VOA慢速英语2021 东京奥运会跑得更快背后的技术

Last weekend at the Tokyo Olympics, a runner from Jamaica broke a record in the women's 100-meter race that had lasted for 33 years.

牙买加选手上周末在东京奥运会上打破了女子100米比赛已经尘封33年的记录。

Elaine Thompson-Herah went the distance in 10.61 seconds and won the gold medal. Her time beat the previous record set by Florence Griffith-Joyner at the 1988 Seoul Olympics.

伊莱恩·汤普森·赫拉以10.61秒的成绩跑完全程并获得金牌。她的成绩打破了弗洛伦斯·格里菲斯·乔伊娜在1988年汉城奥运会上创下的记录。

But Thompson-Herah is not the only competitor in Tokyo going fast. Many other Olympians are running faster than ever too. With all the fast times, some people are thinking the running surface, known as a track, is helping¹ the runners. Others think it could be a new material in their shoes.

但是汤普森·赫拉并非东京奥运会上唯一一个跑得飞快的选手。其他许多奥运选手也比以往任何时候都跑得更快。随着成绩的普遍提高，有人认为这次的跑道对选手有利。还有人认为可能是因为他们鞋子中的一种新材料。

The track is made by Mondo, an Italian company that makes running surfaces for sports competitions. The shoes, known as Vaporfly, are made by Nike.

这条跑道是由盟多公司建造的，这是一家为体育大赛建造跑道的意大利公司。这些被称为Vaporfly的鞋子则是由耐克公司制造的。

Mondo created its first track for the 1976 Olympics in Montreal. It has supplied tracks to 12 different Olympic Games. The company built the track in Tokyo's Olympic Stadium in late 2019. Because the Games were postponed² for one year, the surface was not used much before the athletes arrived.

盟多公司在1976年蒙特利尔奥运会上建造了该公司的第一条跑道。它已经为12届不同的奥运会提供跑道。这家公司于2019年底建造了东京奥林匹克体育场的跑道。由于奥运会推迟了一年，在奥运选手抵达之前，这条跑道没有过多投入使用。

Ronnie Baker³ is an American 100-meter runner.

罗尼·贝克是美国100米跑运动员。

He told The Associated Press that running on the surface "feels like I'm walking on clouds." He called the track "beautiful" and "smooth."

他对美联社表示，在这条跑道上跑步就像在云端行走。他称这条跑道很美丽和流畅。

Mondo says the Olympic track is designed to "maximize the speed of athletes and improve their performance."

盟多公司表示，这条奥运跑道旨在最大限度地提高运动员的速度并增强他们的表现。

The top part of the track is made from extra-hard rubber. Below that are spaces containing air holes. This design aims to take the shock and help runners bounce⁴ off the track after each step.

跑道的表层是由超硬橡胶制成。下层是包含气孔的空间。这种设计旨在减轻冲击并帮助跑步者在每跑出一步后从跑道获得反弹。

Another American runner is Clayton Murphy. He runs the 800 meters -- two times around the track.

克莱顿·墨菲是另一位美国跑步选手。他参加了800米跑，在跑道上跑了两圈。

"Oh, it's fast," Murphy said of the track's surface. "Might take world records to win."

墨菲在谈到跑道表面时表示：“噢，很快。可能需要打破世界记录才能赢。”

Shoe technology

制鞋技术

Nike's high-tech⁵ Vaporfly shoe came out a few years ago. It includes a piece of carbon fiber⁶ that has already helped long-distance runners finish their races minutes faster than before. Runners in Tokyo are permitted to use this same shoe technology on the track.

耐克的高科技Vaprofly鞋于几年前问世。它包括了一块碳纤维，这块碳纤维已经帮助长跑运动员比以往快出几分钟就能完成比赛。东京奥运会上的跑步选手被允许在赛道上采用类似制鞋技术。

No one is completely sure why the Olympic runners are going so fast. Of course, the Olympics are a gathering⁷ of the best runners in the world who have trained for years to be in their best condition.

没人可以完全确定这些奥运选手为什么跑得这么快。当然，奥运会是全球最强跑步选手的盛会，他们已经训练多年以保持最佳状态。

Some of the events with fast runners already happened. On Saturday, Lamont Marcell Jacobs of Italy won the men's 100-meter race. He was the first runner to win the gold medal in the Olympics since the retirement⁸ of Usain Bolt⁹, who won the gold three times in a row.

有些比赛上已经有人跑得更快。周六，意大利的拉蒙特·马塞尔·雅各布斯赢得了男子100米跑比赛。他是博尔特退役以来第一位在奥运会上夺得金牌的选手，博尔特曾经连续3届夺得金牌。

Time will tell if the Tokyo track is faster than most. For example, if runners go faster at future events, we will know that it was not so special.

时间将会证明东京奥运会的跑道是否会比大多数跑道更快。例如，如果选手在以后的比赛中跑得更快，我们就能知道东京奥运会的跑道并没有什么特别。

One reporter asked Thompson-Herah why she thought she ran so fast. After winning her race, she had an easy answer.

有记者问汤普森·赫拉她自己觉得为什么她跑得这么快。她在赢得比赛后给出了一个简单的答案。

"My training," she said. "Doesn't matter the track or the shoes."

她说：“这是因为我的训练，跟跑道和鞋子没什么关系。”

1 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。

2 postponed   

vt.& vi.延期，缓办，（使）延迟vt.把…放在次要地位；[语]把…放在后面（或句尾）vi.（疟疾等）延缓发作（或复发）

参考例句：

• The trial was postponed indefinitely. 审讯无限期延迟。
• The game has already been postponed three times. 这场比赛已经三度延期了。

3 baker   

n.面包师

参考例句：

• The baker bakes his bread in the bakery.面包师在面包房内烤面包。
• The baker frosted the cake with a mixture of sugar and whites of eggs.面包师在蛋糕上撒了一层白糖和蛋清的混合料。

4 bounce   

n.弹，反弹；冲劲，冲力；v.(使)弹起(跳起)

参考例句：

• She's got a lot of bounce.她浑身都是劲。
• The ball gave a high bounce.那球弹得很高。

5 high-tech   

adj.高科技的

参考例句：

• The economy is in the upswing which makes high-tech services in more demand too.经济在蓬勃发展，这就使对高科技服务的需求量也在加大。
• The quest of a cure for disease with high-tech has never ceased. 人们希望运用高科技治疗疾病的追求从未停止过。

6 fiber   

n.纤维，纤维质

参考例句：

• The basic structural unit of yarn is the fiber.纤维是纱的基本结构单元。
• The material must be free of fiber clumps.这种材料必须无纤维块。

7 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。

8 retirement   

n.退休，退职

参考例句：

• She wanted to enjoy her retirement without being beset by financial worries.她想享受退休生活而不必为金钱担忧。
• I have to put everything away for my retirement.我必须把一切都积蓄起来以便退休后用。

9 bolt   

n.螺栓；插销；vt.闩，栓住；vi.冲出去，逃跑

参考例句：

• It is a bad habit to bolt your food.狼吞虎咽地吃东西是个不良习惯。
• That door refuses to bolt.那扇门关不牢。