2006年VOA标准英语- Young US Figure Skater Inspired by Past

By Jim Stevenson
Washington
18 January 2006

Women's figure skating has produced unpredictable finishes in recent years at the Winter Olympics.  Tara Lipinski was the surprise winner at the 1998 Nagano Games while fellow American Sarah Hughes shocked the competition to claim gold at the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics.

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Kimmie Meissner  
  

Figure skater Kimmie Meissner,16, has already shown enormous talent on the ice.  In January 2005, Meissner landed the first triple¹ axel by a woman in 14 years at the U.S. Championships.  She collected a bronze medal.  This year at the U.S. Championships, Meissner won the silver medal to earn a trip to Turin.  Meissner says she was inspired by seeing young American women win gold at the past two Olympics.

"I watched Sarah [Hughes] and I watched Tara [Lipinski] at the past two [Olympics]," she said.  "And it is very inspiring to know that younger skaters can pull off something that great.  And I think if you are just really confident in yourself, you can do anything you want."

Meissner's young age kept her from skating at last year's World Figure Skating Championships.  Her spot on the U.S. Olympic team means her first international competition at the senior level will take place on the world's biggest stage.

To prepare for the challenge, Meissner has been fine tuning² her routines.  She has also been trying to fully³ grasp the changes in scoring that were introduced following the judging scandal⁴ four years ago at the Salt Lake Olympics.

"It has been really tough having to understand what the new [scoring] system is, but I really do like it," she noted⁵.  "I think it is not just about jumps anymore.  It is also about everything else.  And we have had to change my footwork and spirals⁶ and spins over and over.  We have had people come out and look at my program.  And it pretty much changes a lot."

Kimmie Meissner will have to skate out of the shadows of American veterans Michelle Kwan and Sasha Cohen, the 2006 National Champion, if she is to have a chance to win gold.  But she is determined⁷ to skate well at the Olympics, and tells other rising stars to keep trying.

"I would probably just say that 'you should never give up,'" she said.  "Because everybody, not just skaters, has bad days.  And if you really want something, you have to keep going after it.  And even if you get knocked down, if you can try it again, you can probably still succeed."

It is no surprise Kimmie Meissner does not give up.  She has listed American cycling great Lance Armstrong as one of her inspirations⁸.  Armstrong overcame potentially deadly cancer to rise to the top of his sport and win an unprecedented⁹ seven consecutive¹⁰ Tour de France titles.  Meissner is aiming to rise to the top of women's figure skating at the Turin Olympics.

1 triple   

n.三倍之数，三个一组；adj.三倍的

参考例句：

• Twelve is the triple of four.十二是四的三倍数。
• He received triple wages for all his extra work.由于额外的工作他领取了三倍的工资。

2 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》

3 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

4 scandal   

n.丑事，丑闻，流言蜚语，反感，愤慨

参考例句：

• Scandal and gossip are meat and drink to him.各种丑闻和流言蜚语是他最感兴趣的事。
• His theft from the shop caused scandal in the village.他因偷商店的东西引起全村的公愤。

5 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。

6 spirals   

螺旋（线）( spiral的名词复数 )； 螺旋式的上升（或下降）

参考例句：

• Monetary inflation spirals inexorably on. 通货膨胀使物价节节上涨。
• Holographic time spirals and is not linear in nature. 全息的时间性质是螺旋而不是直线的。

7 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

8 inspirations   

n.灵感( inspiration的名词复数 )；鼓舞人心的人[事物]；启发灵感的人（或事物）；突然想出的好主意

参考例句：

• Understanding God's big picture can turn irritations into inspirations. 明了神的蓝图，将使你的烦躁转为灵感。 来自互联网
• He had little respect for the inspirations of other artists. 他不太尊敬其他画家的创意。 来自互联网

9 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。

10 consecutive   

adj.连续的，联贯的，始终一贯的

参考例句：

• It has rained for four consecutive days.已连续下了四天雨。
• The policy of our Party is consecutive.我党的政策始终如一。