VOA标准英语2010年-Canada Edges US, Takes Gold in Final D

Team Canada's Lucas Makowsky, left, Denny Morrison, center, and Mathieu Giroux, right, skate for gold during the men's team pursuit¹ final speedskating race at the Richmond Olympic Oval² at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, Canada, 27 Feb 2010

 
The final day of speedskating at the Richmond Olympic Oval proved golden for host team Canada's men and for reigning³ Olympic champion Germany's women's team.  The men beat the United States while Germany squeaked⁴ past Japan by just two 100ths of one second.

The men's final was a duel⁵ between hosts Canada and the United States.  The Canadians were the silver medalists in this event in 2006 while the Americans finished in sixth place in Turin. 

In the end, the Canadian team of Denny Morrison, Lucas Makowsky and Mathieu Giroux beat Chad Hedrick, Brian Hansen and Jonathan Kuck by 21-100ths of one second.

 
VOA Photo D. Byrd
Mathieu Giroux, Lucas Makowsky, and Denny Morrison of Canada show off their gold medals in team pursuit speedskating in Vancouver, Canada, 27 Feb 2010

The result ended a medal drought for Morrison, 24, who had failed to medal in his previous events at these Olympics.  Saturday, the Canadian said he fed off the energy of the thousands of Canadian fans who flooded the downtown area the night before his race.

"Just to see how many people were walking around singing 'O Canada!' in the streets with flags waving.  Yeah the home town pride and support was amazing.  I'm not going to give it all the credit, but maybe that was one of the reasons why I was able to come back so strong for the team pursuit and have a medal hanging around my neck today," said Morrison.

For Chad Hedrick, Vancouver was his last Olympics.  The American said after Saturday's silver medal that he knows his younger teammates will build on his success on the ice.

 
VOA Photo D. Byrd
American Speedskater Chad Hedrick tells the media that the 2010 Winter Games will be his final appearance at the Olympics, Vancouver, Canada, 27 Feb 2010

"I'll be leaving," said Hedrick.  "This is my last Olympics and these are the guys who are going to be taking my spot. So for them to go out and do well like this, uh I think they are going to be eager to go out to Russia in 2014 and do well."

The Netherlands won the bronze medal in the men's event by beating Norway in an Olympic record time of 3:39.95. 

In the women's event, the German team of Daniela Thoms Anschutz, Stephanie Beckert and Katrine Mattscherodt was trailing Japan headed into the final meters, but a huge surge⁶ at the end of the race earned the Germans the gold by just 0.02 seconds. Poland beat the United States by more than 1.5 seconds to take the bronze medal.

Coupled with snowboarder Jasey Jay Anderson's win in the parallel giant slalom and Canada's win in men's curling, the Canadians now lead the gold medal count with 13, the most the host nation has ever earned at an Olympics - winter or summer. 

The Vancouver Games conclude Sunday with a cross-country skiing race and the men's gold medal ice hockey game between Canada and the United States.
 

1 pursuit   

n.追赶，追求，职业，工作

参考例句：

• They set off at once along the lane in pursuit.他们立即出发沿着小巷追赶。
• Life,liberty,and the pursuit of happiness have been called the inalienable rights of man.生命、自由和追求幸福被称为人类不可剥夺的权利。

2 oval   

n. 椭圆，椭圆形跑道；adj. 卵形的，椭圆形的

参考例句：

• She has a lovely oval face.她长着一张可爱的椭圆脸。
• The shape of the earth is an oval.地球的形状是个椭圆形。

3 reigning   

adj.统治的，起支配作用的

参考例句：

• The sky was dark, stars were twinkling high above, night was reigning, and everything was sunk in silken silence. 天很黑，星很繁，夜阑人静。
• Led by Huang Chao, they brought down the reigning house after 300 years' rule. 在黄巢的带领下，他们推翻了统治了三百年的王朝。

4 squeaked   

v.短促地尖叫( squeak的过去式和过去分词 )；吱吱叫；告密；充当告密者

参考例句：

• The radio squeaked five. 收音机里嘟嘟地发出五点钟报时讯号。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• Amy's shoes squeaked on the tiles as she walked down the corridor. 埃米走过走廊时，鞋子踩在地砖上嘎吱作响。 来自辞典例句

5 duel   

n./v.决斗；(双方的)斗争

参考例句：

• The two teams are locked in a duel for first place.两个队为争夺第一名打得难解难分。
• Duroy was forced to challenge his disparager to duel.杜洛瓦不得不向诋毁他的人提出决斗。

6 surge   

n.汹涌，澎湃；vi.汹涌，强烈感到，飞涨；vt.放开，松手

参考例句：

• The surge travelled southwards along the coast.浪涛沿着海岸向南涌去。
• It failed to stimulate a surge of investment in industry.这没有能刺激工业投资的激增。