VOA标准英语2012--Koreans, North and South, Train Cambodian Olympic Hopefuls

Koreans, North and South, Train Cambodian Olympic Hopefuls

Chov Sotheara is one of only a few Cambodian athletes who could qualify for the London Olympics. Driven to win in a sport dominated by men, she says her strict North Korean coach, Pak So Nam, gives her an edge, despite the language barrier. 

"We use sign language," Chov said. "In this sport there are hand signals and grabbing. So, he shows us each movement and then all of us just follow him. And, if we make mistakes he corrects us."

Pak is known for a relentless¹ coaching drive that leaves little time for outside activities. Although he has lived here for several years, he speaks little Khmer or English. But his team loyalties², and those of his North Korean assistants, are firm. 

"You ask me whom I want to win if my athletes compete with North Korean athletes. Personally, I think, even between parents and a son, it is still a competition in sports games. So I want the athletes who I train to win," Pak said.

The team has bonded³, despite the language barrier. Sotheara said she loves her coach like a father. When North Korea's authoritarian⁴ leader Kim Jong Il died in December she and the rest of the team supported the coach.

"He was depressed," she said. "He went to pay condolences at the North Korean embassy next to the prime minister's house. Our wrestling team was also mourning and took flowers to the North Korean Embassy."

The team's Cambodian coach, Hok Cheeangkim, said Pak initially⁵ needed to tone down his occasionally violent coaching style that treated the athletes like soldiers. Nonetheless, Hok credits him with Sotheara's gold medal in Laos at the 2009 Southeast Asian Games.

"North Korea is at the Olympic level," said Hok. "They won all the medals-gold, silver, bronze. Both North Korea and South Korea are strong, but North Korea is stronger."

Training right next to the North Korean instructors⁶ for the past six years is South Korean Taekwondo coach Choi Yong-suk.

Choi said while there is sporting competition between him and the North Koreans, they share a desire to push the Cambodian team.

"Sports mean unity," he said. "So, we do not consider such things as political ideology⁷. I think there is no problem for us to have a good relationship since we are sportsmen training within the same environment."

Choi is also training an Olympic hopeful, Sorn Davin, who said that unlike Sotheara, she would not want to be coached by North Koreans because they are communists. But she does not mind sharing the gym.

"Each team tries not to be weaker than the other, so it is quite competitive because we are training next to each other and our categories are quite similar," she said. "So, we try to be stronger."

With five months to go until the start of the games, these athletes are still waiting to see if they will qualify. Sorn Davin is waiting for a wildcard Taekwondo spot. Sotheara hopes a win in Kazakhstan later in March will earn her a spot in London.

1 relentless   

adj.残酷的，不留情的，无怜悯心的

参考例句：

• The traffic noise is relentless.交通车辆的噪音一刻也不停止。
• Their training has to be relentless.他们的训练必须是无情的。

2 loyalties   

n.忠诚( loyalty的名词复数 )；忠心；忠于…感情；要忠于…的强烈感情

参考例句：

• an intricate network of loyalties and relationships 忠诚与义气构成的盘根错节的网络
• Rows with one's in-laws often create divided loyalties. 与姻亲之间的矛盾常常让人两面为难。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 bonded   

n.有担保的，保税的，粘合的

参考例句：

• The whisky was taken to bonded warehouses at Port Dundee.威士忌酒已送到邓迪港的保稅仓库。
• This adhesive must be applied to both surfaces which are to be bonded together.要粘接的两个面都必须涂上这种黏合剂。

4 authoritarian   

n./adj.专制(的)，专制主义者，独裁主义者

参考例句：

• Foreign diplomats suspect him of authoritarian tendencies.各国外交官怀疑他有着独裁主义倾向。
• The authoritarian policy wasn't proved to be a success.独裁主义的政策证明并不成功。

5 initially   

adv.最初，开始

参考例句：

• The ban was initially opposed by the US.这一禁令首先遭到美国的反对。
• Feathers initially developed from insect scales.羽毛最初由昆虫的翅瓣演化而来。

6 instructors   

指导者，教师( instructor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The instructors were slacking on the job. 教员们对工作松松垮垮。
• He was invited to sit on the rostrum as a representative of extramural instructors. 他以校外辅导员身份，被邀请到主席台上。

7 ideology   

n.意识形态，(政治或社会的)思想意识

参考例句：

• The ideology has great influence in the world.这种思想体系在世界上有很大的影响。
• The ideal is to strike a medium between ideology and inspiration.我的理想是在意识思想和灵感鼓动之间找到一个折衷。