英语听力—环球英语 1106 Germany’s Sporting Shame, Part Two

 　　Voice 1

 

　　Hello, and welcome to Spotlight¹. I'm Steve Myersco.

 

　　Voice 2

 

　　And I'm Robin² Basselin. This programme 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 Olympic Games. An international celebration of great sporting achievement. Its organisers encourage sportsmen³ and women to be true to the Olympic values of excellence⁴, friendship and respect. For people who follow the Olympic ideas, winning is not the only important thing. They also want to perform as well as they can. And they want to show respect to themselves and other people. However, some individuals are not happy unless they win. And he or she may be prepared to use any means to make that possible. But what if it was not just one individual who wanted success at all costs - but a whole country? And what if that country's government was willing to cheat to make this happen?

 

　　Voice 2

 

　　This is not just a story. It really happened. The country involved was East Germany. This state is now part of a united Germany. But between the years of 1949 and 1989, East and West Germany were separate states. Another Spotlight programme tells more about the reasons for this. It is called "Germany's Sporting Shame - Part One."

 

　　Voice 1

 

　　East Germany had a population of around 17 million. The East German political system limited people's human rights. The country was isolated⁵ and unpopular with some western European countries. Also, East Germany's economy was not very strong. The government wanted to find some area where their country could compete with other countries across the world - and win. And so, the government turned to sport as a way of doing this. The result was State Plan 14.25.

 

　　Voice 2

 

　　State Plan 14.25 was a government project started in 1974. It involved finding⁶ children who showed a gift for sport. These children then attended special sports schools. There, they trained hard. And there, they received daily amounts of drugs from government doctors. These officials told the children that the drugs were vitamins - natural substances that the body needs. In fact, the ‘vitamins' were a drug called Oral Clembuterol. This built up a person's muscles and improved their sporting performances.

 

　　Voice 1

 

　　State Plan 14.25 continued until 1989. During that time, East German sports stars did bring much success to their country. But many people in the world of sport suspected that drugs were behind these victories. They did not believe that such great success was just the result of skill and hard work.

 

　　Voice 2

 

　　In the end, it was a political event that showed the truth. In 1989, the Berlin Wall fell. Berlin was the capital of East Germany. However, a large wall divided the city. Western international forces controlled one half. And East German forces controlled the other. The East Germans had built the wall in 1961. They wanted to prevent citizens from moving to the West to live. However, by 1989, relations between East and West had improved greatly. The wall came down. And one year later, East and West Germany united to become one state.

 

　　Voice 1

 

　　In the world of sport, East and West Germans began to compete as one team. Former West German sporting officials were very pleased about this. Now they had excellent sportsmen and women competing for their team! One of these athletes was a young woman, Katrine Krabbe. She was a top runner. And many people believed that she would win the gold medal at the 1992 Olympics. But one day, things went badly wrong. Katrine failed a sporting drugs test. Running authorities⁷ banned her from competing for two years. And people began to learn the truth about the truth about State Plan 14.25.

 

　　Voice 2

 

　　Former West German officials began to investigate the behaviour of East German scientists. A lot of evidence for State Plan 14.25 had been destroyed. But enough remained to show that almost all of East Germany's top champions had taken drugs.

 

　　Voice 1

 

　　Experts believe that up to ten thousand sports men and women were given drugs during State Plan 14.25. And most of these athletes did not know about it. When some of them did discover the truth, they were shocked. Birgit Boese was one of these athletes. Later, she told Reuters:

 

　　Voice 3

 

　　"Some athletes feel they had to blame themselves because they did not notice. You feel dirty when you discover the truth...The more international success you had as an athlete, the more you feel like a criminal."

 

　　Voice 2

 

　　State Plan 14.25 left athletes with deep feelings of guilt⁸. But it also left them with severe health problems. Today, many of them suffer from heart and liver⁹ problems, lack of growth, depression. Some sports women were left unable to produce children. But what happened to the scientists and doctors responsible for this situation?

 

　　Voice 1

 

　　Ten years after people learned¹⁰ the truth, the police arrested a number of doctors and officials. However these people only received small punishments. And many of them were not willing to admit that they were responsible. They claimed that the East German government forced them to act as they did.

