环球英语 — 138：Team Hoyt

　　Voice 1
Thank you for joining us for today’s spotlight¹. I’m Liz Waid.
Voice 2
and I’m Joshua Leo. Spotlight uses a special English method of broadcasting. It is easier for people to understand no matter where in the world they live.
Voice 1
The Ironman Triathlon. It is a race for only the best sports athletes. It is almost four kilometres of swimming, more than one hundred eighty [180] kilometres on a bicycle, and over forty-two [42] kilometres of running. Only then do the athletes reach the finish line. The race takes anywhere from ten [10] hours to fifteen [15] hours to complete. Most athletes cross the finish line alone. But Team Hoyt always crosses the finish line together.
Today’s Spotlight is on Dick and Rick Hoyt, the father and son racing² team.
Voice 2
Rick Hoyt was born in 1962. But when he was born something went wrong. His brain did not receive enough oxygen. This damaged his brain. Doctors thought baby Rick would not live long. If Rick did live, he would not develop normally³.
Voice 1
As a child, it was clear Rick had many physical problems. He had no muscle⁴ control. He could not control his arms or legs. He could not walk. And he could not speak words. But Rick’s parents decided⁵ to raise Rick like any other child.
Voice 2
His parents had trouble getting Rick into school. Teachers thought that since Rick could not talk, he also could not understand words. But this was not true. Rick’s parents taught him letters and words. Rick understood the world around him. His parents wanted him to be in school with all the other children. So, when Rick was ten years old, his parents asked a group of university engineers to help them.
Voice 1
The engineers used five thousand [5000] dollars from the Hoyt family to build a special computer. The computer let Rick write his thoughts. By moving his head, Rick could select letters on the computer. Rick’s family did not know what words he would first write. They expected him to say “Hi Mom” or “Hello Dad.” But the first thing Rick wrote was “Go Bruins.” The Bruins are a professional⁶ hockey team. Rick enjoyed watching sports with his family. He had watched this team his whole life. His parents now knew Rick loved sports.
Voice 2
Rick started school in 1975. Two years later, he told his father that he wanted to compete in a local race. The race was to help a local young man who had suffered a bad accident. The young man became paralyzed⁷. He could not move his body. Rick’s father agreed to help Rick compete in the race. Dick had not run in any races before, but he agreed to push Rick in his wheelchair⁸.
Voice 1
Dick and Rick competed in the eight [8] kilometre race. They did not do very well. They finished second to last. But they still felt good about the race. The night after the race, Rick told his family that he did not feel disabled when he and his father were racing.
Voice 2
Dick and Rick Hoyt continued to race. Many people were very surprised to see a disabled person in a race. Some people did not want to race with Dick and Rick. Now Dick says that many people were not educated⁹ about people with disabilities. They did not know how to react¹⁰ to his son. But over time, Dick says, people began to see that Rick was a person. Rick wrote about how people responded¹¹ to him racing:
Voice 3
“In the beginning, nobody would come up to me. However, after a few races, other athletes began to talk to me. Now, many athletes will come up to me before the race ... to wish me luck”
Voice 1
Some people may look at Team Hoyt and only see Dick pushing his son. They may think that Rick is not really competing in the race. But Dick disagrees.
Voice 4
“My strength comes from Rick. He gives me the desire. He gives me the power to perform. It is just something that builds up in me. It comes from his body into mine. I am just out there letting him use my arms and legs so that he is able to compete…Rick to me is the competitor¹². He really wants to win. He is a fighter and he is never going to give up. ...When I am pushing him, I can go faster. I can do all these things and I do not know exactly what it is.”
Voice 2
After four years of running races, Team Hoyt was ready to try something new. This time instead of just running, they would compete in a triathlon. A triathlon is a race where a person first swims, then rides a bicycle and then finishes the race running. To compete in the race, Dick first had to learn how to swim! He also had to practice riding a bicycle. He had not ridden a bicycle since he was very young.
Voice 1
But Dick also had to figure out a new way to carry Rick in each part of the triathlon. First, he had a special bicycle made. Rick rode in the front of it. Second, for the swimming part of the race, Dick pulled Rick in a floating raft¹³. Dick tied a rope around his waist¹⁴ and pulled his son through the water.
Voice 2
Team Hoyt competed in their first triathlon in 1985. Again, they finished the race second to last. But that did not stop them from competing in more triathlons. They became better at racing. They finished the races faster than most people. Today, Team Hoyt has competed in over nine hundred [900] races. They have even ridden a bicycle across the United¹⁵ States.
Voice 1
Although Dick and Rick spent much time racing, Rick also attended college. After finishing high school, Rick went to Boston University. After nine years of college, Rick graduated with a degree in special education, education for people with disabilities. Today, Rick works¹⁶ at Boston College helping¹⁷ to develop a computer for disabled people. Dick says that his son teaches other people about what it means¹⁸ to have a disability.
Voice 4
“He lives by himself in an apartment in Boston. He has gone to school and competed in races. He is sending a message that disabled people should be included in all daily activities. They should be able to live like everybody else.”
Voice 2
Team Hoyt still races today. They also travel the world speaking to groups of people. They teach them about working together. They teach them about being disabled. Dick says:
Voice 4
“People just need to be educated. Rick is helping many other families coping¹⁹ with disabilities in their struggle to be included. ...The message of Team Hoyt is that everybody should be included in everyday life.”
 

