VOA标准英语2008年-Chinese-Born Coach Leads US Gymnasts to Olympic

Gymnastics is a strength for China, and as the Olympic host this year, it is no surprise that the Asian giant has had big results in Beijing. As VOA's Jim Stevenson reports from the games, U.S. gymnasts also found their way to the medal podium, in large part, because of a Chinese-born coach.
　
Shawn Johnson poses¹ with coach Liang Chow after winning women's balance beam² final of artistic³ gymnastics event, 19 Aug 2006

Liang Chow grew up in Beijing. He was a member of the Chinese bronze medal-winning team at the 1989 World Championships. Chow's skill and talents made him well known and relatively⁴ wealthy in China. But two years later, the 23-year-old Chow accepted a scholarship to the University of Iowa, where he would study English and help coach the gymnastics teams.

Chow brought with him a simple philosophy for success.

"For this high level of gymnastics, you can not get to this level without hard work, no matter what kind of system you are in," he says.

Chow had dreams of opening a school to teach gymnastics skills to young children. His school ended up in West Des Moines, Iowa. Just a few blocks away lived six-year-old Shawn Johnson. She went to Chow's school, and began her path to the Olympics.

Chow says it is that kind of grass roots development that makes the United States approach to world class gymnastics different from China.

"For America, we have more recreational members, which is easier for the coaches to select the talented ones," he explains. "I think China is more focused on the high level ones. But here [in China], we do not have that many lower recreational kids."

Chow did not teach Johnson to be an adversary⁵ of her Chinese rivals⁶. Instead, he used many Chinese teaching⁷ methods to help Johnson compete better on the international stage. And that has helped to put her at ease⁸ with Chinese gymnasts.

"I am very good friends with the Chinese team. And I think that has to do a lot with Chow," Johnson says. "We have just always had a great relationship. And of course there is the communication barrier. But you can tell through body language and through the few words that we do know that we care about each other. And we want the best for each other."

And Chow got the best out of his team at the Beijing Olympics.

"We had eight medals for women's gymnastics here. And the sport is very international. It does not belong to one nation. I feel great about our accomplishment," he says.

One of those accomplishments⁹ included Shawn Johnson's gold medal from the balance beam.

 

1 poses   

使摆姿势( pose的第三人称单数 )； 以…身份出现； 招摇； 炫耀

参考例句：

• This poses a threat to agriculture and the food chain, and consequently to human health. 这会对农业和食物链造成威胁，由此而危及人的健康。
• The high cost of oil poses serious problems for industry. 昂贵的石油价格给工业造成了严重困难。

2 beam   

n.横梁；光束；vi.发光，发热

参考例句：

• The load on this beam is more than it will bear.横梁上的负荷比它能承受的要大得多。
• I could see the beam of his flashlight waving around in the dark.我可以看到他的手电筒光在黑暗中上下舞动。

3 artistic   

adj.艺术(家)的，美术(家)的；善于艺术创作的

参考例句：

• The picture on this screen is a good artistic work.这屏风上的画是件很好的艺术品。
• These artistic handicrafts are very popular with foreign friends.外国朋友很喜欢这些美术工艺品。

4 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。

5 adversary   

adj.敌手，对手

参考例句：

• He saw her as his main adversary within the company.他将她视为公司中主要的对手。
• They will do anything to undermine their adversary's reputation.他们会不择手段地去损害对手的名誉。

6 rivals   

竞争对手( rival的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• one of the President's chief rivals 总统的主要政敌之一
• She always managed to outsmart her political rivals. 她总有办法表现得比她的政敌智高一筹。

7 teaching   

n.教学，执教，任教，讲授；(复数)教诲

参考例句：

• We all agree in adopting the new teaching method. 我们一致同意采取新的教学方法。
• He created a new system of teaching foreign languages.他创造了一种新的外语教学体系。

8 ease   

n. 安乐,安逸,悠闲; v. 使...安乐,使...安心,减轻,放松

参考例句：

• His mind was at ease and he felt confident in the future. 他心情舒畅,对前途很有信心。
• You should ease up on the child and stop scolding her. 你应该对那个孩子宽松些,不要再骂她了。

9 accomplishments   

n.造诣；完成( accomplishment的名词复数 )；技能；成绩；成就

参考例句：

• It was one of the President's greatest accomplishments. 那是总统最伟大的成就之一。
• Among her accomplishments were sewing,cooking,playing the piano and dancing. 她的才能包括缝纫、烹调、弹钢琴和跳舞。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》