 

　　Voice 2

 

　　Plan 14.25 has left its mark on German sport. But today, German sporting authorities are working hard to keep sport free from drugs. Anyone caught taking drugs now receives a ban from competition. Many German people believe it is time to forget this dark time in their country's history and move on. But this attitude makes the Plan 14.25 victims angry. Ines Geipel is one of these victims. She told the BBC:

 

　　Voice 4

 

　　"We can always talk about pardoning the officials involved. But there must be a reason for doing that. They would have to tell us first what exactly they did to the children they cared for...Many athletes are dead, or severely¹¹ damaged - but people are saying 'Okay, let us move on. Let us continue with life'. It is insane¹². I think that we deserve¹³ to be treated with a bit more decency¹⁴ and respect."

 

　　Voice 1

 

　　The victims of State Plan 14.25 say that they need to hear the whole truth. They need to hear the people were part of this project admit their guilt. Only then will the victims be able to fully¹⁵ forgive.

 

　　Voice 2

 

　　The writer of this programme was Ruby¹⁶ Jones. The producer was Steve Myersco. The voices you heard were from the United Kingdom. All quotes were adapted and voiced by Spotlight. You can hear this programme again on our website at http://www.radio.english.net This .programme is called "Germany's Sporting Shame, Part Two."

 

　　Voice 1

 

　　Thank you for listening today. Until next time, goodbye!

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 sportsmen   

运动员( sportsman的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• He is one of this country's top professional sportsmen. 他是本国的顶级职业运动员之一。
• He is one of this country's top professional sportsmen. 他是本国的顶级职业运动员之一。

4 excellence   

n.优秀，杰出，(pl.)优点，美德

参考例句：

• His art has reached a high degree of excellence.他的艺术已达到炉火纯青的地步。
• My performance is far below excellence.我的表演离优秀还差得远呢。

5 isolated   

adj.与世隔绝的

参考例句：

• His bad behaviour was just an isolated incident. 他的不良行为只是个别事件。
• Patients with the disease should be isolated. 这种病的患者应予以隔离。

6 finding   

n.发现，发现物；调查的结果

参考例句：

• The finding makes some sense.该发现具有一定的意义。
• That's an encouraging finding.这是一个鼓舞人心的发现。

7 authorities   

n.当局，权力，权威；权威( authority的名词复数 )；权力；学术权威；[复数]当权者

参考例句：

• They interceded with the authorities on behalf of the detainees. 他们为被拘留者向当局求情。
• At his instigation we conceal the fact from the authorities. 我们受他的怂恿向当局隐瞒了事实。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 guilt   

n.犯罪；内疚；过失，罪责

参考例句：

• She tried to cover up her guilt by lying.她企图用谎言掩饰自己的罪行。
• Don't lay a guilt trip on your child about schoolwork.别因为功课责备孩子而使他觉得很内疚。

9 liver   

n.肝；肝脏

参考例句：

• He has a weak liver.他的肝脏不好。
• The largest organ in the body is the liver.人体最大的器官是肝脏。

10 learned   

adj.有学问的，博学的；learn的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He went into a rage when he learned about it.他听到这事后勃然大怒。
• In this little village,he passed for a learned man.在这个小村子里，他被视为有学问的人。

11 severely   

adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地

参考例句：

• He was severely criticized and removed from his post.他受到了严厉的批评并且被撤了职。
• He is severely put down for his careless work.他因工作上的粗心大意而受到了严厉的批评。

12 insane   

adj.蠢极的，荒唐的，精神错乱的，疯狂的

参考例句：

• Insane people are sometimes dangerous.精神病人有时非常危险。
• The letter made her insane with jealousy.那封信使她妒忌得发疯。

13 deserve   

vt.应受，值得；vi. 应受报答，值得受赏

参考例句：

• You really deserve a good beating,you naughty boy.你这个调皮孩子真该打。
• I do not deserve all the praises bestowed upon me.我不配得到这些赞扬。

14 decency   

n.体面，得体，合宜，正派，庄重

参考例句：

• His sense of decency and fair play made him refuse the offer.他的正直感和公平竞争意识使他拒绝了这一提议。
• Your behaviour is an affront to public decency.你的行为有伤风化。

15 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

16 ruby   

n.红宝石，红宝石色

参考例句：

• She is wearing a small ruby earring.她戴着一枚红宝石小耳环。
• On the handle of his sword sat the biggest ruby in the world.他的剑柄上镶有一颗世上最大的红宝石。