2006年VOA标准英语-Olympic Skier Excels in Spite of Diabetes

By Paige Kollock
Washington, DC
15 February 2006
 
watch Athlete Diabetes¹ report

According to the World Health Organization, diabetes is the world's fifth most deadly medical condition. VOA's Paige Kollock reports on how the disease has not stopped one young man from achieving his dreams. 

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

 
Olympic athlete Kris Freeman
  

Twenty-five-year-old American Kris Freeman is competing for the gold in cross-country skiing at the 2006 Winter Games in Turin, Italy.  Five years ago, Freeman was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes.  Doctors told him his elite² athletic³ career was over.   But he says his diabetes has not slowed him down one bit.

“I've got to, obviously, control my diabetes as best as possible, and the way to do that is to eat a very balanced diet, take my insulin, balance it perfectly⁴ with the meals and test my blood sugar frequently.”

Type 1 diabetes is a disease in which the pancreas fails to produce insulin, a hormone⁵ that regulates carbohydrate⁶ metabolism⁷.  It develops most frequently in children and adolescents, as opposed to Type 2 diabetes, which usually develops later in life. 

Symptoms of Type 1 diabetes include excessive urination, excessive thirst, weight loss, nausea⁸ and fatigue⁹.  

 
Dr. Wayne Callaway 
  
Type 1 diabetes used to be considered a life-altering condition. Dr. Wayne Callaway, an endocrinologist in Washington DC, says that is still the case for many. "Any really great athlete is going to have a similar thing, now the issue is whether or not that is global.  Most of the athletes who have Type1 diabetes deal with it pretty well.  But what's going on in the country, and worldwide, is very different from that."

Kris prepares for his insulin shot  
  
But for Freeman, who injects himself up to six times a day with insulin, and tests his blood sugar up to 12 times a day, it is a question of mind over matter.

"A diabetic can do anything that they want to, they just have to set their mind to it."

In total, he says spends about five minutes a day dealing¹⁰ with his disease.  Leaving him more time to concentrate on skiing.  But for the many diabetics worldwide, who are not fortunate enough to have the same kind of health care and commitment to athletic achievement, it can be a different story.

1 diabetes   

n.糖尿病

参考例句：

• In case of diabetes, physicians advise against the use of sugar.对于糖尿病患者，医生告诫他们不要吃糖。
• Diabetes is caused by a fault in the insulin production of the body.糖尿病是由体內胰岛素分泌失调引起的。

2 elite   

n.精英阶层；实力集团；adj.杰出的，卓越的

参考例句：

• The power elite inside the government is controlling foreign policy.政府内部的一群握有实权的精英控制着对外政策。
• We have a political elite in this country.我们国家有一群政治精英。

3 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。

4 perfectly   

adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。
• Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。

5 hormone   

n.荷尔蒙，激素，内分泌

参考例句：

• Hormone implants are used as growth boosters.激素植入物被用作生长辅助剂。
• This hormone interacts closely with other hormones in the body.这种荷尔蒙与体內其他荷尔蒙紧密地相互作用。

6 carbohydrate   

n.碳水化合物；糖类；(plural)淀粉质或糖类

参考例句：

• You should not have too much carbohydrate in your diet.你日常饮食中不该有过多碳水化合物。
• Cashew nuts are rich in carbohydrate.腰果含丰富碳水化合物。

7 metabolism   

n.新陈代谢

参考例句：

• After years of dieting,Carol's metabolism was completely out of whack.经过数年的节食，卡罗尔的新陈代谢完全紊乱了。
• All living matter undergoes a process of metabolism.生物都有新陈代谢。

8 nausea   

n.作呕，恶心；极端的憎恶(或厌恶)

参考例句：

• Early pregnancy is often accompanied by nausea.怀孕期常有恶心的现象。
• He experienced nausea after eating octopus.吃了章鱼后他感到恶心。

9 fatigue   

n.疲劳，劳累

参考例句：

• The old lady can't bear the fatigue of a long journey.这位老妇人不能忍受长途旅行的疲劳。
• I have got over my weakness and fatigue.我已从虚弱和疲劳中恢复过来了。

10 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。