Kamila Valieva's positive doping test casts a pall over her Olympic performance

Kamila Valieva's positive doping test casts a pall¹ over her Olympic performance

Transcript²

A star Russian figure skater is back on the ice Thursday for the women's free skate event. The competition is controversial because she tested positive for a banned drug before the Games.

LEILA FADEL, HOST:

Tonight at the Winter Olympics, the figure skating world is bracing³ for a dramatic finish to the women's individual event. Fifteen-year-old Russian star Kamila Valieva leads the competition that's been clouded by controversy⁴ because of Valieva's positive tests for a banned drug before the games. NPR's Tom Goldman is here to get us ready for tonight's free skate. Hey, Tom.

TOM GOLDMAN, BYLINE⁵: Hi, Leila.

FADEL: So set the scene. What should we expect?

GOLDMAN: Well, with the free skate, that's the longer portion of the competition - four minutes for the women. And this is where the athletes really show off all their skills. And in this case, it could be memorable⁶ for what Valieva and her two Russian teammates attempt. Remember, in the team event here, Valieva became the first woman to land a quadruple rotation⁸ jump in Olympic competition. That was a big deal. Women have been trying to do that for at least 30 years. Tonight, Valieva is reportedly - will attempt three quads⁹. The Russian currently in second place, Anna Shcherbakova, at least one. And then there's Alexandra Trusova in fourth. She's expected to try five. Now, appropriately, she's nicknamed the Quad⁷ Queen. She nailed five in an event in Russia last September, so this thing tonight could be quad crazy.

FADEL: So explain the significance of five.

GOLDMAN: Well, if there's a deluge¹⁰ of successful quads, it could be the start in earnest of the quad revolution in the women's sport. Every young girl who's not already trying this tough jump will start. The men are ahead here. Their quad revolution's been underway for about a dozen years, and so much so that when Nathan Chen won gold in the men's individual event last week and landed five quads pretty effortlessly, it wasn't really that big a deal.

FADEL: So, of course, this whole event tonight is steeped in scandal because of Valieva's positive drug tests, so what's the impact of that going to be?

GOLDMAN: Those angriest about all this will say we cannot trust anything we see from Valieva because she is a doper and she's Russian, and Russia has a really bad track record, so she has to be guilty. Well, we don't know if her positive test means she was intentionally¹¹ doping. Her case still has to be heard after the games. You know, it's all really sad because she's easily the most graceful¹², ethereal skater on the ice. But here she's become toxic¹³, so much so that they're not going to have any medal ceremony if she wins a medal tonight because she may be disqualified at a later date. So we are going to see lovely skating tonight. But then it will be pretty hollow because no celebration.

FADEL: And before we let you go, I understand there were some other events of note at the games.

GOLDMAN: Yeah, imagine that, you know, amazingly, Kamila Valieva isn't the only athlete here.

FADEL: (Laughter).

GOLDMAN: There are about 3,000 others. And among them, there are some very happy Canadian women's hockey players. Canada beat the U.S. 3 to 2 today in the gold medal game. This re-establishes Canada as the dominant¹⁴ Olympic team. The Americans won in 2018. And since 1998, when women's hockey began at the Olympics, either Canada or the U.S. has won the gold. Now Canada has won five, compared to two for the Americans, and this sets up even more to this great rivalry¹⁵ in four years time.

Also, I hate to be the bearer of more bad news about American alpine¹⁶ skiing star Mikaela Shiffrin, but she fell again in the slalom portion of an event called Alpine combined. It combines slalom and downhill. And she ended her disappointing Olympics, not finishing in three of her five events, no medals to add to her previous three.

One last thing - while she struggled again, Switzerland was dominating again. Swiss skiers took gold and silver in the Alpine combined. They have owned the slopes at these games.

FADEL: Tom, thanks. That's NPR's sports correspondent Tom Goldman joining us from the Beijing Winter Olympics.

GOLDMAN: You're welcome, Leila.

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1 pall   

v.覆盖，使平淡无味；n.柩衣，棺罩；棺材；帷幕

参考例句：

• Already the allure of meals in restaurants had begun to pall.饭店里的饭菜已经不像以前那样诱人。
• I find his books begin to pall on me after a while.我发觉他的书读过一阵子就开始对我失去吸引力。

2 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。

3 bracing   

adj.令人振奋的

参考例句：

• The country is bracing itself for the threatened enemy invasion. 这个国家正准备奋起抵抗敌人的入侵威胁。
• The atmosphere in the new government was bracing. 新政府的气氛是令人振奋的。

4 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。

5 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。

6 memorable   

adj.值得回忆的，难忘的，特别的，显著的

参考例句：

• This was indeed the most memorable day of my life.这的确是我一生中最值得怀念的日子。
• The veteran soldier has fought many memorable battles.这个老兵参加过许多难忘的战斗。

7 quad   

n.四方院；四胞胎之一；v.在…填补空铅

参考例句：

• His rooms were on the left-hand side of the quad.他的房间位于四方院的左侧。
• She is a 34-year-old mother of quads.她是个生了四胞胎的34岁的母亲。

8 rotation   

n.旋转；循环，轮流

参考例句：

• Crop rotation helps prevent soil erosion.农作物轮作有助于防止水土流失。
• The workers in this workshop do day and night shifts in weekly rotation.这个车间的工人上白班和上夜班每周轮换一次。

9 quads   

n.四倍( quad的名词复数 )；空铅；（大学的）四周有建筑物围绕的方院；四胞胎之一

参考例句：

• For best performance, use triangles and quads or a combination of both. 为了更好的性能，使用三边形和四边形或联合使用三边形与四边形。 来自互联网
• Because the quads follow the camera, they give the illusion of filling a 3D volume. 由于这些矩形是跟随摄像机的，所以利用它们就像幻觉一样就描绘出了3D体积效果。 来自互联网

10 deluge   

n./vt.洪水，暴雨，使泛滥

参考例句：

• This little stream can become a deluge when it rains heavily.雨大的时候，这条小溪能变作洪流。
• I got caught in the deluge on the way home.我在回家的路上遇到倾盆大雨。

11 intentionally   

ad.故意地，有意地

参考例句：

• I didn't say it intentionally. 我是无心说的。
• The local authority ruled that he had made himself intentionally homeless and was therefore not entitled to be rehoused. 当地政府裁定他是有意居无定所，因此没有资格再获得提供住房。

12 graceful   

adj.优美的，优雅的；得体的

参考例句：

• His movements on the parallel bars were very graceful.他的双杠动作可帅了!
• The ballet dancer is so graceful.芭蕾舞演员的姿态是如此的优美。

13 toxic   

adj.有毒的，因中毒引起的

参考例句：

• The factory had accidentally released a quantity of toxic waste into the sea.这家工厂意外泄漏大量有毒废物到海中。
• There is a risk that toxic chemicals might be blasted into the atmosphere.爆炸后有毒化学物质可能会进入大气层。

14 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。

15 rivalry   

n.竞争，竞赛，对抗

参考例句：

• The quarrel originated in rivalry between the two families.这次争吵是两家不和引起的。
• He had a lot of rivalry with his brothers and sisters.他和兄弟姐妹间经常较劲。

16 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。