源自恒星英语网，翻译详见原网https://m.hxen.com/englishlistening/rumen/huanqiu/2019-11-11/526979.html
Madeline Manning-Mims
马德琳·曼宁·米姆斯
Hello. I'm Marina Santee.
AndI'm Elizabeth Lickiss. Welcome to Spotlight. This programme uses a specialEnglish method of broadcasting. It is easier for people to understand, nomatter where in the world they live.
Sports watchers may remember Madeline Manning-Mims. She had a wonderful win in1968. She became the first black woman to win a gold medal in the OlympicGames. Madeline was living in a period of racism. People judged one another ontheir race - or the colour of their skin. Madeline's success encouraged otheryoung African women. Today we tell her story.
Imagine training for the Olympic Games! Imagine how you feel before a race! Youhave a nervous feeling in your stomach. You arrive at the Olympic Stadium. Yousee the other team members. You are the only black runner on the team. Madelineremembers,
"I was the only black girl there. The rest were white. I got threateningletters. People told me that I should not be there. They said I should just letthe white girls do it. I was struggling with all this. I was still young. And Iwas not very experienced in all this."
Madeline wondered if anyone believed in her. But her faith in God made herstronger. She said,
"Maybe no one else believed in me. But I knew that God did. So I decidedto run for his glory."
Madeline and her team mate, DorisBrown, were both in the Olympic finals. They agreed on a plan to gain themfirst and second place. The idea was to control the race together. Madelinewould start fast, knowing others would follow. She would hold the leadposition. Doris would stay behind to save her energy. Then, Madeline would slowthe race down, keeping the lead. By this time the team would be tired. ButDoris would still have energy. She would catch up. They would speed up to win.They would gain first and second place.
But Doris told her trainer theirplan. And the trainer did not like it. He told her not to follow the plan. Hetold her to wait until Madeline got tired - and then to run past her! Why wouldhe do this? Madeline said later that he was racist - he did not like the colourof her skin! He did not want a black woman to win the race. Doris was white.
Therace began. Madeline did not know what the trainer had told Doris. She followedthe plan and slowed down to wait for Doris. After the first part of the raceshe understood something was wrong. She said,
"I thought to myself, 'Madeline; you are on your own now.” And I won my race byeighty metres. I was so happy when I passed the finish line. I heard my mothershout, Thank you Jesus, that's my baby!'"
Afterwards, Madeline asked Doris what had happened. Doris explained that shewas following her trainer's advice. Madeline was very hurt. She found it hardto forgive him.
She said,
"It took me years to work through the process of forgiving him. But Ifound that not forgiving him was hurting me - not him. I felt terrible every timeI saw him or someone spoke about him. It was torturing me emotionally. Andfinally, I just had to let it go. I said, 'Lord, in faith, I forgive him. It isnot my problem. It is his. I refuse to hold onto this anymore.' And then I wassurprised. The next time I saw him I did not feel anything. He was surprisedtoo - that I spoke to him!"
Madeline's next big event was the Olympic Games of 1972. She trained hard. Itwas not easy. She had personal problems at that time. This included a divorcefrom her husband. Madeline was not strong mentally or emotionally. But sheworked hard to get in good physical condition. One event she would compete inwas the relay.
Relays are different to normal races. In a relay, four people from the teamwork together. Each runner starts in a different position. One person runs at atime. The first person runs to the second person. He or she passes a baton, atube shaped object. The second person takes the baton and runs to the thirdperson. This continues until all four runners have finished the race.
Madeline was a good runner! But, two days before the event she damaged her legwhile training. She remembers being in a lot of pain. However, she decided torun anyway! She said,
"I ran the hardest day of my life. I was fighting so hard through thepain. I remember thinking - either your leg is going to tear or you are goingto do this! I do not remember the last hundred metres. I remember passing thebaton to the girl in front of me. But I have no idea what happenedafterwards."
Later, Madeline watched the race on film. And she saw that she finished therace. But she could not remember it. It was a very strange feeling.
Afew years later, she went back to the Olympic Stadium where she ran. Shedescribes how she went to the exact place where her memory had failed.
"'I prayed Lord what happened here?”' God said, 'This is when I lifted you up andcarried you to the finish line.' And he must have because I do not remember athing! I think the pain was so bad I just blocked everything out. I was justrunning without knowing what was going on.
用户评论