环球英语—1175:An Olympic Dream

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Welcome to Spotlight. I'm Robin Basselin.
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And I'm Ryan Geertsma. Spotlight uses a special English method of broadcasting. It is easier for people to understand, no matter where in the world they live.
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Sabrina Vega is not like other 15 year old girls. She is beautiful like many young girls, and she has a sweet smile and dark eyes. But unlike other 15 year old girls, she spends 7 hours every day training - performing extremely difficult physical exercises. Sabrina Vega is a gymnast. She competes in the popular Olympic sport of gymnastics. This difficult sport requires strength, balance, and grace. Today's Spotlight is on Sabrina Vega and her path to the 2012 Olympics.
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When Sabrina was 5 years old, a friend invited her to a party. The party was at a gym - a place where people play sports and train for gymnastics. At this party, Sabrina discovered that she loved doing gymnastics. She loved running, jumping and turning in the air. She enjoyed balancing far above the ground. And she loved playing on the bars - hanging from her hands and moving herself around in circles. Sabrina could not stop talking about doing gymnastics.
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A few nights after the party, Sabrina had a dream. She told her mother, Jahira, about the dream. Jahira told Spotlight,
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"Sabrina said that in her dream she went to the Olympics. She described everything at this international competition. She told me about the place where they give out the awards. She described every part of the building. At first I did not consider her story seriously."
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But Sabrina kept talking about her dream. She told her father, David, about it too. So Jahira and David decided to pay for Sabrina to learn gymnastics. Everyone at the gym quickly recognized that Sabrina was very good. In fact, she needed better training.
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So Sabrina started to train at a special, competitive gym. She was only 7 years old and she was already training to compete at a high level. At this gym, she met her coaches, Teodora and Sorin Cepoi. When they were younger, Teodora and Sorin competed in the Olympics for the country of Romania. Now, they teach and train girls gymnastics in the United States. When Sabrina first came to the gym, the Cepois only trained teenage girls. But they recognized Sabrina's skill right away. And when Sabrina was 8, they began working with her.
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The years passed quickly. Sabrina got better and better. By the time she was 12 years old, Sabrina was training many hours each day. She stopped attending normal school. Instead, Sabrina began studying at home in between training times.
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Now, at 15, Sabrina wakes up early every morning. She gets up, eats a quick meal, and then travels to the gym with her mother. She trains for almost three hours – stretching, getting stronger, and learning new skills. She goes home to eat and do some school work. Then she travels back to the gym to train again - this time, for more than 4 hours. When she gets home, Sabrina eats dinner, and gets ready for bed. It is usually past 9:00 at night. She does not have time to do things that many other 15 year old Americans do - like watch television, spend time with her friends, or use Facebook.
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Sabrina's life of training has not been easy. It can be difficult for her family as well. Sabrina's mother is with her at training most days. So, Sabrina and Jahira are not able to spend a lot of time with Sabrina's father or brother. Sabrina's training also costs a lot of money. This is a sacrifice for everyone.
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But the Vegas believe that God gave Sabrina her skill. They believe God wants her to use it. Jahira talked about an experience that helped them to believe this.
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Sabrina was 13 years old. She had a chance to compete in a national gymnastics event. If she did well, the event would give her the chance to join the National team - the team that trains for the Olympics.
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But the family was out of money. They needed $5000 dollars to send Sabrina to the competition. Jahira had to tell Sabrina that she could not go. Jahira explained,
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"I looked at her and I said, 'I do not think you are going to be able to do this one.' Tears came to her eyes, and she said, 'I understand.' But deep in my heart I thought, 'I am crushing her!'"
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This was an important time. Was Sabrina's Olympic dream over? Jahira said,
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"That was when I started praying. I said, 'God, is this what you want for Sabrina? Then you have to provide because there is no other way.' . . . I was praying so intensely."
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A week or two later, something happened. A wealthy family came to visit Sabrina's gym unexpectedly. They had heard about Sabrina from another family at the gym. They watched Sabrina train. Then they asked to talk to Jahira. The wealthy family gave Jahira all the money they needed! Jahira explained,
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"That is when we knew, 'God put this idea in her head. God put this in her heart.'"
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Sabrina depends on the support of her family and her faith in God. She told Spotlight,
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"For every trip I always bring my Bible. . . . When I feel worried, I will read a little bit and I pray."
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Sabrina's team members also support her. Every month, her team spends 5 days training with Marta Karyoli - the famous Romanian coach. They spend time building their physical strength and learning new skills. High level coaches also judge their gymnastic performances. It is a very intense time. But Sabrina says it brings all the girls together as a team. She said,
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"We are all very close. We support each other and cheer for each other. We want each person to do her best."
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In the summer of 2012, the Olympics will be in London, England. Sabrina Vega has been training almost her whole life to compete at this event. Spotlight asked Jahira about Sabrina's path - from a 5 year old girl with a dream to an Olympic gymnast. She said,
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"It came faster than we could have imagined. Our family talked about it, and we said, 'Great, you can do this.' And then we closed our eyes for a second and it was all here."
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People from all over the world will compete in the 2012 Olympics. And millions of people will watch. That is a lot of pressure for a young girl. But Sabrina will not be there alone. She will be supported by her team, her family, and her faith in God.
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The writer of today's programme was Jennifer Hawkins. The producer was Mark Drenth. The voices you heard were from the United States. All quotes were adapted and voiced by Spotlight. You can find our programs on the internet at http://www.radioenglish.net This .programme is called "An Olympic Dream." We hope you can join us again for the next Spotlight program. Goodbye!