英语听力—环球英语 793 An Olympic Dream

　　Voice 1
Welcome to Spotlight¹. I'm Robin² Basselin.
Voice 2
And I'm Ryan Geertsma. 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
Sabrina Vega is not like other 15 year old girls. She is beautiful like many young girls, and she has a sweet smile and dark eyes. But unlike³ other 15 year old girls, she spends 7 hours every day training - performing extremely⁴ difficult physical exercises. Sabrina Vega is a gymnast⁵. She competes in the popular Olympic sport of gymnastics⁶. This difficult sport requires strength, balance, and grace⁷. Today's Spotlight is on Sabrina Vega and her path to the 2012 Olympics.
Voice 2
When Sabrina was 5 years old, a friend invited her to a party. The party was at a gym - a place where people play sports and train for gymnastics. At this party, Sabrina discovered that she loved doing gymnastics. She loved running, jumping and turning in the air. She enjoyed balancing far above the ground. And she loved playing on the bars - hanging from her hands and moving herself around in circles. Sabrina could not stop talking about doing gymnastics.
Voice 1
A few nights after the party, Sabrina had a dream. She told her mother, Jahira, about the dream. Jahira told Spotlight,
Voice 3
"Sabrina said that in her dream she went to the Olympics. She described everything at this international competition. She told me about the place where they give out the awards. She described every part of the building. At first I did not consider her story seriously."
Voice 2
But Sabrina kept talking about her dream. She told her father, David, about it too. So Jahira and David decided⁸ to pay for Sabrina to learn gymnastics. Everyone at the gym quickly recognized that Sabrina was very good. In fact, she needed better training.
Voice 1
So Sabrina started to train at a special, competitive⁹ gym. She was only 7 years old and she was already training to compete at a high level. At this gym, she met her coaches, Teodora and Sorin Cepoi. When they were younger, Teodora and Sorin competed in the Olympics for the country of Romania. Now, they teach and train girls gymnastics in the United¹⁰ States. When Sabrina first came to the gym, the Cepois only trained teenage¹¹ girls. But they recognized Sabrina's skill right away. And when Sabrina was 8, they began working with her.
Voice 2
The years passed quickly. Sabrina got better and better. By the time she was 12 years old, Sabrina was training many hours each day. She stopped attending normal school. Instead, Sabrina began studying at home in between training times.
Voice 1
Now, at 15, Sabrina wakes up early every morning. She gets up, eats a quick meal, and then travels to the gym with her mother. She trains for almost three hours – stretching, getting stronger, and learning¹² new skills. She goes home to eat and do some school work. Then she travels back to the gym to train again - this time, for more than 4 hours. When she gets home, Sabrina eats dinner, and gets ready for bed. It is usually past 9:00 at night. She does not have time to do things that many other 15 year old Americans do - like watch television, spend time with her friends, or use Facebook.
Voice 2
Sabrina's life of training has not been easy. It can be difficult for her family as well. Sabrina's mother is with her at training most days. So, Sabrina and Jahira are not able to spend a lot of time with Sabrina's father or brother. Sabrina's training also costs a lot of money. This is a sacrifice for everyone.
Voice 1
But the Vegas believe that God gave Sabrina her skill. They believe God wants her to use it. Jahira talked about an experience that helped them to believe this.
Voice 2
Sabrina was 13 years old. She had a chance to compete in a national gymnastics event. If she did well, the event would give her the chance to join the National team - the team that trains for the Olympics.
Voice 1
But the family was out of money. They needed $5000 dollars to send Sabrina to the competition. Jahira had to tell Sabrina that she could not go. Jahira explained,
Voice 3
"I looked at her and I said, 'I do not think you are going to be able to do this one.' Tears came to her eyes, and she said, 'I understand.' But deep in my heart I thought, 'I am crushing¹³ her!'"
Voice 2
This was an important time. Was Sabrina's Olympic dream over? Jahira said,
Voice 3
"That was when I started praying. I said, 'God, is this what you want for Sabrina? Then you have to provide because there is no other way.' . . . I was praying so intensely¹⁵."
Voice 1
A week or two later, something happened. A wealthy family came to visit Sabrina's gym unexpectedly¹⁶. They had heard about Sabrina from another family at the gym. They watched Sabrina train. Then they asked to talk to Jahira. The wealthy family gave Jahira all the money they needed! Jahira explained,
Voice 3
"That is when we knew, 'God put this idea in her head. God put this in her heart.'"
Voice 2
Sabrina depends on the support of her family and her faith in God. She told Spotlight,
Voice 4
"For every trip I always bring my Bible¹⁷. . . . When I feel worried, I will read a little bit and I pray."
Voice 1
Sabrina's team members also support her. Every month, her team spends 5 days training with Marta Karyoli - the famous Romanian coach. They spend time building their physical strength and learning new skills. High level coaches also judge their gymnastic performances. It is a very intense¹⁴ time. But Sabrina says it brings all the girls together as a team. She said,
Voice 4
"We are all very close. We support each other and cheer for each other. We want each person to do her best."
Voice 2
In the summer of 2012, the Olympics will be in London, England. Sabrina Vega has been training almost her whole life to compete at this event. Spotlight asked Jahira about Sabrina's path - from a 5 year old girl with a dream to an Olympic gymnast. She said,
Voice 3
"It came faster than we could have imagined. Our family talked about it, and we said, 'Great, you can do this.' And then we closed our eyes for a second and it was all here."
Voice 1
People from all over the world will compete in the 2012 Olympics. And millions of people will watch. That is a lot of pressure for a young girl. But Sabrina will not be there alone. She will be supported by her team, her family, and her faith in God.
 

