VOA标准英语2010年-Peterson Overcomes Heartache, Addictio

Jeret "Speedy" Peterson is well acquainted with trouble - from losing his sister to a drunk driver, to sexual abuse, to witnessing his roommate commit suicide.  Then Peterson was sent home from the 2006 Olympics because of an alcohol-fueled bar fight in Turin, Italy.  But now he is clean and sober, and has made his third U.S. Olympic team.  We have this profile of the freestyle aerials skier¹, who hopes his signature "Hurricane" move will blow away the judges in Vancouver.

It is almost fitting that freestyle aerials skier Jeret Peterson's signature jump is called the Hurricane.  The jump (off a man-made snow-covered ramp) features three flips² and five twists and is widely regarded as one of the most difficult on the World Cup circuit.  But its meteorological namesake could just as easily be an emblem³ for Peterson's life off the slopes.

His sister was killed by a drunk driver when Peterson was just five years old.  In 2003 he revealed that he was a victim of sexual abuse by a person he refuses to name.  Then in 2005, just a few months before the Turin Games, Peterson saw his roommate, Trevor "Trey" Fernald, shot himself to death.  The skier tried to handle the situation on his own, but he told VOA sports that he soon turned to alcohol.

"I didn't really feel like saying 'poor me, this happened to me.'  No. I had the choice to make the situation what it was, and rather than going to counseling I was hanging out with Bud Light [beer] and Jack⁴ Daniels [whiskey]," said Jeret Peterson.

At the 2006 Turin Olympics, Peterson attempted the Hurricane in the finals and lost a medal because he missed it.  A more conservative leap would have earned the American a medal.

As had become his habit, Jeret Peterson tried to deal with the disappointment by using alcohol.  But this time it led to a very public dismissal from Turin.  After a night of post-competition partying in the Italian city, Peterson and his best friend from Boise, Idaho got into an alcohol-fueled bar fight.  The police came to break up the melee⁵, and the U.S. Olympic Committee sent Peterson home early.

The now 28-year-old Peterson says he learned some valuable - if expensive - lessons from his time in Turin.

"The person that I am now, versus⁶ the person that I was back then - you could not pay me $10 million to go back to that person," he said. "I was young, I was cocky, I thought I had already won that gold medal before I even jumped.  And I got spanked⁷ hard.  It's something that I am glad that I did not win, because I would not be the person that I am now."

The American skier found himself inundated⁸ with critical e-mails and letters because of his embarrassing finish and exit from Turin.  He decided⁹ to step away from the sport, and it was during that time that he realized he needed to change.

"I think the big thing is that I hit rock bottom," said Peterson. "And that's the thing that they say every alcoholic¹⁰, every addict¹¹, every person with an issue like that has to do.  And I was pretty fortunate that my rock bottom did not cost me my life and did not cost anybody else's life, and I am still able to do what I love."

Jeret Peterson did not go through treatment or rehabilitation¹² - he just quit.  When he returned to competition last season, he won the second World Cup meet that he entered.  He was sixth in a World Cup event at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics venue¹³ and finished eighth at the World Championships.

Peterson says even in his darkest time, he never lost the love for skiing.

"I have always given 110% to anything I do," he said. "But I also feel that a big part of being successful is being able to walk away.  Leaving things at the office, if you will.  And that's exactly what I needed to do.  I really wanted to focus on many other things in my life."

That focus has benefited Peterson on the slopes - he landed a pair of quadruple twisting jumps to qualify for the U.S. Olympic team at Steamboat Springs, Colorado, in December.  The Vancouver Games will be his third straight Olympics.  And this time, Jeret "Speedy" Peterson is looking forward to competing with a clear head and giving his all - including his signature Hurricane jump - to bring home Olympic gold.

 

1 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。

2 flips   

轻弹( flip的第三人称单数 )； 按（开关）； 快速翻转； 急挥

参考例句：

• Larry flips on the TV while he is on vacation in Budapest. 赖瑞在布达佩斯渡假时，打开电视收看节目。
• He flips through a book before making a decision. 他在决定买下一本书前总要先草草翻阅一下。

3 emblem   

n.象征，标志；徽章

参考例句：

• Her shirt has the company emblem on it.她的衬衫印有公司的标记。
• The eagle was an emblem of strength and courage.鹰是力量和勇气的象征。

4 jack   

n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克

参考例句：

• I am looking for the headphone jack.我正在找寻头戴式耳机插孔。
• He lifted the car with a jack to change the flat tyre.他用千斤顶把车顶起来换下瘪轮胎。

5 melee   

n.混战；混战的人群

参考例句：

• There was a scuffle and I lost my hat in the melee.因发生一场斗殴，我的帽子也在混乱中丢失了。
• In the melee that followed they trampled their mother a couple of times.他们打在一团，七手八脚的又踩了他们的母亲几下。

6 versus   

prep.以…为对手，对；与…相比之下

参考例句：

• The big match tonight is England versus Spain.今晚的大赛是英格兰对西班牙。
• The most exciting game was Harvard versus Yale.最富紧张刺激的球赛是哈佛队对耶鲁队。

7 spanked   

v.用手掌打( spank的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• We spanked along in his new car. 我们坐在他的新车里兜风。 来自辞典例句
• The nurse spanked the naughty child. 保育员打了一下那个淘气的孩子的屁股。 来自辞典例句

8 inundated   

v.淹没( inundate的过去式和过去分词 )；（洪水般地）涌来；充满；给予或交予（太多事物）使难以应付

参考例句：

• We have been inundated with offers of help. 主动援助多得使我们应接不暇。
• We have been inundated with every bit of information imaginable. 凡是想得到的各种各样的信息潮水般地向我们涌来。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 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。

10 alcoholic   

adj.（含）酒精的，由酒精引起的；n.酗酒者

参考例句：

• The alcoholic strength of brandy far exceeds that of wine.白兰地的酒精浓度远远超过葡萄酒。
• Alcoholic drinks act as a poison to a child.酒精饮料对小孩犹如毒药。

11 addict   

v.使沉溺；使上瘾；n.沉溺于不良嗜好的人

参考例句：

• He became gambling addict,and lost all his possessions.他习染上了赌博，最终输掉了全部家产。
• He assisted a drug addict to escape from drug but failed firstly.一开始他帮助一个吸毒者戒毒但失败了。

12 rehabilitation   

n.康复，悔过自新，修复，复兴，复职，复位

参考例句：

• He's booked himself into a rehabilitation clinic.他自己联系了一家康复诊所。
• No one can really make me rehabilitation of injuries.已经没有人可以真正令我的伤康复了。

13 venue   

n.犯罪地点，审判地，管辖地，发生地点，集合地点

参考例句：

• The hall provided a venue for weddings and other functions.大厅给婚礼和其他社会活动提供了场所。
• The chosen venue caused great controversy among the people.人们就审判地点的问题产生了极大的争议。