100 metres in 8 seconds ?
Many contemporary①amateur② athletes would have broken world records if they had taken part in the first Olympic Games③. Since then, records have fallen in track and field④ year after year⑤ as athletic performances have continually improved.
If records fall, it is usually due to⑥ better equipment, training and diet, but recently, improvements have begun to slow down⑦.At the 2000 Olympics, only three runners achieved Olympic bests with no world records. Some experts predict a ceiling⑧ for many events, such as 9.5 seconds for the 100 metres—Maurice Greene’s current record is 9.79 seconds. However, past predictions have nearly always been proved wrong.
When we talk about breaking records⑨， we come across⑩ the issue of performanceenhancing? drugs. These drugs are originally? developed to help people with illnesses, but in the wrong hands, they create supreme? athletes making them faster and stronger than is normal for human beings. Taking these drugs? is known as “doping?” and although they enhance performance, they also cause serious health problems in later life for those who abuse? them.
①contemporary adj.当代的；同时代的
②amateur adj.业余的
③此处是虚拟语气句，表示与过去事实相反的假设，条件句中用had done, 主句中用would have done。
④track and field 田径运动
⑤year after year年复一年
⑥due to 因为，由于
⑦slow down慢下来 speed up 加速
⑧ceiling n．天花板；上限
⑨break records打破纪录
⑩come across偶然遇到
?performanceenhancing [p?'f??m?ns ?n'hɑ?ns??] adj.增强表现的
?originally adv.最初地
?supreme [su?'pri?m] adj.(程度)最大的，极度的
?此处是动名词作主语。
?doping ['d??p??] n．服兴奋剂
?abuse [?'bju?s] vt. 滥用abuse one’s power滥用权力
