VOA标准英语2010年-World Champions Lead US Nordic Combine

Three world champions are among the five athletes on the U.S. Nordic Combined team for the Vancouver Olympics.  Todd Lodwick, Bill Demong and Johnny Spillane hope to bring the United States its first Olympic gold medal in the event that features ski jumping and cross country skiing.

Most Americans probably would not recognize Bill DeMong or Todd Lodwick if they passed them on the street.  But on the nordic skiing World Cup circuit, the two men have brought the United States to a new prominence¹.

Both men are world champions and both have World Cup podium (top three) finishes this season.  Equally important - both men are in the sport because they love it.  Todd Lodwick says his love for Nordic combined started early, when he was part of the Buddy² Werner "Little Toots" ski program. 

"[I was] a part of a program that did everything from Alpine³ skiing to cross country, jumping.  And [I] really fell in love with the jumping part of it," said Lodwick.  "There was a bunch of us kids at the time, a bunch of my friends and that's just kind of the route that we went down."

Bill DeMong says that growing up in Lake Placid⁴, New York, with the 26-story tall large hill jump tower on the horizon, he was always exposed to the sport.  But DeMong told VOA Sports that the first time he tried ski jumping, he had to conquer something every Nordic combined skier⁵ faces - fear.

"I started on a jump that was literally⁶ the size of a mogul.  It was tiny.  But I was eight years old and I was terrified.  I think it took me like two months to go off it with the full speed and actually go anywhere," DeMong recalled.

Demong says that part of the challenge of the ski jump is to get into a good rhythm and stay there.  With Nordic combined athletes limited to as few as five jumps a week, Demong said being a more experienced athlete helps him maintain the focus to compete.

And that focus has paid off.  Demong and Lodwick led a U.S. breakthrough at last year's World Championships in Liberec, the Czech Republic.  Lodwick became the first American to win two gold medals at a single world championship.  DeMong took bronze in the 10-kilometer normal hill event and then won gold in the large hill competition.

The victories helped Lodwick to reignite his competitive fire.  After going to four Olympic games with no medal, Lodwick, 33, now a father of two, left the sport in 2006 to sell real estate in his hometown of Steamboat Springs Colorado.  Todd Lodwick told VOA sports that the break gave him a chance to realize how much he loved Nordic combined.

"It was hard to be away from home and away from the family," explained Lodwick.  "And it was the birth of my first child and [I] got a great opportunity to sell some really expensive land and be in the real estate business that I loved.  And I think it's important to take a break and come back to it. I mean, I found a new love for the sport, a new dedication⁷."

In Vancouver, Lodwick will be competing in his fifth Olympics, only the third American to be named to five Winter Games squads⁹.  But for all his experience, Lodwick has never won an Olympic medal.  Eight years ago he came close, but his Games ended in disappointment.

Lodwick and Demong were part of the U.S. squad⁸ that was third after the jumping portion of the team event.  But a combination of immaturity¹⁰ and bad ski waxing left them off the podium.  Bill Demong says that the Americans were overconfident, which led to mistakes and ended their hopes in Salt Lake City.

"We were a young team, and were still like in the 'never-ever-have-done-this' territory," said Demong.  "And I think it was a little bit a combination of nerves and some people said [the wax on our] skis, but in the long run we went out and we blew up in the race and we went from the best day of our lives to the worst day of our lives in a hurry."

Demong told VOA sports that his main lesson of 2002 was to have fun on the slopes, and not worry about trying to earn the United States a first Olympic medal in the sport.

This year, the team's experience shows, with Johnny Spillane earning his first World Cup win in early January while Lodwick finished on the podium in two events and Demong won a World Cup event in October.

The team seems to be peaking at just the right time.  With Johnny Spillane and their other teammates, Demong and Lodwick have one of the best chances in recent memory of earning an Olympic medal in Vancouver.

 

1 prominence   

n.突出；显著；杰出；重要

参考例句：

• He came to prominence during the World Cup in Italy.他在意大利的世界杯赛中声名鹊起。
• This young fashion designer is rising to prominence.这位年轻的时装设计师的声望越来越高。

2 buddy   

n.（美口）密友，伙伴

参考例句：

• Calm down,buddy.What's the trouble?压压气，老兄。有什么麻烦吗？
• Get out of my way,buddy!别挡道了，你这家伙！

3 alpine   

adj.高山的；n.高山植物

参考例句：

• Alpine flowers are abundant there.那里有很多高山地带的花。
• Its main attractions are alpine lakes and waterfalls .它以高山湖泊和瀑布群为主要特色。

4 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。

5 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。

6 literally   

adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实

参考例句：

• He translated the passage literally.他逐字逐句地翻译这段文字。
• Sometimes she would not sit down till she was literally faint.有时候，她不走到真正要昏厥了，决不肯坐下来。

7 dedication   

n.奉献，献身，致力，题献，献辞

参考例句：

• We admire her courage,compassion and dedication.我们钦佩她的勇气、爱心和奉献精神。
• Her dedication to her work was admirable.她对工作的奉献精神可钦可佩。

8 squad   

n.班，小队，小团体；vt.把…编成班或小组

参考例句：

• The squad leader ordered the men to mark time.班长命令战士们原地踏步。
• A squad is the smallest unit in an army.班是军队的最小构成单位。

9 squads   

n.（军队中的）班( squad的名词复数 )；（暗杀）小组；体育运动的运动（代表）队；（对付某类犯罪活动的）警察队伍

参考例句：

• Anti-riot squads were called out to deal with the situation. 防暴队奉命出动以对付这一局势。 来自辞典例句
• Three squads constitute a platoon. 三个班组成一个排。 来自辞典例句

10 immaturity   

n.不成熟；未充分成长；未成熟；粗糙

参考例句：

• It traces the development of a young man from immaturity to maturity. 它描写一位青年从不成熟到成熟的发展过程。 来自辞典例句
• Immaturity is the inability to use one's understanding without guidance from another. 不成熟就是不经他人的指引就无法运用自身的理解力。 来自互联网