The “Blade Runner” Pistorius Makes History

作者：王志伟

来源：《新高考·高三英语》2012年第12期

        难度：★★☆☆☆ 词数：390 建议时间：6 分钟

        温暖的晚风伴随着有节奏的掌声和欢呼，徐徐地吹入夜幕下的“伦敦碗”。体育场内的数万名观众不仅将掌声献给摘金夺银的名将们，更献给最后一位抵达终点线的特殊运动员——被誉为“刀锋战士（Blade Runner）”的南非运动员皮斯托瑞斯（Pistorius）。

        The 25⁃year⁃old South Africa’s Oscar Pistorius, known as the “Blade Runner”, made history on Saturday and realized his long⁃held dream when he became the first double amputee（被截肢者） to compete in an athletics event at the London Olympics.

        Pistorius, who had both legs amputated below the knee before he was one year old because of a congenital（天生的） condition, runs on carbon fiber blades（刀片）. Finally, he finished the semifinals（半决赛） of the 4×400m by running a season’s best of 45.44 seconds.

        “It’s just an experience to be here. It’s a dream come true,” said Pistorius, whose time was the 16th fastest overall. I’ve worked for six years to try and make the 400m standard. It’s just an unbelievable experience. I found myself smiling on the starting blocks, which is very rare, and as I came out of the tunnel, I saw my friends and family here.” said Pistorius.

        Most important of all for him was the presence of his aged grandmother, who has been a seminal（有影响力的） influence on him since his mother died 10 years ago. “My grandmother—she’s 89—she was here with the South African flag. It was just an amazing experience.” said Pistorius.

        Pistorius, who had set himself the goal of reaching the semi⁃finals, said that it was hard to place this among his many other remarkable experiences in competition.

        “I’ve had some experiences, which I hold very dear to my heart,” he said. “My first Paralympic Games（残疾人奥运会） in Athens（2004） is still probably one of the highlights of my career. I was a 17⁃year⁃old kid with curly hair and braces. I didn’t know what to expect and that was just mind⁃blowing for me and I didn’t even know the guys I was running against.”

        Pistorius, who will stay on in Britain after the Games to compete in the Paralympics, admitted that he had found it difficult to keep his mind on the race itself. “The kind of pressure that you put on yourself coming into a competition like this is massive. It’s sometimes difficult to deal with.”

        Pistorius suggested that the wait to compete at an Olympics had given him time to polish up his performances so he would not be embarrassed on the biggest stage of them all. “As you progress, your goals become harder and harder and your career and your knowledge becomes greater.”

        【阅读理解】

        1. What is Pistorius’s long⁃held dream？

        A. Becoming the “Blade Runner”.

        B. Being famous in history.

        C. Competing at the London Olympics.

        D. Running on carbon fiber blades.

The