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 robin   

n.知更鸟，红襟鸟

参考例句：

• The robin is the messenger of spring.知更鸟是报春的使者。
• We knew spring was coming as we had seen a robin.我们看见了一只知更鸟，知道春天要到了。

3 unlike   

adj.不同的，不相似的；prep.不像，和...不同

参考例句：

• She's very unlike her mother.她一点也不像她母亲。
• It's unlike him to be late;he's usually on time.他不是会迟到的那种人，他通常很准时。

4 extremely   

adv.极其，非常，极度

参考例句：

• The film is extremely good,I just cannot miss it.这部电影太精彩了，我非看不可。
• The old man was extremely difficult to get along with.这个老人极难相与。

5 gymnast   

n.体操教员，体育家，体育专家

参考例句：

• The gymnast is the present champion of the swinging rings.那位体操运动员是本届吊环冠军。
• The gymnast performed on the balance beam with an easy grace.体操运动员在平衡木上表演得优美自如。

6 gymnastics   

n.体操

参考例句：

• Gymnastics is his favourite sport.体操是他最喜爱的运动。
• She does gymnastics at school.她在学校做体操锻炼。

7 grace   

n.优雅，雅致，魅力，恩惠，慈悲

参考例句：

• She is a beautiful girl with the grace and poise.她是一位仪态优雅的佳丽。
• I hope the grace of God would descend on me.我期望上帝的恩惠。

8 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。

9 competitive   

adj.竞争的，比赛的，好竞争的，有竞争力的

参考例句：

• Some kinds of business are competitive.有些商业是要竞争的。
• These businessmen are both competitive and honourable.这些商人既有竞争性又很诚实。

10 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。

11 teenage   

adj.青少年的；十几岁的

参考例句：

• His voice is very high for a teenage boy.对一个十几岁的男孩来说，他的嗓音很尖。
• He is too old now for teenage parties.他年龄太大了，不适于参加少年聚会。

12 learning   

n.学问，学识，学习；动词learn的现在分词

参考例句：

• When you are learning to ride a bicycle,you often fall off.初学骑自行车时，常会从车上掉下来。
• Learning languages isn't just a matter of remembering words.学习语言不仅仅是记些单词的事。

13 crushing   

adj. 打破得支离破碎的, 使不能在站起来, 压倒的 v. 动词crush的现在分词形式

参考例句：

• a crushing defeat in the election 在选举中的惨败
• The attack on Pearl Harbor was a crushing calamity. 偷袭珍珠港（对美军来说）是一场毁灭性的灾难。

14 intense   

adj.认真的，专注的；强烈的；紧张的；热情的

参考例句：

• Susan was an intense young lady.苏珊是一个热情的年轻姑娘。
• The quarrel caused her intense unhappiness.争吵令她极其不快。

15 intensely   

adv.强烈地

参考例句：

• I was intensely curious to know more about him. 我迫不及待地想更多地了解他的情况。
• Her parents were intensely ambitious for her and her younger sister. 她的父母对她和她妹妹有着很高的期望。

16 unexpectedly   

adv.未料到地，意外地；竟；居然；骤然

参考例句：

• The volcano unexpectedly blew up early in the morning. 火山一早突然爆发了。
• I had just put the dinner on when Jim walked in unexpectedly. 我刚把晚饭摆上桌，吉姆突然走进来。

17 bible   

n.《圣经》；得到权威支持的典籍

参考例句：

• According to the Bible we are all the seed of Adam.根据《圣经》所说的，我们都是亚当的后裔。
• This dictionary should be your Bible when studying English.学习英语时，这本字典应是你的主要参考书。