每一屆奧運(yùn)會都留下了很多振奮人心的故事，每一個(gè)奧運(yùn)英雄都書寫了鼓舞人心的傳奇。剛剛落幕不久的倫敦奧運(yùn)會的口號是“鼓舞一代人（Inspire a Generation）”，而它也真的做到了。它讓我們看到，奧運(yùn)關(guān)乎的不只是金牌和榮譽(yù)，更是平等、堅(jiān)持和團(tuán)結(jié)的精神。它讓我們在多年以后，仍能憶起那一張張堅(jiān)毅的面孔，那一個(gè)個(gè)動(dòng)人的瞬間，那一滴滴苦澀的汗珠與歡欣的淚水……

Great Britain is the source of some of our most cherished stories， from King Arthur and Robin Hood， to Oliver Twist and David Copperfield， to Winnie the Pooh and Harry Potter. Fittingly， the 2012 London Olympics provided us with more astounding stories， beginning with the Queen parachuting1） into the stadium next to James Bond2）.

And on their final afternoon， the 2012 Games gave us one last story， a tale of Dickensian strife3） and Shakespearean inspiration. As America's basketball players were adding gold to combined salaries exceeding $100 million， 25—year—old Adrien Niyonshuti of Rwanda was gasping for air and pedaling his mountain bike furiously4） up the final dusty hill of the Hadleigh Farm course.

Niyonshuti lost 40 family members in the 1994 genocide5）， including six brothers and sisters. He began riding six years ago on a borrowed bike and soon came in contact with Jock Boyer6）， the first American to ride in the Tour de France7）. Under Boyer's coaching， Niyonshuti steadily improved as a cyclist and qualified for these Olympics. He carried the Rwanda flag during the opening ceremonies and waved it proudly again for all the world to see during the closing ceremonies.

Niyonshuti said he rides to forget， and if he goes more than three days without riding， he suffers disabling headaches from the memories. He may ride to forget， but this time he rode to tell another story to the world.

\"Rwanda is known for something that happened many years ago，\" he said at the mountain bike course as the familiar Chariots of Fire8） theme played over the venue speakers. \"Now I think everyone representing Rwanda here in athletics and showing the flag [can] change some of the history from past times.... When I carried that flag， I was happy for it to be seen around the world， to show that Rwanda is here.\"

London Olympic Committee chairman Sebastian Coe said during the closing ceremonies， \"To all the Olympians who came to London to compete， thank you. Those of us who came to watch witnessed moments of heroism and heartache that will live long in the memory.\"

Indeed. We will look back on these London Olympics and say， \"Once upon a time ...\"

There was a young man named Michael who swam like a porpoise9） and competed like a shark. Michael was such a great swimmer that he competed at four Olympics， from age 15 to 27， and won 22 medals， including 18 golds. He was so good that when he won six medals—four gold！—at the 2012 Olympics， it was considered no big deal. He inspired a young swimmer from South Africa named Chad le Clos， who grew up to swim against his hero in London. And when he did， le Clos said he walked onto the pool deck thinking， \"I want to make Michael proud.\" He did， beating Michael in the 200—meter butterfly and prompting10） his hero's eyes to get misty as he thought about his legacy11）.

There once was a young girl named Gabby， who could leap like a deer and soar like Peter Pan. She wasn't yet old enough to drive a car in 2012， but she was experienced， confident and athletic enough to lift her team to a gold medal， win one for herself as the best gymnast in the world and add to the 29 golds won by American women （compared to 17 by the men）. And while spinning on the bars， she made people briefly believe a girl could fly.

