VOA标准英语2010年-US Ends 62-Year Drought in 4-Man Bobsl

US four-man bobsled team, captured gold medal Saturday at Vancouver Winter Games

Parke Brewer¹ | Whistler Sliding Center, BC, Canada 28 February 2010

 
Photo: ASSOCIATED PRESS
The United States' USA-1,' with Steven Holcomb, Justin Olsen, Steve Mesler, and Curtis Tomasevicz, compete during the men's four-man bobsled final competition at the Vancouver 2010 Olympics in Whistler, British Columbia, 27 Feb 2010

 
The United States has finally ended more than half a century of frustration² in the Olympic four-man bobsled, capturing the gold medal Saturday at the Vancouver Winter Games.  VOA Sports Editor Parke Brewer was at the Whistler Sliding Center for the conclusion of the event Saturday and has a report.

It seems hard to believe that it had been 62 years since the Americans had won Olympic gold in the four-man bobsled.

But this was the year many thought that futility³ would come to an end.

Driver Steve Holcomb, the reigning⁴ world champion, surged to the lead after the first two runs Friday, setting a Whistler Sliding Track record in the process.  He gained several more hundredths of a second in the third run Saturday, so with a total lead of almost half a second, Holcomb just needed to steer⁵ a solid run on his fourth and final trip down the icy course.

 

 
VOA Photo P. Brewer
'USA-1' Bobsled driver Steve Holcomb talks to the media

"I just got in the sled.  I was focused.  I knew the lines I had to drive.  I drove as best I could and came out victorious," said Holcomb.

The Holcomb, 29, said it was a thrill to end the long U.S. drought in the four-man bobsled.

"This is an amazing feeling.  You kind of dream about it for years and all of a sudden it's happening.  It's sort of hard to put into words.  I don't know.  It's just kind of overwhelming," he added.

The modest Holcomb, a stocky man who sports a beard, said he is not the one who deserves all the credit in his black USA-1 sled dubbed⁶ "Night Train."  And it is not just teammates Justin Olsen, Steve Mesler and Curtis Tomasevicz.

"It's a whole team thing," he noted⁷.  "The engineers have put so much heart and soul into this.  The pushers have as well.  And my coaches have done everything they can to get me here and I just had to perform and execute the way that I do, and we did."

One of those coaches is Brian Shimer, himself a former U.S. four-man bobsled driver.

"I'm just elated," said Shimer.  "And I can't tell you how proud I am of Holcomb and the gang and for Steve to pull it together and hold it together in just his second Olympic Games.  You know, he kind of followed in my footsteps but has passed me way up.  It took me five Olympics just to get a bronze, and here he is in his second with a gold."

Taking the silver medal, 0.38 seconds back, was two-time defending champion Andre Lange of Germany.  On the final run, he edged out the Canadian sled driven by Lyndon Rush by a mere⁸ 0.01 of a second.

USA Winner Steve Holcomb said he is not about to retire from bobsledding after winning the Olympic gold medal.  He said that he is living a dream, so why would he give it up now?
 

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 frustration   

n.挫折，失败，失效，落空

参考例句：

• He had to fight back tears of frustration.他不得不强忍住失意的泪水。
• He beat his hands on the steering wheel in frustration.他沮丧地用手打了几下方向盘。

3 futility   

n.无用

参考例句：

• She could see the utter futility of trying to protest. 她明白抗议是完全无用的。
• The sheer futility of it all exasperates her. 它毫无用处，这让她很生气。

4 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。

5 steer   

vt.驾驶，为…操舵；引导；vi.驾驶

参考例句：

• If you push the car, I'll steer it.如果你来推车，我就来驾车。
• It's no use trying to steer the boy into a course of action that suits you.想说服这孩子按你的方式行事是徒劳的。

6 dubbed   

v.给…起绰号( dub的过去式和过去分词 )；把…称为；配音；复制

参考例句：

• Mathematics was once dubbed the handmaiden of the sciences. 数学曾一度被视为各门科学的基础。
• Is the movie dubbed or does it have subtitles? 这部电影是配音的还是打字幕的？ 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

8 mere   

adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过

参考例句：

• That is a mere repetition of what you said before.那不过是重复了你以前讲的话。
• It's a mere waste of time waiting any longer.再等下去纯粹是浪费时间。