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Liu Xiang Asia’s Gold Rush As Liu Xiang raced to victory in the 110-meter hurdles

admin2009-04-23  42
问题                                              Liu Xiang
                                          Asia’s Gold Rush
    As Liu Xiang raced to victory in the 110-meter hurdles at the Athens Olympics, his legs pumping with flawless precision to clock a world record-tying time of 12.91 sec. the panic creeping into sports announcers’ voices was almost palpable(明显的). Even though China had touted the 21 -year -old Shanghai native as a medal hopeful, few in the West knew that China had a decent hurdler, much less a record -making one. Stunned by the victory, a Greek TV announcer stammered: "In first place, it’ s... it’ s a Chinese man." Foiled by the X in Liu’s given name, the broadcaster sidestepped the problem: "He is Mr. Liu. Congratulations to Mr. Liu from China."
    The world had better get used to Mr. Liu and his given name (Xiang is pronounced Shee-ahng). With his chiseled(轮廓分明的) jaw and winning smile, Lin has already been tapped as a pitchman for Coca-Cola and Nike. More importantly, the Chinese hurdler serves as the charismatic icon of a continent galvanized by an unprecedented athletic ascendancy, just as Asia gears up to welcome the next Summer Olympics to its home turf. Back home, Liu is beloved for his natural person, in marked contrast to most of China’s other athletes, who can only offer their fans canned statements about how much they love their motherland. Lin does pay obligatory tribute to his nation, but he revels in the limelight, belting out karaoke songs on Chinese TV and even engaging in flirty banter with pretty anchors on air.
    Unlike the vast majority of Chinese athletes, Liu was not picked by the sports system. Instead, the boy with highlight- ed hair and a self - professed disdain for coach-mandated curfews(宵禁) went knocking on the doors of sports schools himself. Four months into running hurdles, he was doing times in national trials that placed him in the top echelons of his age group.
    Liu wasn’t the only Asian to excel in a sport in which the region’s athletes were expected to be outclassed. Kosuke Kitajima, 22, won two swimming events, helping Japan triple its gold-medal tally from Sydney to Athens. These days, observes Tatsuo Sekine of market researcher CM Databank, Kitajima is so popular that he commands about $450,000 per advertisement in Japan. Says Sekine: "He is a symbol of [our] long-awaited [economic] recovery. China’s Liu Xiang, however, is a symbol of something visceral and emotional, something all Asians can take pride in: the pure ecstasy of triumph "For some athletes, it’s just a job," Liu says. "For me, it’s what I love."
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答案equaled
解析 在本文的第一段中提到：“As liu Xiang raced to victory the 110-meter hurdles at the Athens Olympics，his legs pumping with flawless precision clock a world record-tying time of l2.91 sec”。这就是说：刘翔在雅典奥运会的110米跨栏赛跑中以12秒91的成绩平了世界纪录。
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