It's been a tough start at the Olympics for some U.S. athletes in Beijing

It's been a tough start at the Olympics for some U.S. athletes in Beijing

Transcript¹

Many Olympic athletes competing in Beijing face tracks and terrain² they've never competed on before because of COVID-19 limitations. They are scrambling³ to learn the turf during test runs.

LEILA FADEL, HOST:

It's been a tough start for U.S. athletes in Beijing. The U.S. has yet to win a gold medal and is running well behind Russia, Norway and other countries in the overall medal count. Today, top American alpine⁴ skier⁵ Mikaela Shiffrin skidded⁶ off course in her first outing in the giant slalom and didn't finish the race. NPR's Brian Mann is with us from Beijing. Good morning, Brian.

BRIAN MANN, BYLINE⁷: Hi, Leila.

FADEL: So Mikaela Shiffrin is looking to make history at these games as the alpine skier with the most Olympic gold medals. Is that still in the cards for her?

MANN: Yeah. She does have a good shot, but this was a blow. This was the first time in four years that Shiffrin failed to finish a giant slalom race, so it's bad timing⁸. This is her very best event and was her best shot at claiming a gold medal here in Beijing. Afterwards, she said she felt good in the race but had what she called a small mistiming, and that caused her to fall. But Shiffrin is a remarkable⁹ athlete, widely considered one of the very best alpine skiers ever, and she's scheduled to compete in four more events here. So she still has a good shot at medaling and setting that new Olympic record.

FADEL: Now, these athletes obviously face incredibly tough competition, the best in the world. But you found they're also facing unfamiliar¹⁰ terrain in China. How is this Olympics different?

MANN: So most of these winter sports take place, year after year, at pretty traditional venues¹², most of them in Europe and North America. And Shiffrin and these other athletes travel a kind of circuit to World Cup races, and they get to know the ski courses and the sled tracks. And to compete at this level, at these speeds, that kind of familiarity is really important. But here in Beijing, it's different. These athletes have had very little time on these courses. They were built new for these Winter Games. Tucker West, an American luge racer, talked about this after arriving in Beijing.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

TUCKER WEST: We just have less training than a typical Olympic cycle. Normally, we would see this track a year or so beforehand. But obviously, due to the COVID situation, our training events were canceled. So we've only really seen this track for about two weeks in November.

MANN: Which is literally¹³ a game changer, right? I mean, luge is a sport where athletes rocket down an icy track at speeds topping 90 miles an hour. West says that's a lot harder to do when you just don't have all the twists and turns deep in your muscle memory.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

WEST: I think the potential for mistakes down the track is higher. You don't really know all the intricacies of the track. You don't really know what could pop up.

MANN: And this same learning curve is happening in a lot of these other sports here. The venue¹¹ where speed skaters are racing¹⁴ in Beijing is using a different, more environmentally friendly technique for making ice. And some of the athletes say it feels really different. So they're having to adapt. And it's not just U.S. athletes facing this challenge.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

THERESE JOHAUG: Of course, it's not the best.

MANN: That's Norwegian cross-country skier Therese Johaug, who arrived here for her races with zero experience of the course.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

JOHAUG: We come yesterday evening, so we have not been to the stadium yet. So we didn't know how the snow is, how the condition is and how the track is.

MANN: So in a sense, all these athletes are kind of in the same boat, you know, trying to figure out how to lay down their best runs at these venues where they don't have the comfort of experience. For Johaug, it worked. She actually won the very first gold medal of these games. And one other bit of good news is that when athletes do get on these courses, they're often saying good things about the conditions. U.S. downhill skiers AJ Hurt and Katie Hensien talked about this.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

AJ HURT: I really like the snow here. I think it's awesome¹⁵. I mean, coming into it, I think we were all a little bit, like, concerned. We were like, oh, it's never snowed here before. It doesn't snow here often. It's all man-made snow. But it's great.

KATIE HENSIEN: You know, like, I think coming in, we're like, oh, there might not be a lot of snow. There might be, like, you know, rocks and stuff. But I think it's definitely impressive.

MANN: And, Leila, the alpine ski courses here outside Beijing are really unique. The white tracks of artificial snow they've created for these Olympics wind through the brown, arid¹⁶ mountains. And the contrast is visually dramatic, kind of strange and beautiful - doesn't look anything like what we've seen at past Winter Olympics.

FADEL: Now, while the athletes are competing, the head of the International Olympic Committee met with Chinese tennis star Peng Shuai over the weekend. Can you tell us what came of that?

MANN: Yeah. You know, last year, Peng Shuai accused a top Chinese official of sexual assault on social media. That post was quickly taken down. And she then disappeared from sight for a time. Her well-being¹⁷ has been a big concern ahead of these Olympic Games. And in a statement, the IOC said Thomas Bach met with her over dinner. Peng Shuai also went with an IOC official to an Olympic event, a curling match. And she also gave an interview to a French magazine where she downplayed the whole controversy¹⁸, denied she ever accused the former Chinese vice¹⁹ premier²⁰ of sexual assault. That reversal hasn't ended questions about her treatment and her safety. She also said she's retiring from professional tennis.

FADEL: Now, Brian, these Olympic Games have been framed by questions about human rights in China and by the pandemic. Now that the competition's underway, are Americans watching?