There once was a young man named Usain， who ran like a flash and roared like a lion. In the entire history of the world， there never had been a man who ran so fast. He won three gold medals at the 2008 Olympics， then won three more in 2012. He celebrated by leading an entire stadium of fans in the wave and declaring himself a living legend. \"It isn't even a question，\" he said. \"I've done something no one else has ever done.\"

And once upon a time， there was a young man named Manteo， who was so driven to compete， he ran with a broken leg so his teammates could race for a medal another day. \"Every step that I took was like Jell—O12） on my left leg，\" Manteo said while leaning on crutches13） the next day. \"I don't know whether you can call it God or adrenaline14） or just the spirit of USA in my heart. I just didn't want to quit， and I just kept going.\"

And then there was a young man named Oscar， who had no legs at all below the knees， but this would not stop him from running like the wind and reaching the Olympics. Cynics said he had an unfair advantage because he ran on \"magic legs\"， but everyone else was so inspired that after he raced at the 2012 Olympics， Kirani James15）， the champion of the world walked up and asked him for his bib number16）. \"Oscar is a great person， a God—fearing person and a great individual， and I think we should see him like that and nothing else，\" Kirani said. \"It's an honor just to compete against him.\"

As for those supposedly magic legs？ Scientists researched them and declared they provided no unfair advantage. As Oscar said， \"I didn't grow up thinking I had a disability. I grew up thinking I had different shoes.\"

And that really is the moral of this incredible 2012 Olympic story. We all enter the world with the same Olympic possibilities. We may lose our legs. We may lose our family. We may lose a race that leaves us crushed. But the one thing we must never lose is our spirit. Like Niyonshuti， we must show we are here.

We make our own legends. We create our own magic. We write our own stories.

See you in Rio.

從《亞瑟王》到《羅賓漢》，從《霧都孤兒》到《大衛(wèi)·科波菲爾》，從《小熊維尼》到《哈利·波特》，這些我們最為喜愛的故事都來自于英國。同樣，2012年的倫敦奧運(yùn)會也為我們提供了更多驚心動(dòng)魄的故事，頭一個(gè)故事就是英國女王和詹姆斯·邦德一起傘降到“倫敦碗”。

2012年奧運(yùn)會帶給我們的最后一個(gè)故事發(fā)生在奧運(yùn)會的最后一個(gè)下午，這個(gè)故事兼具狄更斯式的沖突和莎士比亞式的啟迪。當(dāng)美國籃球運(yùn)動(dòng)員為他們加起來超過一億美元的薪資添加金牌之時(shí)，25歲的盧旺達(dá)運(yùn)動(dòng)員阿德里安·尼揚(yáng)舒提正氣喘吁吁地拼命蹬著山地自行車，駛過哈德利農(nóng)場賽道最后一段塵土飛揚(yáng)的山路。

在1994年盧旺達(dá)的那場種族大屠殺中，尼揚(yáng)舒提失去了40位家人，包括六個(gè)兄弟姐妹。六年前，他用一輛借來的自行車開始了自行車運(yùn)動(dòng)，不久就結(jié)識了喬克·博耶——首位參加環(huán)法自行車賽的美國選手。在博耶的指導(dǎo)下，尼揚(yáng)舒提作為一名自行車賽車手的車技穩(wěn)步提高，獲得了參加倫敦奧運(yùn)會的資格。在開幕式上，他高舉盧旺達(dá)國旗走過賽場；在閉幕式上，他又一次驕傲地?fù)]舞著國旗，向全世界展示。

尼揚(yáng)舒提說他騎車是為了忘記痛苦，如果他超過三天不騎車，那些記憶就會讓他頭痛不已。他騎車也許是為了忘記痛苦，但這一次，他騎車是為了向世人講述另一個(gè)故事。

“盧旺達(dá)為世人所知是因?yàn)樵S多年前發(fā)生的一些事，”賽場的揚(yáng)聲器里傳來了《烈火戰(zhàn)車》那熟悉的旋律，尼揚(yáng)舒提站在山地自行車賽道上說，“現(xiàn)在我認(rèn)為，每一個(gè)代表盧旺達(dá)在這里參加比賽并向世人展示盧旺達(dá)國旗的人都能夠改變它過去的某些歷史……當(dāng)我舉起國旗，我很高興全世界的人都能看到它，也很高興它能夠向世人表明盧旺達(dá)的存在?！?/p>

