VOA标准英语2010年-Dog Sledding Still Searching for Olymp

As the world focuses attention on Canada during the Winter Olympics in Vancouver, a sport not yet in the Olympic spotlight¹ continues to draw competitors and tourists to Canada's Yukon Territory.  Dog sledding remains² one of the most difficult competitions on the planet, testing the mettle³ of both man and canine⁴.

Ned Cathers is a professional dog sled "musher" who's home on the edge of Lake Laberge is about an hour north of the small town of Whitehorse, capital of the Yukon Territory of Canada.

The only way in and out of his property when the snow piles up and the lake is frozen, is by snowmobile or snow dog sled.

 In the winter, Cathers works as an outfitter, hosting thousands of adventure seekers from around the world who trek⁵ through the Yukon on one of his dogsleds.

"They're tough and they're strong and when you're going and you're just seeing hour after hour just those feet just moving fast and you are out under the moon and the Northern Lights and stuff like that, it's an amazing experience," said Cathers.

Cather's dogsleds are as close as many people can get to a sport known to last for days or weeks.  Professional dog sled racing⁶ is a test of endurance, and can stretch hundreds, even thousands of kilometers through some of the most difficult terrain⁷ known to man - and canine.

"When they're in shape for a long distance race, they are running over 100 miles a day, day after day, and then sleeping in a snow bank at night," he explained.

Dog sledding is a very popular sport in the northern parts of Canada, particularly here in the Yukon.  But mushers say despite its popularity, it has very little hope of ever being recognized as an Olympic sport.

Lance Mackey is a three-time winner of the Iditarod, a popular dogsled race from Anchorage to Nome, Alaska.  He recently finished second in the Yukon Quest, a 1,600-kilometer race from Fairbanks, Alaska to Whitehorse, Yukon.

Without an Olympic spotlight to help generate interest and revenue, Mackey depends on sponsorships and endorsements⁸ to offset⁹ his costs to compete.

"We can't make a living with the money that we're racing for, it's just not there in the purses.  And it's expensive so we're always looking for endorsements just like any other sport," explained Mackey.

Mackey says the sport gains popularity with each competition, and is drawing interest from unlikely places.

"Right now I have a Jamaican at my house, training to run the Iditarod.  It's gotten that far," he added.

But that's not far enough for the Olympics, at least not in its present form, according to Ned Cathers.

"Not the long distance mushing of course, it would have to be shorter sprint¹⁰ racing in order to have any viewer capability," said Cathers.

Which might explain why dog sled racing has made only one Olympic appearance.

Introduced as a demonstration¹¹ event at the 1932 Winter Games in Lake Placid¹², New York, seven contestants¹³ from two countries raced two 25-mile courses.

The victory went to Canada, which beat the United States.  But the sport failed to catch on, and continues to search for Olympic glory 78 years later.
 

1 spotlight   

n.公众注意的中心，聚光灯，探照灯，视听，注意，醒目

参考例句：

• This week the spotlight is on the world of fashion.本周引人瞩目的是时装界。
• The spotlight followed her round the stage.聚光灯的光圈随着她在舞台上转。

2 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。

3 mettle   

n.勇气，精神

参考例句：

• When the seas are in turmoil,heroes are on their mettle.沧海横流，方显出英雄本色。
• Each and every one of these soldiers has proved his mettle.这些战士个个都是好样的。

4 canine   

adj.犬的，犬科的

参考例句：

• The fox is a canine animal.狐狸是犬科动物。
• Herbivorous animals have very small canine teeth,or none.食草动物的犬牙很小或者没有。

5 trek   

vi.作长途艰辛的旅行；n.长途艰苦的旅行

参考例句：

• We often go pony-trek in the summer.夏季我们经常骑马旅行。
• It took us the whole day to trek across the rocky terrain.我们花了一整天的时间艰难地穿过那片遍布岩石的地带。

6 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。

7 terrain   

n.地面，地形，地图

参考例句：

• He had made a detailed study of the terrain.他对地形作了缜密的研究。
• He knows the terrain of this locality like the back of his hand.他对这一带的地形了如指掌。

8 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

9 offset   

n.分支，补偿；v.抵消，补偿

参考例句：

• Their wage increases would be offset by higher prices.他们增加的工资会被物价上涨所抵消。
• He put up his prices to offset the increased cost of materials.他提高了售价以补偿材料成本的增加。

10 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。

11 demonstration   

n.表明，示范，论证，示威

参考例句：

• His new book is a demonstration of his patriotism.他写的新书是他的爱国精神的证明。
• He gave a demonstration of the new technique then and there.他当场表演了这种新的操作方法。

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 contestants   

n.竞争者，参赛者( contestant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The competition attracted over 500 contestants representing 8 different countries. 这次比赛吸引了代表8个不同国家的500多名参赛者。
• Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency. 两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。 来自《简明英汉词典》