谈体育：俄罗斯跳高运动员

 　　Hi I'm Natalie and welcome to Talking Sport.

　　Today we're hearing about a Russian high jumper and learning the words 'weakness' and 'obstacle'.

　　Ivan Ukhov is a high jumper from Russia.

　　He is the current European Indoor champion and also won the World Indoor Championship title in 2010.

　　BBC reporter, Steve Rosenberg, has been to meet Ivan.

　　Listen for the words 'weakness' and 'obstacle'.

　　Clip¹

　　Ivan Ukhov believes he's got what it takes to win the men's high jump at the London Games. But Ivan does have a weakness and it's all to do with his shoes. In the battle for a gold medal perhaps Ivan Ukhov's biggest problem is his footwear. Unlike other high jumpers Ivan doesn't like to wear shoes with spikes² in the heel - in rainy conditions that could be a big obstacle and as everybody knows the sun doesn't always shine in London.

　　Presenter³

　　Listen again for the words 'weakness' and 'obstacle'.

　　Clip

　　Ivan Ukhov believes he's got what it takes to win the men's high jump at the London Games. But Ivan does have a weakness and it's all to do with his shoes. In the battle for a gold medal perhaps Ivan Ukhov's biggest problem is his footwear. Unlike other high jumpers Ivan doesn't like to wear shoes with spikes in the heel - in rainy conditions that could be a big obstacle and as everybody knows the sun doesn't always shine in London.

　　Presenter

　　Steve Rosenberg said Ivan has a weakness.

　　In this context⁴ weakness means a disadvantage or a fault.

　　"Ivan does have a weakness and it's all to do with his shoes."

　　We also heard the word 'obstacle'.

　　An obstacle is something that can stop progress.

　　"Ivan doesn't like to wear shoes with spikes in the heel … that could be a big obstacle."

　　Well we have learnt the word 'weakness' and 'obstacle'. Now let's hear from people in London. Listen to them using the word 'weakness'.

　　Vox pops

　　My weakness is getting up in the morning. I'm always late for work.

　　My weakness is talking too much.

　　I think that my weakness is driving. I can never park my car properly.

　　On screen

　　My weakness is getting up in the morning. I'm always late for work.

　　My weakness is talking too much.

　　I think that my weakness is driving. I can never park my car properly.

　　Presenter

　　I'm Natalie and that's all from Talking Sport.

　　See you next time.

1 clip   

n.夹子，别针，弹夹，片断；vt.夹住，修剪

参考例句：

• May I clip out the report on my performance?我能把报道我的文章剪下来吗？
• She fastened the papers together with a paper clip.她用曲别针把文件别在一起。

2 spikes   

n.穗( spike的名词复数 )；跑鞋；（防滑）鞋钉；尖状物v.加烈酒于( spike的第三人称单数 )；偷偷地给某人的饮料加入（更多）酒精（ 或药物）；把尖状物钉入；打乱某人的计划

参考例句：

• a row of iron spikes on a wall 墙头的一排尖铁
• There is a row of spikes on top of the prison wall to prevent the prisoners escaping. 监狱墙头装有一排尖钉，以防犯人逃跑。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 presenter   

n.（电视、广播的）主持人，赠与者

参考例句：

• Most people think being a television presenter is exciting.很多人认为当电视节目主持人是一件刺激的事情。
• The programme dispensed with its most popular presenter.这个节目最受欢迎的主持人被换掉了。

4 context   

n.背景，环境，上下文，语境

参考例句：

• You can always tell the meaning of a word from its context.你常可以从上下文中猜出词义来。
• This sentence does not seem to connect with the context.这个句子似乎与上下文脱节。