VOA标准英语2014--肯尼亚跳绳队欲夺世界冠军

 

Kenyan Jump Rope Squad¹ Eyes World Championship 肯尼亚跳绳队欲夺世界冠军

NAIROBI—

A Kenyan jump rope team is hoping to become world champs - after winning numerous competitions. The team members are all from the Nairobi slum of Kibera and are between the ages of 8 and 18; jumping rope has helped them avoid negative peer pressure.

Eighteen-year-old Wycliffe Otieno prepares for his daily jump rope practice. The tools of his trade; a pair of shoes, a water bottle and second change of clothes. Otieno took up the sport four years ago and is part of the Carolina For Kibera jump rope initiative dubbed² the ‘CFK Sprinters’.

Jump rope, not just for girls

He has been practicing four times a week for up to two hours a day. And that hard work has paid off. In June, the CFK Sprinters represented Kenya and came in third out of 16 countries at the 2014 World Jump Pope Competition that was held in the U.S. state of Florida.

But Otieno says he nearly did not pursue the sport for the wrong reasons. “After class I’d find people practicing jump rope and my interest was piqued³. But I thought it was a game for only girls, only girls jumped rope. Later I saw boys practicing but they weren’t that keen since they too viewed jump rope as a sport for girls. I saw an opportunity to learn and improve my skills and I decided⁴ to take it up seriously,” he explains.

CFK Sprinters - team

Carolina For Kibera -- an international NGO -- started the Jump Rope Initiative in 2010 gearing it toward children between 8 and 18 years of age living in Nairobi’s informal settlement. So far the CFK Sprinters has around 100 children enrolled⁵ in the program. They provide training, a jump rope and a pair of shoes, which cost about $10 -- too much for most Kibera families to afford.

Fifteen-year-old Christine Ondeko, among the first to join the jump rope club four years ago, says she wishes there were more support for her sport, which many people just view as a playground activity.

“Parents oppose because they don’t think it's girl stuff, like they think it’s time wasting, it can’t help in anything. On the ground we face challenges -- like here rocks, some get injured because they don’t have shoes, lack of shorts for girls mostly and tights and shirts because you can’t train with the same clothes," she says, "You can’t train with the same clothes you train with and go with them home.”

Since 2001, Carolina For Kibera has been helping⁶ the local young people through various initiatives -- including the Tabitha Medical Clinic -- which treats the CFK Sprinters at no cost when they get training injuries.

David Okoth, one of the three coaches, takes pride in not only conditioning the CFK Sprinters but giving them a sense of self-worth through mentorship.

“Generally jump rope it brings the youth around Kibera together for those who cannot take part in any other sport like football, running. They can take part in jump rope," he notes. "And despite them taking part in jump rope we still impact them with the life skills information such as HIV, teenage pregnancies⁷ and the bad companies.”

This dedication⁸ has seen the team win three international championships while helping young people feel safe and valued.

As they hone their skills, the CFK Sprinters look forward to next year’s World Youth Championships in France and, maybe, just maybe this time they’ll take first place.

1 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。

2 dubbed   

v.给…起绰号( dub的过去式和过去分词 )；把…称为；配音；复制

参考例句：

• Mathematics was once dubbed the handmaiden of the sciences. 数学曾一度被视为各门科学的基础。
• Is the movie dubbed or does it have subtitles? 这部电影是配音的还是打字幕的？ 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 piqued   

v.伤害…的自尊心( pique的过去式和过去分词 )；激起（好奇心）

参考例句：

• Their curiosity piqued, they stopped writing. 他们的好奇心被挑起，停下了手中的笔。 来自辞典例句
• This phenomenon piqued Dr Morris' interest. 这一现象激起了莫里斯医生的兴趣。 来自辞典例句

4 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。

5 enrolled   

adj.入学登记了的v.[亦作enrol]( enroll的过去式和过去分词 )；登记，招收，使入伍（或入会、入学等），参加，成为成员；记入名册；卷起，包起

参考例句：

• They have been studying hard from the moment they enrolled. 从入学时起，他们就一直努力学习。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He enrolled with an employment agency for a teaching position. 他在职业介绍所登了记以谋求一个教师的职位。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

7 pregnancies   

怀孕，妊娠( pregnancy的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Since the wartime population needed replenishment, pregnancies were a good sign. 最后一桩倒不失为好现象，战时人口正该补充。
• She's had three pregnancies in four years. 她在四年中怀孕叁次。

8 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。