VOA标准英语2011--Nearly 50,000 Runners Prepare for NYC Marathon

Nearly 50,000 Runners Prepare for NYC Marathon

Forty-seven-thousand athletes from all over the world will participate in this year’s New York City marathon on November 6. And, there may be 47,000 stories about the runners from this famous race.

It’s like a tsunami¹ of athletes on the first Sunday of every November. They come from every corner of the globe - most not for personal glory, but for the thrill of competing or raising money for charity or honoring² their fellow citizens.

Michele King Gonzalez is 30 years old and lives near the start of the race in Staten Island. Gonzalez is back home after being deployed³ to Iraq three times. She began training for marathon running in Iraq.

"Running while I was deployed also helped me deal with stress and the homesickness of being deployed. It allowed me every day to get up from my desk and go for a run, clear my head and just be alone with my thoughts," she said.

Gonzalez is running in support of injured Iraqi veterans⁴.

Since coming home she married, had a child - A.J.- and uses running to stay fit and relaxed.

In addition, she makes her mother Linda King proud.

“So happy that she’s home safely, so happy for the cause that she’s running. Win or lose this, she’s a winner already always in my eyes just for who she is. Very excited,” King said.

Twenty-four family members of the heroes who lost their lives on United Airlines Flight 93 that went down in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, on 9/11, will run in this year’s marathon.

One of the marathoners is Christine "Kiki" Homer of New York. Her brother, LeRoy Homer was the co-pilot of Flight 93.

"I draw my inspiration⁵ from the collective⁶, from the group. We have come together, reunited by a common cause, there something about Flight 93, and our heroes that bring us together," she said.

Homer says she will be thinking about her brother Le Roy - and what he went through on that day in 2001 - as she puts one foot in front of the other.

And just knowing AJ is waiting for her at the finish line in New York’s Central Park, will motivate Gonzalez to get there as fast as possible.

1 tsunami   

n.海啸

参考例句：

• Powerful quake sparks tsunami warning in Japan.大地震触发了日本的海啸预警。
• Coastlines all around the Indian Ocean inundated by a huge tsunami.大海啸把印度洋沿岸地区都淹没了。

2 honoring   

v.尊敬，给以荣誉( honor的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• They sat in silence, honoring the clan Jordache for a moment. 他们默默地坐了一会儿，对乔达虚家族表示了一番敬意。 来自辞典例句
• Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check. 美国没有履行这项神圣的义务，只是给黑人开了一张空头支票。 来自辞典例句

3 deployed   

（尤指军事行动）使展开( deploy的过去式和过去分词 )； 施展； 部署； 有效地利用

参考例句：

• Tanks have been deployed all along the front line. 沿整个前线已部署了坦克。
• The artillery was deployed to bear on the fort. 火炮是对着那个碉堡部署的。

4 veterans   

经验丰富的人，老兵( veteran的名词复数 )； 退伍军人

参考例句：

• Some veterans of the two world wars gathered to celebrate their victory. 一些经历了两次世界大战的退伍军人欢聚庆祝胜利。
• Seasoned veterans were picked to storm the difficult enemy position. 有经验的老兵被挑选出来去突袭难攻的敌军阵地。

5 inspiration   

n.灵感，鼓励者，吸气

参考例句：

• These events provided the inspiration for his first novel.这些事件给了他创作第一部小说的灵感。
• What an inspiration she was to all around her!她对于她周围所有的人是一种多么大的鼓舞！

6 collective   

adj.集体的，共同的；n.团体，集体

参考例句：

• I do feel deeply the strength of the collective. 我确实深深地感到了集体的力量。
• They hold together for collective security.他们为了共同安全而团结在一起。