新西兰英语 669 NZ Paralympians

 　　The London Paralympics competition is now finished and the closing ceremony is tomorrow morning New Zealand time. New Zealand sent 24 athletes to the games and received 17 medals. Four swimmers won medals: Sophie Pascoe from Christchurch won three gold medals and three silver. She lost half of one leg as a result of an accident as a child. Mary Fisher from Wellington won a gold, two silver and a bronze. She is partly blind. Daniel Sharp from Hamilton is also partly blind. He won a silver medal in the 100m Breaststroke. Cameron Leslie from Northland won a gold in the 150m Individual Medley¹. He is disabled in both his arms and legs.

　　Phillipa Gray from Invercargill is also partly blind. She rode a tandem² cycle with her pilot, Laura Thompson. Together they won a gold, a silver and a bronze medal in their cycle races. Fiona Southorn from Northland also won a bronze medal in cycling. She has a shorter left arm with no hand so it’s quite hard for her to keep her balance. Michael Johnson, a wheelchair athlete, won a bronze medal in a shooting event.

　　The London Paralympics has been a great success with a full stadium at most events. Many spectators³ said that the athletes have been an inspiration⁴.

　　Listen to January 22nd 2011 and Paralympics 2008 to hear more about Paralympic athletes.

　　Vocabulary

　　medley – butterfly, backstroke, breaststroke, and freestyle.

　　tandem – a double cycle

　　pilot – someone to lead and guide

　　inspiration – spectators admire these athletes and feel encouraged to do the same

1 medley   

n.混合

参考例句：

• Today's sports meeting doesn't seem to include medley relay swimming.现在的运动会好象还没有混合接力泳这个比赛项目。
• China won the Men's 200 metres Individual Medley.中国赢得了男子200米个人混合泳比赛。

2 tandem   

n.同时发生；配合；adv.一个跟着一个地；纵排地；adj.（两匹马）前后纵列的

参考例句：

• Malcolm's contract will run in tandem with his existing one.马尔科姆的合同将与他手头的合同同时生效。
• He is working in tandem with officials of the Serious Fraud Office.他正配合欺诈重案办公室的官员工作。

3 spectators   

n.观众，旁观者( spectator的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The spectators were wilting visibly in the hot sun. 看得出观众在炎热的阳光下快支撑不住了。
• The policemen asked the spectators to stand well back. 警察要求旁观者靠后站。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 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！