VOA标准英语2008年-Olympic Champions to be Crowned in 17 Events We

Most of the winners on the fifth full day of competition at the Beijing Olympics will come from sports not widely followed. But as VOA's Jim Stevenson reports from the Chinese capital, their victories will mean as much as the gold medals claimed in more well-known events.

Years of steady aim will culminate¹ in a trip to the top of the medal podium for one athlete in the women's 25-meter pistol final at the Beijing Shooting Complex.

The finalists in men's and women's judo² may not be household names, but two will take home a gold medal in the women's 70-kilogram and men's 90-kilogram finals.
　
Ronda Rousey will face opponent from Turkmenistan in preliminary match, Wednesday

American Ronda Rousey will face Nasiba Surkieva of Turkmenistan in an opening preliminary match. Rousey says the competition can be unpredictable.

"It is all about matchups and styles. I beat the current world championship world champion in the semifinals. And fought the girl who lost to that girl in the finals," she said. "But her style was not good for me. And I ended up losing. So a lot of it is by the luck of the draw. A lot of it is how good of a day you have. But most of it is about how you train."

Fencing finals include the men's individual foil and women's individual epee finals.

Olympic prizes await the winners in women's 56-kilogram and men's 77-kilogram weightlifting, also men's Greco-Roman wrestling in both the 66- and 74-kilogram categories, and medals will go to cyclists in the men's and women's individual time trails.

Perhaps more widely watched will be the women's team gymnastics final and the men's synchronized³ three-meter springboard diving final. China is doing well in both sports, with its divers⁴ winning three gold medals in the previous three days.

Ashley Nee takes to the water competing in a kayak.

"I feel pretty good about it," she said. "It is definitely challenging for sure. But it is meant to be that way. I qualified⁵ the berth⁶ for the Olympics for women in September at the world championships. So that is pretty motivating, realizing I can hold my ground against the top international paddlers."

Baseball begins, and the U.S. men play South Korea in a preliminary game. The sport is being played for the final time at the Olympics. U.S. team general manager Bob Watson says it should be reinstated.
　
Bob Watson (file photo)

"Baseball is an American sport," he said. "We were very disappointed at the vote last time [to eliminate the sport]. With the vote coming up in 2009, we feel that our performance in the 2008 Olympics will go a long way. Baseball needs to be in the Olympics."

Highlights will undoubtedly⁷ again come from the Olympic swimming pool. Women will swim in the 200-individual medley⁸ final and 200-meter freestyle final. The men will race in the 200-meter butterfly and 4x200 meter freestyle relay final. American Michael Phelps will be in both races, after winning gold in his first three events.

 

1 culminate   

v.到绝顶，达于极点，达到高潮

参考例句：

• The celebration of the centenary will culminate with a dinner.百年庆典活动将以宴会作为高潮。
• Everyone feared that the boundary dispute between these two countries would culminate in a war.人人都担心,这两国间的边境争端将以一场战争到达顶点。

2 judo   

n.柔道

参考例句：

• The judo is a kind of fighting sport.柔道是一种对抗性体育活动。
• Which is more important in judo, strength or techniques?柔道运动中，力量和技术哪个更重要？

3 synchronized   

同步的

参考例句：

• Do not use the synchronized keyword in Managed Objects. 不要在管理对象上使用synchronized关键字。 来自互联网
• The timing of the gun was precisely synchronized with the turning of the plane's propeller. 风门的调速与飞机螺旋桨的转动精确同步。 来自辞典例句

4 divers   

adj.不同的；种种的

参考例句：

• He chose divers of them,who were asked to accompany him.他选择他们当中的几个人，要他们和他作伴。
• Two divers work together while a standby diver remains on the surface.两名潜水员协同工作，同时有一名候补潜水员留在水面上。

5 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。

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 undoubtedly   

adv.确实地，无疑地

参考例句：

• It is undoubtedly she who has said that.这话明明是她说的。
• He is undoubtedly the pride of China.毫无疑问他是中国的骄傲。

8 medley   

n.混合

参考例句：

• Today's sports meeting doesn't seem to include medley relay swimming.现在的运动会好象还没有混合接力泳这个比赛项目。
• China won the Men's 200 metres Individual Medley.中国赢得了男子200米个人混合泳比赛。