他们被称为赛场上的“黑色闪电”，他们追求的是速度的极限，然而成就那风驰电掣般速度的，却不仅仅是矫健的体魄和顽强的意志。兴奋剂——这颗诞生于奥运赛场却不断毒害奥运精神的“毒瘤”，像一团迷雾，纠缠和困扰着赛场内外的各色人等。
Carl Lewis卡尔·刘易斯
英雄认错，瑕不掩瑜
Carl Lewis卡尔·刘易斯
Rare physical gifts and a fierce1) competitive spirit combined to make Carl Lewis one of the greatest athletes in the world. He is one of only four Olympic athletes to win nine gold medals and one of only three to win the same individual event four times.
At the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles, Lewis matched Jesse Owens' feat2) of winning four gold medals with victories in the 100 meters, the 200 meters, the long jump and the 4×100-meter relay. At the 1988 Olympics in Seoul, South Korea, he won the 100-meter dash after Canada's gold medal winner Ben Johnson was disqualified3) for steroid4) use. He won the silver medal in the 200-meter and a gold medal for the long jump. At the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona, Spain, Lewis won gold medals for the long jump and the 4×100-meter relay. At the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia, he won a gold medal for the long jump.
So here was King Carl, track and field's superman. He could do nothing wrong. If anyone deserved the tag of the “cleanest athlete of his era”, he was the man.
Or so people thought. Lewis is human after all. Humans make mistakes. A document released in 2003 alleged that Lewis had tested positive5) for stimulants during the 1988 Olympic trials.
People were shocked. For so many years Carl Lewis was considered the answer to those who believed that international athletics survived only because of dope6). But now he himself turned out not to be clean!
In the face of all this suspicion and criticism, Lewis showed great courage and proved to be very outspoken7). He admitted that he had resorted to taking banned substanes on three occasions in the 1988 Olympic trials. He claimed that he had ingested8) the banned substances.
And then a memo9) released by IAAF10) in 1988 saved Lewis?reputation. The memo showed that the amount of stimulants was small and his intake of them was not performance enhancing.
So he is still King Carl in many people's eyes. While he did cause a stir, he will always be remembered for his hard work and perseverance.
Remarks: 人非圣贤，孰能无过？坦言过去，直面错误，卡尔·刘易斯以勇气和坦诚挽回的不仅是自己的名誉，还有人们对奥运精神的信心。
Ben Johnson本·约翰逊
执迷不悟，终成噩梦
Ben Johnson本·约翰逊
Until he was disgraced and stripped11) of his Olympic gold medal for illegal drug use, the fastest man on earth had been Canadian sprinter Ben Johnson. Johnson struggled for years to win the respect of the media, the sports establishment, and the sprinter who was his archrival12), flamboyant13) American track superstar Carl Lewis. After winning four gold medals at the 1984 Summer Olympic Games, Lewis had been consistently beaten by Johnson, a quiet young man who resented Lewis's exalted14) status as the crown prince of track and field. At a world champioship meet in Rome in the summer of 1987, the two men were pitted against each other in the “most compelling15) 100-meter dash in history”. Johnson shattered the world record for the 100 meters, running it in 9.83 seconds. “Big Ben”, as Johnson was called, returned to Canada a conquering hero and as the odds-on16) favorite to capture the gold medal in the 100-meter sprint at the 1988 Olympic Summer Games.
Indeed, Johnson won the gold medal at the Olympic Games in Seoul, Korea in spectacular17) fashion. Besting second-place finisher Carl Lewis once again, he ran the 100 meters in 9.79 seconds.
The world was stunned by the epic race. But Johnson indeed proved too good (or too bad) to be true. Two days later, Johnson was stripped of both his medal and the world record when he tested positive for the use of steroids. Johnson was banned from competition for two years.
Not feeling guilty about all this, Johnson claimed that doping is common in the sports world. “I'm not a cheat—I do what I am supposed to do to win,” he said.
Increasingly bitter, Johnson tested positive for doping again in 1993 and despite numerous failed appeals18), was banned from racing for life.
Remarks: 本·约翰逊以惊人的百米速度“成就”了奥运史上最大的一则“兴奋剂”丑闻。也许他真的像“黑色闪电”，但他 “执著”地把兴奋剂勾兑在追求光荣与梦想的过程中，最终酿成的只能是耻辱的苦酒。
1. fierce adj. 激烈的；强烈的
2. feat n. 功绩；英勇事迹
3. disqualify vt. 宣布(认定)……不合格
4. steroid [生] n. 类固醇激素(服用此类激素可加强肌力和耐力)
5. positive adj. [医] 阳性的(表明某种疾病、病症存在的)
6. dope n. 兴奋剂
7. outspoken adj. 坦率的，直言不讳的
8. ingest vt. 咽下；摄取
9. memo n. 备忘录
10. IAAF：国际田径联合会(International Association of Athletics Federations)
11. strip vt. 剥夺
12. archrival n. 主要竞争对手
13. flamboyant adj. 光彩夺目的
14. exalted adj. 高贵的，崇高的
15. compelling adj. 激发兴趣的，有强烈吸引力的
16. odds-on：有胜算的
17. spectacular adj. 壮观的
18. appeal n. 请求，呼吁
