torres won both the 50-meter freestyle and the 100-meter freestyle races at the U.S. Olympic trials in Omaha, Nebraska. She set an American record in the 50-meter freestyle, affectionately known as "the splash and dash." Torres says that she was stunned⁸ to achieve what she did at 41 and credits her support staff and belief in herself for helping⁹ her reach the Olympics again.

"I have a great support staff," she noted¹⁰. "I am surrounded by wonderful people who know what they are doing. And I really work on my recovery, and I believe. And I think that is the biggest thing, is mentally to believe that you can do it. You know, the water does not know what age you are when you jump in so, you know, why not?"

It's all about teamwork

Part of her training staff includes working with Andy O'Brien, the strength coach of the Florida Panthers ice hockey team. She uses lighter¹¹ weight than she did when she was younger, and her longer, chiseled¹² physique shows the result of her work. Torres does weight training for 60 to 90 minutes four times a week.

After her strength workouts, Torres works with trainers Anne Tierney and Steve Sierra doing what is called resistance stretching, which she calls her secret weapon. But her Olympic preparation does not come cheaply - Torres spends more than $100,000 a year on her support staff - money that comes from endorsements¹³ with Speedo, Toyota and other sponsors.

Doping? forget about it!

Torres's success in the pool has led some to accuse her of using performance-enhancing drugs. But to counteract¹⁴ those accusations¹⁵, the swimmer went to Travis Tygart, the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency head, and challenged the doping control body to test her.

"I have been taking a proactive approach," she said. "I went to USADA and met to the CEO there and said 'hey, people are talking about me. They can't believe I am doing this. I am an open book. DNA¹⁶ test me, blood test me, urine test me, do whatever you want. I want to show people I am clean.' So if anyone says it now - I mean I am being blood tested and urine tested - I just take it as a compliment."

Bittersweet victory

Ironically, Dara Torres might also have benefitted from giving birth to her daughter Tessa. The hormonal¹⁷ changes associated with pregnancy¹⁸ have made her more flexible, and that benefits her turns and her stroke in the pool. But Torres has suffered a setback¹⁹ just prior to the games - her longtime coach Michael Lohberg has been diagnosed with aplastic anemia²⁰, a disorder that causes the bone marrow²¹ to shut down and new red blood cells are not produced.

As of this report, Lohberg is undergoing treatment at the National Institutes of Health outside Washington, DC. Whether he will be able to travel to Beijing remains²² doubtful.

But Dara Torres says her coach is not her only motivator. The swimmer knows she is a role model for other women and hopes her success in the pool will show others that they do not have to put off their dreams just because of age.

1 aspirations   

强烈的愿望( aspiration的名词复数 )； 志向； 发送气音； 发 h 音

参考例句：

• I didn't realize you had political aspirations. 我没有意识到你有政治上的抱负。
• The new treaty embodies the aspirations of most nonaligned countries. 新条约体现了大多数不结盟国家的愿望。

2 remarkable   

adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的

参考例句：

• She has made remarkable headway in her writing skills.她在写作技巧方面有了长足进步。
• These cars are remarkable for the quietness of their engines.这些汽车因发动机没有噪音而不同凡响。

3 athletic   

adj.擅长运动的，强健的；活跃的，体格健壮的

参考例句：

• This area has been marked off for athletic practice.这块地方被划出来供体育训练之用。
• He is an athletic star.他是一个运动明星。

4 disorder   

n.紊乱，混乱；骚动，骚乱；疾病，失调

参考例句：

• When returning back,he discovered the room to be in disorder.回家后，他发现屋子里乱七八糟。
• It contained a vast number of letters in great disorder.里面七零八落地装着许多信件。

5 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。

6 glamorous   

adj.富有魅力的；美丽动人的；令人向往的

参考例句：

• The south coast is less glamorous but full of clean and attractive hotels.南海岸魅力稍逊，但却有很多干净漂亮的宾馆。
• It is hard work and not a glamorous job as portrayed by the media.这是份苦差，并非像媒体描绘的那般令人向往。

7 illustrated   

adj. 有插图的，列举的 动词illustrate的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• His lecture was illustrated with slides taken during the expedition. 他在讲演中使用了探险时拍摄到的幻灯片。
• The manufacturing Methods: Will be illustrated in the next chapter. 制作方法将在下一章说明。

8 stunned   

adj. 震惊的，惊讶的 动词stun的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• The fall stunned me for a moment. 那一下摔得我昏迷了片刻。
• The leaders of the Kopper Company were then stunned speechless. 科伯公司的领导们当时被惊得目瞪口呆。

9 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

10 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

11 lighter   

n.打火机，点火器；驳船；v.用驳船运送；light的比较级

参考例句：

• The portrait was touched up so as to make it lighter.这张画经过润色，色调明朗了一些。
• The lighter works off the car battery.引燃器利用汽车蓄电池打火。

12 chiseled   

adj.凿刻的，轮廓分明的v.凿，雕，镌( chisel的过去式 )

参考例句：

• Woltz had chiseled the guy, given him peanuts for the book. 乌尔茨敲了这个作家的竹杠，用了他的书，却只给微不足道的一点点钱。 来自教父部分
• He chiseled the piece of wood into the shape of a head. 他把这块木头凿刻成人头的形状。 来自辞典例句

13 endorsements   

n.背书( endorsement的名词复数 )；（驾驶执照上的）违章记录；（公开的）赞同；（通常为名人在广告中对某一产品的）宣传

参考例句：

• He must make much money on those tennis shoe endorsements he does. 他替那些网球鞋珍重广告，就赚了不少钱。 来自互联网
• But celebrity endorsements remain an important promotional tool for marketers. 尽管如此，邀明星助阵仍是营销人员重要的推广手段之一。 来自互联网

14 counteract   

vt.对…起反作用，对抗，抵消

参考例句：

• The doctor gave him some medicine to counteract the effect of the poison.医生给他些药解毒。
• Our work calls for mutual support.We shouldn't counteract each other's efforts.工作要互相支持，不要互相拆台。

15 accusations   

n.指责( accusation的名词复数 )；指控；控告；（被告发、控告的）罪名

参考例句：

• There were accusations of plagiarism. 曾有过关于剽窃的指控。
• He remained unruffled by their accusations. 对于他们的指控他处之泰然。

16 DNA   

(缩)deoxyribonucleic acid 脱氧核糖核酸

参考例句：

• DNA is stored in the nucleus of a cell.脱氧核糖核酸储存于细胞的细胞核里。
• Gene mutations are alterations in the DNA code.基因突变是指DNA密码的改变。

17 hormonal   

adj.激素的

参考例句：

• Some viral diseases are more severe during pregnancy, probably tecause of hormonal changes. 有些病毒病在妊娠期间比较严重，可能是由于激素变化引起的。
• She underwent surgical intervention and a subsequent short period of hormonal therapy. 他接受外科手术及随后短暂荷尔蒙治疗。

18 pregnancy   

n.怀孕，怀孕期

参考例句：

• Early pregnancy is often accompanied by nausea.怀孕早期常有恶心的现象。
• Smoking during pregnancy increases the risk of miscarriage.怀孕期吸烟会增加流产的危险。

19 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。

20 anemia   

n.贫血，贫血症

参考例句：

• The doctors analyzed the blood sample for anemia. 医生们分析了贫血的血样。
• I was put on iron tablets for my anemia.我曾因贫血吃补铁药片。

21 marrow   

n.骨髓；精华；活力

参考例句：

• It was so cold that he felt frozen to the marrow. 天气太冷了，他感到寒冷刺骨。
• He was tired to the marrow of his bones.他真是累得筋疲力尽了。

22 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。