VOA标准英语2010年-Rookie US Skier Aims for Olympic Glory

Andrew Weibrecht of the United States, skis the downhill part of the men's World Cup super combined ski race in the fifth best time in Beaver¹ Creek², Colorado, 4 Dec. 2009

American Tim Burke Raises Hopes for First US Biathlon Olympic Medal at Vancouver
At every Olympics, new athletes step into the spotlight³ of elite⁴ competition.  Some leave barely noticed while others capture the imagination as surprise medal winners. American Andrew Weibrecht, 24 and a first-time Olympian, has a chance to finish ahead of many Alpine⁵ ski veterans.

Andrew Weibrecht grew up in a great place to learn skiing.  Weibrecht was born six years after the 1980 Lake Placid⁶ games in New York.  But the spirit of those Olympics always remained close as he developed early skills at the demanding Whiteface Mountain venue⁷.

"Whiteface is super steep.  And it has ever-changing conditions," he said.  "So I kind of learned to ski a little bit of everything.  And to really figure out how to make it down the ski pitches and control myself.  That has shown through to be my definite strength."

Starting out as a technical skier⁸, Whiteface also gave Weibrecht the chance to gradually increase his speed.  The mountain boasts the steepest vertical⁹ drop of any course in the eastern United States.  And that helped instill a confidence Weibrecht needs to conquer some of the best slopes in the world.

"Even on the tamest of courses, you are still going about 80 miles an hour [128 km/h] probably.  And bad things can happen really quickly," he said.  "That is kind of the coolest thing for me, standing¹⁰ in the start, always being nervous.  And then feeling that sort of sense of calm that comes as soon as you push out of the gate."

That calm was not easy to develop.  Weibrecht was the fourth of five children in his home, and he had to be very vocal¹¹ when he wanted to tag along with his older siblings¹² as they went off to ski.

That youthful energy has remained, prompting U.S. teammates to create nicknames using his last name.  He is sometimes called "Warbrecht," "War Horse," and "Wild Man" because of his attacking style and numerous crashes.

Weibrecht stands at one meter, 67 centimeters.  Despite the crashes, he says he has more stability than most of his colleagues because he is shorter.

"It gives me a sort of an advantage.  I have a lower profile against the wind.  And my center of gravity is a little bit lower," he said. "I feel like sometimes it is a little more difficult to knock me down.  I am sometimes able to see a different line than other people.  Which once the courses get beat up, that can be advantageous¹³."

The advantage helped Andrew Weibrecht make the U.S. Development Team in 2003.  He was named to the lower level "C Team" in 2005.  He also raced at the 2004, 2005 and 2006 Junior World Cups, winning a super G bronze medal in 2006.  His first full World Cup that year was not as good.  He was disqualified in the downhill portion of the super combined event.

Even in 2009 at the world championships, Weibrecht did not finish in the downhill, super combined, and finished 39th in the super G.

His physical build and style is similar to Didier Cuche.  And the Swiss veteran has noticed, even giving some advice to the young American, says Weibrecht.

"Last year, he chastised¹⁴ me a little bit for taking so much risk and just never really thinking about what I was doing," he said. "I actually got stuck in a gondola¹⁵ with him.  And he was telling me about his experience and how he spent maybe the first five or six years of his career just crashing into fences and blowing up until he finally figured out how to make it all work."

The first glimmer¹⁶ of his potential came in 2007 at the challenging Birds of Prey¹⁷ downhill in Beaver Creek, Colorado.

Skiing in just his seventh-career World Cup race, Weibrecht pulled off one of the most exhilarating Alpine runs in recent memory.  He sliced through the treacherous¹⁸ Golden Eagle and Abyss sections that had doomed¹⁹ many others in a driving blizzard²⁰.  Weibrecht's 10th-place finish was a mere²¹ 0.54 seconds behind the winner, Michael Walchhofer of Austria.  The race remains²² his best World Cup result to date.

Weibrecht finally gained consistent results last year on the men's speed team.  He scored top 15 results in both downhill and super G in nearly every start en route to making his first U.S. Olympic Team.  Weibrecht credits his success to good coaching, and he has received a few other pointers regarding the Vancouver Games.

"I am one of the few new guys," he said. "I definitely have been able to get a sort of perspective of what to expect and what to look out for in terms of managing the added pressure and different situations that are above and beyond something that I have ever encountered."

When not on the slopes, Weibrecht takes classes at Dartmouth College and plans on eventually earning his Bachelor of Arts in earth science.  But there is little science before he races.  Like many athletes, Weibrecht has a set of superstitious²³ routines.  He always puts his right ski boot on first, he touches his helmet and goggles²⁴ two dozen times before leaving the start house.

Spectators at the Vancouver Games may see Weibrecht add one more gesture - holding an Olympic medal in the air. 

