大学英语综合教程 第二册 unit 5A

[00:00.00]Look at the following two sayings and then see if the story of Michael Stone bears out the points they make．
[00:07.31]The greater the obstacle,the more glory in overcoming it．
[00:15.07]When it is dark enough,you can see the stars.
[00:22.36]TRUE HEIGHT                     by David Naster
[00:26.28]His palms were sweating.He needed a towel to dry his grip.
[00:32.16]The sun was as hot as the competition he faced today at the National Junior Olympics.
[00:38.92]The pole was set at 17 feet.That was three inches higher than his personal best.
[00:46.32]Michael Stone confronted the most challenging day of his pole-vaulting career.
[00:52.56]The stands were still filled with about 20,000 people, even though the final race had ended an hour earlier.
[01:01.13]The pole vault is truly the highlight of any track and field competition.
[01:06.61]It combines the grace of a gymnast with the strength of a body builder.It also has the element of flying,
[01:14.76]and the thought of flying as high as a two-story building is a mere fantasy to anyone watching such an event.
[01:23.07]As long as Michael could remember he had always dreamed of flying.
[01:28.08]Michael's mother read him numerous stories about flying when he was growing up.
[01:33.78]Her stories were always ones that described the land from a bird's eye view.
[01:39.92]Her excitement and passion for details made Michael's dreams full of color and beauty. Michael had this one recurring dream.
[01:49.74]He would be running down a country road.As he raced between golden wheat fields,
[01:56.17]he would always outrun the locomotives passing by.
[02:00.29]It was at the exact moment he took a deep breath that he began to lift off the ground,
[02:07.03]He would begin soaring like an eagle.
[02:10.46]Where he flew would always coincide with his mother's stories.
[02:15.47]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
[02:25.01]was not a dreamer. Bert Stone was a hardcore realist. He believed in hard work and sweat.
[02:33.57]His motto:If you want something,work for it!
[02:38.35]From the age of 14, Michael did just that. He began a very careful training program.
[02:45.83]He worked out every other day with weightlifting, with some kind of running work on alternate days.
[02:53.43]The program was carefully monitored by Michael's coach,trainer and father.
[02:59.80]Michael's dedication,determination and discipline was a coach's dream.
[03:06.10]Besides being an honor student and only child,
[03:10.20]Michael Stone continued to help his parents with their I farm chores. Mildred Stone, Michael's mother,
[03:18.35]wished he could relax a bit more and be that "free dreaming" little boy.
[03:24.12]On one occasion she attempted to talk to him and his father about this,but his dad quickly interrupted,
[03:32.22]smiled and said, "You want something, work for it!"
[03:37.91]All of Michael's vaults today seemed to be the reward for his hard work.If Michael Stone was surprised,
[03:46.32]excited or vain about clearing the bar at 17 feet,you couldn't tell.
[03:52.75]As soon as he landed on the inflated landing mat,and with the crowd on its feet,
[03:58.58]Michael immediately began preparing for his next attempt at flight. He seemed unaware of the fact
[04:06.31]that he had just beaten his personal best by three inches
[04:11.27]and that he was one of the final two competitors in the pole-vaulting event at the National Junior Olympics
[04:19.34]When Michael cleared the bar at 17 feet 2 inches and 17 feet 4 inches,again he showed no emotion.
[04:29.22]As he lay on his back and heard the crowd groan, he knew the other vaulter had missed his final jump.
[04:37.26]He knew it was time for his final jump.Since the other vaulter had fewer misses, Michael needed to clear this vault to win.
[04:47.14]A miss would get him second place. Nothingto be ashamed of,