2006年VOA标准英语-'Bell Lady' Halvorson Cheers Olympic Athle

By Steve Schy
Turin
14 February 2006

Around the world, ringing a cowbell has long been associated with cheering for athletic¹ competitors. But it is a fairly new phenomenon at the Olympics. So, who better to ask about the connection between cowbells and the Olympics than Elisabeth Halvorson, who is also known as the "Bell Lady." VOA's Steve Schy met her in Turin.

----------------------------------------------

Elisabeth Halvorson  
  

Elisabeth Halvorson was bitten by the Olympic bug² around the age of seven, when she watched the 1976 Winter Games in Innsbruck, Austria, on television. It was at that time she decided³ she wanted to be in the Olympics. Her parents were both Norwegian and took her skiing on a regular basis.

Elisabeth says she became a pretty good skier⁴ growing up in New Jersey⁵, but that the speed of downhill at a race camp she attended scared her. Even so, she ended up becoming an instructor⁶ and, at the age of 15, became the youngest national ski patroller in the United States.

Early ski racing⁷ in Switzerland was done primarily by dairy farmers on the slopes that served as summer grazing grounds. Their families used bells - each with its own distinctive⁸ sound - to cheer them on. The bells made their first Olympic appearance at the 1994 Games in Lillehammer, Norway.
 

One of Elisabeth's bells   
  
"I have the goat bell and the cow bell," she explained. "I am not musically inclined but you can make a lot of noise."

After college, Elisabeth Halvorson spent most of her time as a self-described "ski-bum" in Utah, before going back to school for her masters degree. The idea of selling the bells hit her while working as a marketing⁹ consultant¹⁰ for the Norwegian Trade Council and she became the official supplier of Salt Lake Olympic-logo cowbells.

"The bells were actually the most popular item during Lillehammer in 1994. And, having been a 'ski-bum' in Salt Lake and knowing about the ski industry, it just sounded like so much fun," she said. "And, I thought 'Aha! I can start this business. I can do this.' And, we did. We were the number-two most popular item during the Salt Lake Games."

By this time, Halvorson had given up her dream of competing in the Olympics. But the bells keep her connected to the games.

"I just love the Olympics, the spirit of the Olympics. It is just so much fun to cheer on the athletes. The cheering and the ringing of the bells is a way to help them perform. They feel us cheering them on," she said.
 

Steve Schy, left, interviews 'Bell Lady' Elisabeth Halvorson  
  
Elisabeth Halvorson has an easy laugh and bubbly personality. Shedriven in her quest to cheer on the athletes and have a good time. But when dressed in wild colors, with a hat topped off by cow horns, she becomes the "Bell Lady."

"Woooooooo! The Olympics! " she exclaimed. "Our whole concept of our business is 'Happy people having fun.' Because life is too short to be grumpy."

1 athletic   

adj.擅长运动的，强健的；活跃的，体格健壮的

参考例句：

• This area has been marked off for athletic practice.这块地方被划出来供体育训练之用。
• He is an athletic star.他是一个运动明星。

2 bug   

n.虫子；故障；窃听器；vt.纠缠；装窃听器

参考例句：

• There is a bug in the system.系统出了故障。
• The bird caught a bug on the fly.那鸟在飞行中捉住了一只昆虫。

3 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

4 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。

5 jersey   

n.运动衫

参考例句：

• He wears a cotton jersey when he plays football.他穿运动衫踢足球。
• They were dressed alike in blue jersey and knickers.他们穿着一致，都是蓝色的运动衫和灯笼短裤。

6 instructor   

n.指导者，教员，教练

参考例句：

• The college jumped him from instructor to full professor.大学突然把他从讲师提升为正教授。
• The skiing instructor was a tall,sunburnt man.滑雪教练是一个高高个子晒得黑黑的男子。

7 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。

8 distinctive   

adj.特别的，有特色的，与众不同的

参考例句：

• She has a very distinctive way of walking.她走路的样子与别人很不相同。
• This bird has several distinctive features.这个鸟具有几种突出的特征。

9 marketing   

n.行销，在市场的买卖，买东西

参考例句：

• They are developing marketing network.他们正在发展销售网络。
• He often goes marketing.他经常去市场做生意。

10 consultant   

n.顾问；会诊医师，专科医生

参考例句：

• He is a consultant on law affairs to the mayor.他是市长的一个法律顾问。
• Originally,Gar had agreed to come up as a consultant.原来，加尔只答应来充当我们的顾问。