1 spotlight   

n.公众注意的中心，聚光灯，探照灯，视听，注意，醒目

参考例句：

• This week the spotlight is on the world of fashion.本周引人瞩目的是时装界。
• The spotlight followed her round the stage.聚光灯的光圈随着她在舞台上转。

2 racing   

n.竞赛，赛马；adj.竞赛用的，赛马用的

参考例句：

• I was watching the racing on television last night.昨晚我在电视上看赛马。
• The two racing drivers fenced for a chance to gain the lead.两个赛车手伺机竞相领先。

3 normally   

adv.正常地，通常地

参考例句：

• I normally do all my shopping on Saturdays.我通常在星期六买东西。
• My pulse beats normally.我脉搏正常。

4 muscle   

n.肌肉，膂力；v.硬挤

参考例句：

• The heart is made of muscle.心脏是肌肉组织。
• He is a man of muscle.他是个大力士。

5 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。

6 professional   

adj.专业的；职业的；n.专业人员；职业运动员

参考例句：

• He is a professional tennis player.他是一名职业网球运动员。
• I need a professional to sort out my finances.我需要专业人士为我管理财务。

7 paralyzed   

adj.瘫痪的

参考例句：

• He is paralyzed as the result of a would-be assassin's bullet years ago. 几年前有人对他行刺未遂，但子弹使他瘫痪了。
• But the very imminence of the emergency paralyzed his invention. Good! 常言说得好，急中生智，可汤姆这回却束手无策，对，就这么办。

8 wheelchair   

n.(病人等用的)轮椅

参考例句：

• He used a wheelchair for the rest of his life.他的后半生依靠轮椅生活。
• He collapsed the wheelchair and put it on the boat.他将轮椅折叠起来放在船上。

9 educated   

adj.受过教育的，有教养的

参考例句：

• She was well educated in literature at a university.她在大学里受到良好的文学方面的教育。
• Children should be educated in a correct way.教育孩子要得法。

10 react   

vi.起反应，起作用；反抗，起反作用

参考例句：

• She didn't look up or react in any way.她既不抬头，也没有任何反应。
• How did he react to your suggestion?他如何对待你的建议？

11 responded   

回答，回报，响应( respond的过去式和过去分词 )； 有反应； 有效果； 有影响

参考例句：

• Most of the staff who responded to the questionnaire were supportive. 回答了问卷的职员大多数表示支持。
• She responded to the news by bursting into tears. 她听到那个消息后眼泪夺眶而出。

12 competitor   

n.竞争者；对手；比赛者

参考例句：

• The first prize was awarded to the youngest competitor.一等奖授给了最年轻的比赛者。
• After defeat of the new competitor,the prices can rise again.新的竞争者被击败之后，价格就会重新上升。

13 raft   

vi.乘筏；n.木筏

参考例句：

• I lay on the raft in the sun until I was dry.我在阳光下躺在木排上，一直到全身都干了。
• She spent seven days afloat on a raft.她在一只木筏上漂泊了七天。

14 waist   

n.腰，腰部，腰身，背心

参考例句：

• The coat is a bit tight at the waist.这件上衣腰身瘦了点。
• The sound is from the waist of a violin.声音是从小提琴的中间部分发出的。

15 united   

adj.和谐的；团结的；联合的，统一的

参考例句：

• The whole nation is closely united.全国人民紧密团结。
• The two men were united by community of interests.共同的利益使两个人结合在一起。

16 works   

n.作品，著作；工厂，活动部件，机件

参考例句：

• We expect writers to produce more and better works.我们期望作家们写出更多更好的作品。
• The novel is regarded as one of the classic works.这篇小说被公认为是最优秀的作品之一。

17 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。

18 means   

n.方法，手段，折中点，物质财富

参考例句：

• That man used artful means to find out secrets.那人使用狡猾的手段获取机密。
• We must get it done by some means or other.我们总得想办法把它干完。

19 coping   

顶部，顶盖，墙的顶部

参考例句：

• I got to the stage where I wasn't coping any more. 到了这个阶段，我已经无法应付了。
• They have done remarkably well in coping with natural calamities. 他们在战胜自然灾害方面做得极为出色。