 

1 beaver   

n.海狸，河狸

参考例句：

• The hat is made of beaver.这顶帽子是海狸毛皮制的。
• A beaver is an animals with big front teeth.海狸是一种长着大门牙的动物。

2 creek   

n.小溪，小河，小湾

参考例句：

• He sprang through the creek.他跳过小河。
• People sunbathe in the nude on the rocks above the creek.人们在露出小溪的岩石上裸体晒日光浴。

3 spotlight   

n.公众注意的中心，聚光灯，探照灯，视听，注意，醒目

参考例句：

• This week the spotlight is on the world of fashion.本周引人瞩目的是时装界。
• The spotlight followed her round the stage.聚光灯的光圈随着她在舞台上转。

4 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。

5 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。

6 placid   

adj.安静的，平和的

参考例句：

• He had been leading a placid life for the past eight years.八年来他一直过着平静的生活。
• You should be in a placid mood and have a heart-to- heart talk with her.你应该心平气和的好好和她谈谈心。

7 venue   

n.犯罪地点，审判地，管辖地，发生地点，集合地点

参考例句：

• The hall provided a venue for weddings and other functions.大厅给婚礼和其他社会活动提供了场所。
• The chosen venue caused great controversy among the people.人们就审判地点的问题产生了极大的争议。

8 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。

9 vertical   

adj.垂直的，顶点的，纵向的；n.垂直物，垂直的位置

参考例句：

• The northern side of the mountain is almost vertical.这座山的北坡几乎是垂直的。
• Vertical air motions are not measured by this system.垂直气流的运动不用这种系统来测量。

10 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

11 vocal   

adj.直言不讳的；嗓音的；n.[pl.]声乐节目

参考例句：

• The tongue is a vocal organ.舌头是一个发音器官。
• Public opinion at last became vocal.终于舆论哗然。

12 siblings   

n.兄弟，姐妹( sibling的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• A triplet sleeps amongst its two siblings. 一个三胞胎睡在其两个同胞之间。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• She has no way of tracking the donor or her half-siblings down. 她没办法找到那个捐精者或她的兄弟姐妹。 来自时文部分

13 advantageous   

adj.有利的；有帮助的

参考例句：

• Injections of vitamin C are obviously advantageous.注射维生素C显然是有利的。
• You're in a very advantageous position.你处于非常有利的地位。

14 chastised   

v.严惩（某人）（尤指责打）( chastise的过去式 )

参考例句：

• He chastised the team for their lack of commitment. 他指责队伍未竭尽全力。
• The Securities Commission chastised the firm but imposed no fine. 证券委员会严厉批评了那家公司，不过没有处以罚款。 来自辞典例句

15 gondola   

n.威尼斯的平底轻舟；飞船的吊船

参考例句：

• The road is too narrow to allow the passage of gondola.这条街太窄大型货车不能通过。
• I have a gondola here.我开来了一条平底船。

16 glimmer   

v.发出闪烁的微光；n.微光，微弱的闪光

参考例句：

• I looked at her and felt a glimmer of hope.我注视她，感到了一线希望。
• A glimmer of amusement showed in her eyes.她的眼中露出一丝笑意。

17 prey   

n.被掠食者，牺牲者，掠食；v.捕食，掠夺，折磨

参考例句：

• Stronger animals prey on weaker ones.弱肉强食。
• The lion was hunting for its prey.狮子在寻找猎物。

18 treacherous   

adj.不可靠的，有暗藏的危险的；adj.背叛的，背信弃义的

参考例句：

• The surface water made the road treacherous for drivers.路面的积水对驾车者构成危险。
• The frozen snow was treacherous to walk on.在冻雪上行走有潜在危险。

19 doomed   

命定的

参考例句：

• The court doomed the accused to a long term of imprisonment. 法庭判处被告长期监禁。
• A country ruled by an iron hand is doomed to suffer. 被铁腕人物统治的国家定会遭受不幸的。

20 blizzard   

n.暴风雪

参考例句：

• The blizzard struck while we were still on the mountain.我们还在山上的时候暴风雪就袭来了。
• You'll have to stay here until the blizzard blows itself off.你得等暴风雪停了再走。

21 mere   

adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过

参考例句：

• That is a mere repetition of what you said before.那不过是重复了你以前讲的话。
• It's a mere waste of time waiting any longer.再等下去纯粹是浪费时间。

22 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

23 superstitious   

adj.迷信的

参考例句：

• They aim to deliver the people who are in bondage to superstitious belief.他们的目的在于解脱那些受迷信束缚的人。
• These superstitious practices should be abolished as soon as possible.这些迷信做法应尽早取消。

24 goggles   

n.护目镜

参考例句：

• Skiers wear goggles to protect their eyes from the sun.滑雪者都戴上护目镜使眼睛不受阳光伤害。
• My swimming goggles keep steaming up so I can't see.我的护目镜一直有水雾，所以我看不见。