VOA标准英语2008年-US Enjoys Another Winning Day in Olympic Swimmi

The United States has picked up three more gold medals in Olympic Swimming, with Michael Phelps remaining on course to claim an unprecedented¹ eight gold medals at a single games. VOA's Jim Stevenson has more from the Water Cube in Beijing, where other U.S. team members also found their way to the top of the medal podium.
　

Rebecca Soni poses2 with gold medal after ceremony for women's 200m breaststroke final, 15 Aug 2008

Rebecca Soni clocked a world record time of 2:20.22 minutes Friday in the women's 200-meter breaststroke. Soni had also picked up a breaststroke silver at the 100-meter distance on Tuesday.

"I definitely think I exceeded my expectations," Soni said. "I already have two medals and I [just] came in for one event. So things are going great."

Australian Leisel Jones, who had won in the shorter race, placed second in the 200 meters (2:22.05) ahead of Sara Nordenstam of Norway (2:23.02).

Ryan Lochte and Aaron Peirsol gave the United States gold and silver in the men's 200-meter backstroke. Lochte covered the distance in 1:53.94 minutes to break the world record he had shared with Peirsol by 38-100ths of a second. Russian Arkady Vyatchanin took bronze.

Lochte had a quick turnaround to compete in the 200-meter individual medley³, which was won by teammate Michael Phelps.

"You kind of forget about the pain and everything after you win," he said. "You kind of just forget about it. That is basically what happened. I kind forgot about it and then just got ready for my next race."

But in that race, Lochte could not keep up with another dominant⁴ performance by Phelps, who claimed his sixth gold medal of the 2008 Olympic Games with a world record time of 1:54.23 minutes.
　

Michael Phelps holds gold medal for record-breaking swim in 200 meter individual medley final in Beijing, 15 Aug 2008

While Phelps acknowledges⁵ his amazing run has been widely followed, he feels the popularity⁶ of the sport still has plenty of room to grow.

"I think more and more people are starting to get interested and hopefully starting to get more involved," Phelps said. "So, I think my goal of raising the bar in the sport of swimming is coming along nicely. But I think it is still going to take time for me to really get it to where I want it to be."

German Britta Steffen ended where she wanted to be. Her Olympic record time of 53.12 seconds took her to the other side of the 50-meter pool faster than her walk to the top of the medal podium.

"I thought, yes, enjoy this moment because it is unique," she said. "And I think it was a super race. Even if I had not gotten a medal, it would be fine. But then I turned around and everything was just great."

Lisbeth Trickett of Australia placed second in the swimming's sprint⁷ event (53.16) while American Natalie Coughlin took bronze (53.39).

1 unprecedented   

adj.无前例的，新奇的

参考例句：

• The air crash caused an unprecedented number of deaths.这次空难的死亡人数是空前的。
• A flood of this sort is really unprecedented.这样大的洪水真是十年九不遇。

2 poses   

使摆姿势( pose的第三人称单数 )； 以…身份出现； 招摇； 炫耀

参考例句：

• This poses a threat to agriculture and the food chain, and consequently to human health. 这会对农业和食物链造成威胁，由此而危及人的健康。
• The high cost of oil poses serious problems for industry. 昂贵的石油价格给工业造成了严重困难。

3 medley   

n.混合

参考例句：

• Today's sports meeting doesn't seem to include medley relay swimming.现在的运动会好象还没有混合接力泳这个比赛项目。
• China won the Men's 200 metres Individual Medley.中国赢得了男子200米个人混合泳比赛。

4 dominant   

adj.支配的，统治的；占优势的；显性的；n.主因，要素，主要的人(或物)；显性基因

参考例句：

• The British were formerly dominant in India.英国人从前统治印度。
• She was a dominant figure in the French film industry.她在法国电影界是个举足轻重的人物。

5 acknowledges   

v.承认( acknowledge的第三人称单数 )；鸣谢；对…打招呼；告知已收到

参考例句：

• Chagrin is not something a great man often acknowledges. 一位伟大的人物往往是不肯承认自己恼羞成怒的。 来自辞典例句
• The Daily Food Guide acknowledges this by identifying the fat-sweets group. 每日膳食指南通过鉴定脂肪一糖类确认了这一点。 来自互联网

6 popularity   

n.普及，流行，名望，受欢迎

参考例句：

• The story had an extensive popularity among American readers.这本小说在美国读者中赢得广泛的声望。
• Our product enjoys popularity throughout the world.我们的产品饮誉全球。

7 sprint   

n.短距离赛跑；vi. 奋力而跑，冲刺；vt.全速跑过

参考例句：

• He put on a sprint to catch the bus.他全速奔跑以赶上公共汽车。
• The runner seemed to be rallied for a final sprint.这名赛跑者似乎在振作精神作最后的冲刺。