VOA标准英语2010年-American Tim Burke Raises Hopes for Fi

U.S. biathlete Tim Burke made sports history last month when he became the first American to take the lead in the Biathlon World Cup standings.  Burke is due to compete in his second Olympic Winter Games this February in Vancouver, Canada.  Burke's achievements this season have raised hopes that he could become the first athlete to win an Olympic biathlon medal for the United States.
 
Tim Burke is set to compete in his second Olympics and has emerged as a surprise contender for a biathlon medal at the 2010 Vancouver Winter Games.  He made U.S. Biathlon Team history in pre-Olympic World Cup competition with two podium finishes in one week - including the first U.S. medal in a sprint² race - before going on to take the lead in the overall standings only three weeks into the 2009-2010 season.

Burke says his recent success is part of a long-term process. "I definitely attribute it to nothing in particular that I've done this year, but I would say years of hard work," said Burke.

He says the training he has done this year, and winning World Cup medals ahead of the Vancouver Olympics gave him a big boost.

"I think it was a really important step for me," said Burke. "You know, I've been super close in the past, but to actually take that final step and get on the podium definitely goes a long way in helping³ my confidence."

The word "biathlon" is Greek, and means "two tests."  The sport of biathlon falls under nordic skiing events, and combines the physically⁴-demanding sport of cross-country skiing with the precision of rifle marksmanship.  The athletes race against the clock while alternating between the two disciplines.  Biathlon is very popular across Europe, especially in Germany, Russia and Norway, but it is not a well-known sport in the United States.

The difficult mastery of biathlon comes in learning to smoothly⁶ transition both mentally and physically from the grueling demands of cross-country skiing to the calm, steady precision needed to accurately⁷ fire a rifle from either a prone⁸ or standing¹ position, then refocus on skiing.  Depending on the event, there are several shooting range stops per race. 

Tim Burke won silver and bronze medals at the biathlon World Cup's season opening event in Ostersund, Sweden to become the first American to achieve two podium finishes in the same week.  He won silver in the men's 20-kilometer Individual race that matched a 17-year-old milestone⁹ set by Josh Thompson.  Two days later, Burke won the bronze medal in the men's 10-kilometer sprint event, giving the United States its first biathlon sprint medal.

Two weeks after his double medal performance, Burke made U.S. biathlon history for a third time when he clinched¹⁰ the World Cup leader's coveted¹¹ "yellow bib" at an event in Slovenia.  Burke says U.S. head coach Per Nilsson has had a significant impact on his improved performance.

"Before Per started coaching me, I had never scored a World Cup point," he said. "I thought I was training really hard in 2006, then I met Per and I have a new meaning of training hard.  I can't say enough about the work he's done for me."

Tim Burke grew up in Lake Placid¹², New York - the sight of the 1980 Winter Olympics -  where he did a variety of winter sports.  He started competing in biathlon when he was 16-years-old, but has always been a skier¹³.

"Although I didn't start biathlon until a little bit later, I was competing in cross-country from a very young age; as soon as I could ski," said Burke.  

Burke overcame serious health problems to qualify in four biathlon events for the 2006 Turin Olympics in Italy.  In 2002, he was sidelined for weeks following major hip⁵ surgery.  He missed the entire 2004 season recovering from the energy-zapping virus, mononucleosis.  He also overcame what he describes as a bad chest cold at the start of the 2008-2009 season.

Burke says coming into this season healthy was his priority. "Right now I'm 100 percent healthy," he said. "I feel recovered and ready to go for the next months of racing¹⁴."

U.S. Biathlon Association (USBA) Executive Director Max Cobb declared Burke as the "best American biathlete ever," and said the 27-year-old's accomplishments¹⁵ place him among "biathlon royalty¹⁶."  Burke also earned praise of coach Nilsson and U.S. Biathlon's High Performance Director, Bernd Eisenbichler.

Cobb says a general overhaul¹⁷ of the U.S. biathlon program since the 2006 Olympics has led to the team's improved results.

"The key there really comes back to being able to hire some of the best coaches in the world," he said. "I think having our sponsor TD Bank get behind us on a long term basis, and the USOC quadrupled our funding.  We reorganized our board and became a much more professional organization."

The hard work of the U.S. Biathlon Association, the coaches and biathletes over the last four years has led Olympic and biathlon experts to call the 2010 U.S. Biathlon Team the most improved in the world.   The question remains¹⁸, will it be enough for the first U.S. biathlon Olympic medal?

Tim Burke and the other American biathletes hope that will the case at Vancouver Olympics.

1 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

2 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。

3 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。

4 physically   

adj.物质上，体格上，身体上，按自然规律

参考例句：

• He was out of sorts physically,as well as disordered mentally.他浑身不舒服，心绪也很乱。
• Every time I think about it I feel physically sick.一想起那件事我就感到极恶心。

5 hip   

n.臀部，髋；屋脊

参考例句：

• The thigh bone is connected to the hip bone.股骨连着髋骨。
• The new coats blouse gracefully above the hip line.新外套在臀围线上优美地打着褶皱。

6 smoothly   

adv.平滑地，顺利地，流利地，流畅地

参考例句：

• The workmen are very cooperative,so the work goes on smoothly.工人们十分合作，所以工作进展顺利。
• Just change one or two words and the sentence will read smoothly.这句话只要动一两个字就顺了。

7 accurately   

adv.准确地，精确地

参考例句：

• It is hard to hit the ball accurately.准确地击中球很难。
• Now scientists can forecast the weather accurately.现在科学家们能准确地预报天气。

8 prone   

adj.(to)易于…的，很可能…的；俯卧的

参考例句：

• Some people are prone to jump to hasty conclusions.有些人往往作出轻率的结论。
• He is prone to lose his temper when people disagree with him.人家一不同意他的意见,他就发脾气。

9 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。

10 clinched   

v.（尤指两人）互相紧紧抱[扭]住( clinch的过去式和过去分词 )；解决（争端、交易），达成（协议）

参考例句：

• The two businessmen clinched the deal quickly. 两位生意人很快达成了协议。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Evidently this information clinched the matter. 显然，这一消息使问题得以最终解决。 来自辞典例句

11 coveted   

adj.令人垂涎的；垂涎的，梦寐以求的v.贪求，觊觎(covet的过去分词)；垂涎；贪图

参考例句：

• He had long coveted the chance to work with a famous musician. 他一直渴望有机会与著名音乐家一起工作。
• Ther other boys coveted his new bat. 其他的男孩都想得到他的新球棒。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 placid   

adj.安静的，平和的

参考例句：

• He had been leading a placid life for the past eight years.八年来他一直过着平静的生活。
• You should be in a placid mood and have a heart-to- heart talk with her.你应该心平气和的好好和她谈谈心。

13 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。

14 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。

15 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》

16 royalty   

n.皇家，皇族

参考例句：

• She claims to be descended from royalty.她声称她是皇室后裔。
• I waited on tables，and even catered to royalty at the Royal Albert Hall.我做过服务生， 甚至在皇家阿伯特大厅侍奉过皇室的人。

17 overhaul   

v./n.大修，仔细检查

参考例句：

• Master Worker Wang is responsible for the overhaul of this grinder.王师傅主修这台磨床。
• It is generally appreciated that the rail network needs a complete overhaul.众所周知，铁路系统需要大检修。

18 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。