2006年VOA标准英语-US Snowboarders Again Finish 1st, 2nd

By Parke Brewer¹
Bardonecchia, Italy
13 February 2006

 
Hannah Teter holds her snowboard while in the air at the Turin Winter Games 
  
For a second straight day the United States captured the gold and silver medals in the snowboarding halfpipe competition at the Turin Winter Olympics. 

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One day after Americans Shaun White and Danny Kass finished first and second in the men's snowboarding halfpipe, their teammates Hannah Teter and Gretchen Bleiler won gold and silver in the women's halfpipe.

After the first of the two runs under beautiful, sunny skies in the final, Americans held the top three positions.  But in what she described as the run of her life, Norway's Kjersti Buass won the bronze, knocking defending champion Kelly Clark into fourth place.

"I never thought this was possible," said Ms. Buass.  "I heard that they said [before the run] that you're the last European who can split² the Americans and I am like woe³, woe, all Europe is depending on me."

Winner Hannah Teter, who, like many snowboarders, has a bubbly, free-spirited personality, described her thoughts.

Hannah Teter walks with her brother at the Turin Winter Games   
  
"I just wanted to step it up and do my thing and go as big as possible," she said.  "I was caught up with the energy and rush of it, the whole scene here, and I just felt super good."

So did her teammate Gretchen Bleiler, who won the silver medal.

"It was absolutely an unbelievable day," said Ms. Bleiler.  "[Being at] the Olympics, and medaling at the Olympics has been a dream of mine since I was a little girl.  And I worked so hard to get where I am today and it hasn't been easy, not one day of it.  So many ups, so many downs, but it's just an unbelievable feeling, getting through all of that and accomplishing a dream and a goal.

Two more snowboarding events remain at these Olympics, the parallel giant slalom, and the new event of snowboard cross, where competitors race on a special course with varied⁴ obstacles and terrain⁵.

1 brewer   

n. 啤酒制造者

参考例句：

• Brewer is a very interesting man. 布鲁尔是一个很有趣的人。
• I decided to quit my job to become a brewer. 我决定辞职，做一名酿酒人。

2 split   

n.劈开，裂片，裂口；adj.分散的；v.分离，分开，劈开

参考例句：

• Who told you that Mary and I had split up?谁告诉你玛丽和我已经离婚了？
• The teacher split the class up into six groups.老师把班级分成6个小组。

3 woe   

n.悲哀，苦痛，不幸，困难；int.用来表达悲伤或惊慌

参考例句：

• Our two peoples are brothers sharing weal and woe.我们两国人民是患难与共的兄弟。
• A man is well or woe as he thinks himself so.自认祸是祸，自认福是福。

4 varied   

adj.多样的，多变化的

参考例句：

• The forms of art are many and varied.艺术的形式是多种多样的。
• The hotel has a varied programme of nightly entertainment.宾馆有各种晚间娱乐活动。

5 terrain   

n.地面，地形，地图

参考例句：

• He had made a detailed study of the terrain.他对地形作了缜密的研究。
• He knows the terrain of this locality like the back of his hand.他对这一带的地形了如指掌。