MANN: Well, briefly²¹, Leila, it's a big drop from past years. They had about 16 million viewers for the opening ceremonies over the weekend, down by roughly 40% from the Winter Olympics just four years ago. But there is a lot of sports still to come, so we'll see if people start tuning²² in.

FADEL: NPR's Brian Mann in Beijing. Thank you, Brian.

MANN: Thank you.

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 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。

3 scrambling   

v.快速爬行( scramble的现在分词 )；攀登；争夺；（军事飞机）紧急起飞

参考例句：

• Scrambling up her hair, she darted out of the house. 她匆忙扎起头发，冲出房去。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• She is scrambling eggs. 她正在炒蛋。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 alpine   

adj.高山的；n.高山植物

参考例句：

• Alpine flowers are abundant there.那里有很多高山地带的花。
• Its main attractions are alpine lakes and waterfalls .它以高山湖泊和瀑布群为主要特色。

5 skier   

n.滑雪运动员

参考例句：

• She is a skier who is unafraid of danger.她是一名敢于冒险的滑雪者。
• The skier skimmed across the snow.滑雪者飞快地滑过雪地。

6 skidded   

v.（通常指车辆） 侧滑( skid的过去式和过去分词 )；打滑；滑行；（住在）贫民区

参考例句：

• The car skidded and hit a lamp post. 那辆汽车打滑撞上了路灯杆。
• The car skidded and overturned. 汽车打滑翻倒了。

7 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

8 timing   

n.时间安排，时间选择

参考例句：

• The timing of the meeting is not convenient.会议的时间安排不合适。
• The timing of our statement is very opportune.我们发表声明选择的时机很恰当。

9 remarkable   

adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的

参考例句：

• She has made remarkable headway in her writing skills.她在写作技巧方面有了长足进步。
• These cars are remarkable for the quietness of their engines.这些汽车因发动机没有噪音而不同凡响。

10 unfamiliar   

adj.陌生的，不熟悉的

参考例句：

• I am unfamiliar with the place and the people here.我在这儿人地生疏。
• The man seemed unfamiliar to me.这人很面生。

11 venue   

n.犯罪地点，审判地，管辖地，发生地点，集合地点

参考例句：

• The hall provided a venue for weddings and other functions.大厅给婚礼和其他社会活动提供了场所。
• The chosen venue caused great controversy among the people.人们就审判地点的问题产生了极大的争议。

12 venues   

n.聚集地点( venue的名词复数 )；会场；（尤指）体育比赛场所；犯罪地点

参考例句：

• The band will be playing at 20 different venues on their UK tour. 这个乐队在英国巡回演出期间将在20个不同的地点演出。
• Farmers market corner, 800 meters long, 60 meters wide livestock trading venues. 农牧市场东北角，有长800米，宽60米的牲畜交易场地。 来自互联网

13 literally   

adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实

参考例句：

• He translated the passage literally.他逐字逐句地翻译这段文字。
• Sometimes she would not sit down till she was literally faint.有时候，她不走到真正要昏厥了，决不肯坐下来。

14 racing   

n.竞赛，赛马；adj.竞赛用的，赛马用的

参考例句：

• I was watching the racing on television last night.昨晚我在电视上看赛马。
• The two racing drivers fenced for a chance to gain the lead.两个赛车手伺机竞相领先。

15 awesome   

adj.令人惊叹的，难得吓人的，很好的

参考例句：

• The church in Ireland has always exercised an awesome power.爱尔兰的教堂一直掌握着令人敬畏的权力。
• That new white convertible is totally awesome.那辆新的白色折篷汽车简直棒极了.

16 arid   

adj.干旱的；(土地)贫瘠的

参考例句：

• These trees will shield off arid winds and protect the fields.这些树能挡住旱风,保护农田。
• There are serious problems of land degradation in some arid zones.在一些干旱地带存在严重的土地退化问题。

17 well-being   

n.安康，安乐，幸福

参考例句：

• He always has the well-being of the masses at heart.他总是把群众的疾苦挂在心上。
• My concern for their well-being was misunderstood as interference.我关心他们的幸福，却被误解为多管闲事。

18 controversy   

n.争论，辩论，争吵

参考例句：

• That is a fact beyond controversy.那是一个无可争论的事实。
• We ran the risk of becoming the butt of every controversy.我们要冒使自己在所有的纷争中都成为众矢之的的风险。

19 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

20 premier   

adj.首要的；n.总理，首相

参考例句：

• The Irish Premier is paying an official visit to Britain.爱尔兰总理正在对英国进行正式访问。
• He requested that the premier grant him an internview.他要求那位总理接见他一次。

21 briefly   

adv.简单地，简短地

参考例句：

• I want to touch briefly on another aspect of the problem.我想简单地谈一下这个问题的另一方面。
• He was kidnapped and briefly detained by a terrorist group.他被一个恐怖组织绑架并短暂拘禁。

22 tuning   

n.调谐，调整，调音v.调音( tune的现在分词 )；调整；（给收音机、电视等）调谐；使协调

参考例句：

• They are tuning up a plane on the flight line. 他们正在机场的飞机跑道上调试一架飞机。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The orchestra are tuning up. 管弦乐队在定弦。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》