倫敦奧組委主席塞巴斯蒂安·科在閉幕式上說：“所有來倫敦參加競技的奧運(yùn)健兒們，謝謝你們。你們讓前來觀看比賽的我們見證了那些英勇的、令人心痛的時(shí)刻，這些時(shí)刻將永遠(yuǎn)銘刻在我們的記憶中。”

誠然，多年以后，我們會回想起倫敦奧運(yùn)會的這些故事，我們會說：“很久很久以前……”

很久很久以前，有一個(gè)年輕人叫邁克爾，他游起泳來就像一只海豚，比賽起來就像一條鯊魚。邁克爾是一位非常了不起的游泳健將，從15歲到27歲，他共參加了四屆奧運(yùn)會，贏得了22枚獎(jiǎng)牌，其中包括18枚金牌。他太優(yōu)秀了，以至于在2012年奧運(yùn)會上他奪得六枚獎(jiǎng)牌（包括四枚金牌）時(shí)，人們竟然不以為奇。他的經(jīng)歷還鼓舞了一位來自南非的游泳運(yùn)動(dòng)員——一位名叫查德·勒克洛的年輕人，他從小到大游泳的目標(biāo)就是要和自己心目中的這位英雄在倫敦奧運(yùn)會上一較高低。當(dāng)他真的與邁克爾同場競技時(shí)，勒克洛說，他走到泳池邊，心里在想：“我要讓邁克爾感到驕傲?！彼娴淖龅搅耍?00米蝶泳中擊敗了邁克爾，讓他的這位英雄在想到自己對后人的影響時(shí)濕了雙眼。

很久很久以前，有一位年輕的女孩名叫蓋比，她跳起來像只小鹿，飛起來就像小飛俠彼得·潘。2012年的她甚至還不到拿駕照的年齡，但她豐富的經(jīng)驗(yàn)、十足的自信和矯健的身手已經(jīng)足以幫助她的團(tuán)隊(duì)贏得一枚金牌，也讓自己作為世界最優(yōu)秀的體操運(yùn)動(dòng)員獲得一枚金牌，并讓美國女運(yùn)動(dòng)員獲得的金牌總數(shù)達(dá)到29枚（相比之下，男運(yùn)動(dòng)員僅獲得17枚金牌）。在單雙杠上飛旋的那一瞬間，她讓人們相信：女孩真的可以飛翔！

很久很久以前，有一個(gè)年輕人名叫尤塞恩，他跑起來快如閃電，吼起來聲如雄獅。在全世界，無論古今，還從沒有哪個(gè)人跑得像他這么快。在2008年奧運(yùn)會上，他獲得了三枚金牌；在2012年奧運(yùn)會上，他又榮獲三枚金牌。他帶領(lǐng)滿滿一場館的粉絲此起彼伏地歡呼慶祝，并宣稱自己是活著的傳奇?！昂翢o疑問，”他說，“我取得的成就前無古人?！?/p>

很久很久以前，有一個(gè)年輕人名叫曼泰奧，他深知比賽的緊迫，因此拖著受傷的腿堅(jiān)持跑完了比賽，為隊(duì)友此后爭奪獎(jiǎng)牌創(chuàng)造了機(jī)會?！拔颐窟~出一步，左腿就像注滿果凍一樣，”賽后第二天，曼泰奧拄著拐杖說，“我不知道是上帝給我的力量，還是腎上腺素的作用，還是僅僅是我心中的美國精神激勵(lì)了我。我就是不愿意放棄，我就是堅(jiān)持跑了下去。”

那個(gè)時(shí)候，還有一位名叫奧斯卡的年輕人，他雙腿膝部以下全都截去了，但這并不妨礙他跑起來疾如風(fēng)，也不能阻止他參加奧運(yùn)會。好挑剔的人說他有對別人不公平的優(yōu)勢，因?yàn)樗怯靡浑p“擁有魔力的腿”在跑，但其他所有人都被他的精神所鼓舞，就連世界冠軍基拉尼·詹姆斯都在2012年奧運(yùn)會上奧斯卡比賽結(jié)束后走過去向他索要號碼布?！皧W斯卡是個(gè)了不起的人，一個(gè)上帝都害怕的人，一個(gè)非常優(yōu)秀的人。我認(rèn)為我們應(yīng)該把他看成這樣的人，而不是別的什么，”基拉尼說，“能和他同場競賽就已經(jīng)很榮幸了?！?/p>

