大学英语 2 Unit 5
TRUE HEIGHT'
His palms were sweating. He needed a towel to dry his grip. The sun was as hot as the competition he faced today at the National Junior Olympics. The pole was t at 17 feet. That was three inches higher than his personal best. Michael Stone confronted the most challenging day of his pole-vaulting career.
2 The stands were still filled with about 20,000 people, even though the final race had ended an hour earlier. The pole vault is truly the highlight of any track and field competition. It combines the grace of a gymnast with the strength of a body builder. It also has the element of flying, and the thought of flying as high as a two-story building is a mere fantasy to anyone watching such an event.
3 As long as Michael could remember he had always dreamed of flying. Michael's mother read him numerous stories about flying when he was growing up. Her stories were
always ones that described the land from a bird's-eye view2. Her excitement and passion for details made Michael's dreams full of color and beauty. Michael had this one recurring dream. He would be running down a country road. As he raced between golden wheat fields, he would always outrun the locomotives passing by. It was at the exact moment he took a deep breath that he began to lift off the ground. He would begin soaring like an eagle.获奖感言
4 Where he flew would always coincide with his mother's stories.' Wherever he flew was with a keen eye for detail and the free spirit of his mother's love. His dad, on the other hand, was not a dreamer. Bert Stone was a hardcore realist. He believed in hard work and sweat. His motto: 鲁迅介绍If you want something, work for it!
5 From the age of 14, Michael did just that. He began a very careful training program. He worked out every other day with weightlifting, with some kind of running work on alternate days. The program was carefully monitored by Michael's coach, trainer and father. Michael's dedication, determination and discipline was a coach's dream. Besides b
eing an honor student and only child, Michael Stone continued to help his parents with their farm chores. Mildred Stone, Michael's mother, wished he could relax a bit more and be that "free dreaming" little boy. On one occasion she attempted to talk to him and his father about this, but his dad quickly interrupted, smiled and said, 凤求凰台词"You want something, work for it!"
6 All of Michael's vaults today emed to be the reward for his hard work. If Michael Stone was surprid, excited or vain about clearing the bar at 17 feet, you couldn't tell. As soon as he landed on the inflated landing mat, and with the crowd on its feet2感慨时间过得快的句子, Michael immediately began preparing for his next attempt at flight. He emed unaware of the fact that he had just beaten his personal best by three inches and that he was one of the final two competitors in the pole-vaulting event at the National Junior Olympics.
语无伦次7 When Michael cleared the bar at 17 feet 2 inches and 17 feet 4 inches, again he showed no emotion. As he lay on his back and heard the crowd groan, he knew the other vaulter had misd his final jump. He knew it was time for his final jump. Since the other v
求导方法aulter had fewer miss, Michael needed to clear this vault to win. A miss would get him cond place. Nothing to be ashamed of, but Michael would not allow himlf the thought of not winning firstplace.
8 He rolled over and did his routine of three finger-tipped push-ups. He found his pole, stood and stepped on the runway that led to the most challenging event of his 17-year-old life.
9 The runway felt different this time. It startled him for a brief moment. Then it all hit him like a wet bale of hay蚂蚁的秘密16年级. The bar was t at nine inches higher than his personal best. That's only one inch off the National record, he thought. The intensity of the moment filled his mind with anxiety. He began shaking the tension. It wasn't working. He became more ten. Why was this happening to him now, he thought. He began to get nervous. Afraid would be a more accurate description. What was he going to do? He had never experienced the feelings. Then out of nowhere, and from the deepest depths of his soul, he pictured his mother. Why now? What was his mother doing in his thoughts at a ti
me like this? It was simple. His mother always ud to tell him when you felt ten, anxious or even scared, take deep breaths.
10 So he did. Along with shaking the tension from his legs, he gently laid his pole at his feet. He began to stretch out his arms and upper body. The light breeze that was once there was now gone. He carefully picked up his pole. He felt his heart pounding. He was sure the crowd did, too. The silence was deafening. When he heard the singing of some distant birds in flight, he knew it was his time to fly.
11 As he began sprinting down the runway, something felt wonderfully different, yet familiar. The surface below him felt like the country road he ud to dream about. Visions of the golden wheat fields emed to fill his thoughts. When he took a deep breath, it happened. He began to fly. His take-off was effortless. Michael Stone was now flying, just like in his childhood dreams. Only1 this time he knew he wasn't dreaming. This was real. Everything emed to be moving in slow motion. The air around him was the purest and freshest he had ever nd. Michael was soaring like an eagle.
