2006年VOA标准英语-Wheelchair Athlete Competes for Equal Trea

By Brian Padden
Washington, D.C.
16 May 2006
 
watch Wheelchair Athlete report

The United States is one of the most progressive countries in the world in protecting the rights of individuals with disabilities.  The 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of a disability, is credited with mandating¹ schools and employers to integrate people with disabilities into the mainstream² of society.    But the process of integration³ has not been easy and even today, 16 years after the passage of this law, the struggle continues.  VOA's Brian Padden reports on one wheelchair athlete's quest to race alongside her peers.

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

 
Tatyana during a recent practice on the track
  

Before this race even begins Tatyana McFadden has already won.

"I just like running with everyone," she says.

Until recently, Tatyana was prohibited by the Howard County School District, located close to Washington DC, from racing⁴ in her wheelchair alongside the other kids.  Citing safety issues, the county said that wheelchair athletes had to race in separate events.   Because Tatyana is the only wheelchair athlete in the county, this ruling meant that she had to race alone.

"I really didn't like running by myself,” says Tatyana. “It was lonely and embarrassing and people just looked at me differently."

 
Tatyana McFadden 
  
Anyone who thought that Tatyana and her mother Deborah McFadden would quietly abide⁵ by this seemingly arbitrary ruling knew very little what they had overcome in the past.  Tatyana was born in Russia with spina bifida, leaving her partially⁶ paralyzed.  Abandoned by her mother, she was taken to an orphanage⁷ in St. Petersburg.   It was there that Deborah McFadden found Tatyana.

"She told someone there, 'It's my mom.'  She knew -- maybe before I did," says Deborah.

Deborah brought Tatyana to America and adopted her.  She also adopted her sister Hanna, who too is disabled, in Albania.  She renovated⁸ her home to make it handicap accessible and encouraged her daughters to compete in life -- no matter their limitations.  

Tatyana and her mom, Deborah, review the schedule of events at a recent competition against other high school teams   
  
Tatyana McFadden trained intensively to compete in the 2004 Athens Paralympics.  There she won silver and a bronze medals.   So they were not going to let the county's ruling stand unchallenged.   

"I said, ‘I'm going to file a suit and if I file a suit I'm going to win.’  You are allowed to participate.  So I filed for no money.  And people usually file for a million dollar lawsuit⁹.  I was filing for opportunity," said Deborah.

Deborah McFadden told the judge that marathons already have wheelchair athletes sharing the same track with runners.  Allowing Tatyana to run alongside the other athletes, she successfully argued, would pose no undo¹⁰ risks, would cost no money and would not alter the sport.  Thanks to the court ruling Tatyana McFadden can race now alongside her peers. 

 
Crossing the finish line
  
"The first meet I got to run with everyone,’ she says, “that was just as exciting as the Paralympics because I got to run with everyone and the excitement of the crowd was tremendous."

Deborah McFadden says this legal battle transcended¹¹ sports. "This was more than about track.  It was about that we all belong and that is what educators should be teaching."

She says allowing Tatyana to compete not only makes her a better athlete, but also makes society better.

1 mandating   

托管（mandate的现在分词形式）

参考例句：

• Current requirements mandating that committees keep minutes are too general. 目前对委员会要保持详细记录的指令性要求，还是太过一般化了。
• Mandating that workers who quit without permission forfeit a month's wages. 规定工人私自离岗将受到罚没一个月工资的处罚。

2 mainstream   

n.（思想或行为的）主流；adj.主流的

参考例句：

• Their views lie outside the mainstream of current medical opinion.他们的观点不属于当今医学界观点的主流。
• Polls are still largely reflects the mainstream sentiment.民调还在很大程度上反映了社会主流情绪。

3 integration   

n.一体化，联合，结合

参考例句：

• We are working to bring about closer political integration in the EU.我们正在努力实现欧盟內部更加紧密的政治一体化。
• This was the greatest event in the annals of European integration.这是欧洲统一史上最重大的事件。

4 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。

5 abide   

vi.遵守；坚持；vt.忍受

参考例句：

• You must abide by the results of your mistakes.你必须承担你的错误所造成的后果。
• If you join the club,you have to abide by its rules.如果你参加俱乐部，你就得遵守它的规章。

6 partially   

adv.部分地，从某些方面讲

参考例句：

• The door was partially concealed by the drapes.门有一部分被门帘遮住了。
• The police managed to restore calm and the curfew was partially lifted.警方设法恢复了平静，宵禁部分解除。

7 orphanage   

n.孤儿院

参考例句：

• They dispensed new clothes to the children in the orphanage.他们把新衣服发给孤儿院的小孩们。
• They gave the proceeds of the sale to the orphanage.他们把销售的收入给了这家孤儿院。

8 renovated   

翻新，修复，整修( renovate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He renovated his house. 他翻修了房子。
• The house has been renovated three years earlier. 这所房子三年前就已翻新。

9 lawsuit   

n.诉讼，控诉

参考例句：

• They threatened him with a lawsuit.他们以诉讼威逼他。
• He was perpetually involving himself in this long lawsuit.他使自己无休止地卷入这场长时间的诉讼。

10 undo   

vt.解开，松开；取消，撤销

参考例句：

• His pride will undo him some day.他的傲慢总有一天会毁了他。
• I managed secretly to undo a corner of the parcel.我悄悄地设法解开了包裹的一角。

11 transcended   

超出或超越（经验、信念、描写能力等）的范围( transcend的过去式和过去分词 )； 优于或胜过…

参考例句：

• He wanted assurance that he had transcended what was inherently ambiguous. 他要证明，他已经超越了本来就是混淆不清的事情。
• It transcended site to speak to universal human concerns. 它超越了场所的局限，表达了人类共同的心声。