那么，那雙據(jù)說擁有魔力的腿又怎樣呢？科學(xué)家們對這雙腿進(jìn)行了研究，宣布它們并沒有提供優(yōu)勢，沒有對別人不公。正如奧斯卡所說的那樣：“從小到大我并不認(rèn)為我有殘疾，我只是覺得自己穿了與眾不同的鞋子罷了?！?/p>

這正是精彩的2012年奧運(yùn)會留給我們的真諦。我們來到這個(gè)世上，都有著同樣的奧運(yùn)機(jī)遇。也許我們會失去雙腿，也許我們會失去家人，也許我們會輸?shù)粢粓霰荣愐蚨钍艽驌簦幸粯訓(xùn)|西是我們永遠(yuǎn)都不能失去的：我們的精神。就像尼永舒提那樣，我們必須向世人表明我們的存在。

我們要打造自己的傳奇。我們要?jiǎng)?chuàng)造自己的魔力。我們要書寫自己的故事。

里約見！

1.parachute [?p?r??u?t] vi. 傘降，跳傘

2.James Bond： 詹姆斯·邦德，是著名諜戰(zhàn)電影《007》系列中的特工，代號007。

3.strife [stra?f] n. 沖突

4.furiously [?fj??ri?sli] adv. 激烈地，猛烈地

5.1994 genocide： 指1994年的盧旺達(dá)大屠殺，又稱盧旺達(dá)內(nèi)戰(zhàn)。1994年4月6日至6月中旬，盧旺達(dá)胡圖族對圖西族及胡圖族溫和派進(jìn)行了有組織的種族滅絕大屠殺。大屠殺共造成80～100萬人死亡。genocide [?d?en?sa?d] n. 滅絕種族的大屠殺

6.Jock Boyer： 喬克·博耶（1955～），美國職業(yè)自行車賽車手，1981年參加環(huán)法自行車賽，1998年入選美國自行車賽名人堂。2007年，他在盧旺達(dá)組建了盧旺達(dá)自行車隊(duì)。

7.Tour de France： 環(huán)法自行車賽，世界著名的自行車比賽，發(fā)起于1903年，每年舉行一次，主要在法國進(jìn)行。

8.Chariots of Fire： 《烈火戰(zhàn)車》，1981年上映的一部勵(lì)志電影，獲得了包括最佳影片在內(nèi)的四項(xiàng)奧斯卡獎(jiǎng)。該片改編自真人真事，講述了英國兩大著名短跑選手哈羅德·亞伯拉罕斯（Harold Abrahams）和埃里克·利德爾（Eric Liddell）的故事。其中，亞伯拉罕斯是猶太人，深受種族偏見之苦，但他意志堅(jiān)強(qiáng)、刻苦訓(xùn)練，最終獲得了1924年奧運(yùn)會百米短跑金牌，向世人表示了對種族歧視的抗議。

9.porpoise [?p??p?s] n. 海豚

10.prompt [pr?mpt] vt. 引起，激起

11.legacy [?leɡ?si] n. <喻>遺產(chǎn)（指祖先遺留下的精神或物質(zhì)財(cái)富或影響）

12.Jell—O： 吉利牌，美國一個(gè)食品商標(biāo)名。該品牌食品主要是果凍、布丁等凝膠狀甜品。

13.crutch [kr?t?] n. T字形拐杖

14.adrenaline [??dren?l?n] n. 【生化】腎上腺素

15.Kirani James： 基拉尼·詹姆斯（1992～），格林納達(dá)短跑運(yùn)動(dòng)員，在2012年倫敦奧運(yùn)會上獲400米短跑金牌。文中提到的奧斯卡參加的就是400米短跑比賽。

16.bib number： 參賽選手的號碼布