was so unimpressive that after the ’91 World Championships he was advised to quit. Paul himself had frequently thought of retirement, but he continued anyway. He decided not to give up. At last, his perseverance paid off. He won a silver medal at the 1992 Winter Olympic Games at the age of 27 and became an Olympic hero.
Translation
永不放弃 人们劝他引退，说他天分不够，但是花样滑冰选手保罗?怀利拒绝放弃。
1992年冬奥会闭幕后，保罗?怀利抵达华盛顿。走下飞机时，欢迎的人群开始鼓掌。他差点停下了脚步。谁在后面呀？他心里嘀咕。虽说银牌在手，他怎么也不敢相信这掌声是献给他的。从那一刻起，保罗意识到自己的生活从此永远地改变了。
这位27岁的花样滑冰运动员在法国的阿尔贝维尔获得了银牌，从此走向全新的生活。1988 年的卡尔加里冬奥会上，他表现平平，只得了第10名，可如今他再也不是在大型赛事中举止失措的无名小卒了；1991年的世界锦标赛上，保罗比赛完后，裁判建议他退出冰坛，“给年轻选手让位”，如今再也听不到这样的建议了。
跟踪报道1991年冬奥会选拔赛的记者们曾问他“你来这儿干什么？”，如今再也不会有这种别有用心的提问了。他再也不是美国冠军托德?埃尔德雷奇的手下败将，再也不会被三度问鼎世界冠军宝座的加拿大运动员库尔特?布朗宁甩在身后。
现在保罗?怀利成了奥运英雄。虽然有些人对他没有信心，建议他放弃，可他依然勇往直前。虽然这个刚出校门的哈佛毕业生经常幻想，离开严酷的冰上训练生活将会是怎样，但他仍然苦苦坚持着；这个年轻人发现：不管途中有多少障碍，要经历多少次失败，目标终能实现，而且他证明了这一点。
保罗说：“闭幕式上我接受采访，有个记者对我说，‘你来时不为人知，归时却名扬四海’。 我觉得这话很有意思，因为我当时在法国，根本不知道美国电视是怎么报道这次法国之旅的。 走下飞机，我才意识到人们把我当成了英雄。他们对我的看法改变了，因为我获胜了。他们的 看法改变了，因为我坚持不懈并且赢得了银牌，虽然赛前没人看好我。”
有时，保罗也几乎不看好自己。“离92年冬奥会开幕还有两个月的时候，《今日美国》对运 动员们进行了一次调查，问道，你经常考虑退役吗？选项有：‘每年’、‘每月’、‘每周’。” “我写的是‘每天’，因为要坚持下去实在是太难了。但我还是下定决心要坚持下去，绝不放弃，我要全力拼搏。”
1992年在阿尔贝维尔，事情完全改观了。保罗说：“我的经历使人们热泪盈眶，因为结果出人意料。这同时也改变了我的生活，我看着自己的冰上生涯从此被改写，变得精彩纷呈。其实也可能会是另一种结局：多年的努力化为乌有，结果令人大失所望。”
手中拿着奖牌，保罗突然进入到一个全新的世界：财源不断的签约、花样滑冰巡回赛、独家采访、追星族要求签名。凡是一个声名鹊起的英雄能得到的一切他都得到了，但保罗认为这一头衔值得称道的东西远不在此。
保罗说：“无私的奉献能造就真正的英雄；用自己的经历和行为激励别人上进，变得更高尚，也算是一种英雄。我认为我并没有无私奉献，但上帝用我的生活经历去激励了别的人。”
保罗还说，英雄是需要日日维护的。要达到完美的地步，滑冰选手需苦练每个细小的动作，日复一日不能懈怠，英雄也一样，应该日日奉献，而不只是在危急关头或者在众人瞩目之时才有所举动。
收藏多年之后，奥运奖牌会退去它最初的光泽；若是不再关注别人的需要，英雄也会失去号召力。和成千上万的人们一同观看盐湖城冬奥会时，保罗很清楚，每个胜利的背后，每次打破纪录的背后，都有无数日日坚持不懈的英雄故事，那种永不放弃的英雄故事。
Language Points
1.clap: strike (one’ s hands) together with a quick movement and loud sound
Examples:
The teacher clapped to attract the class’s attention.
The audience clapped at the end of the play.
2.usher: bring or cause to enter
Examples:
A series of reforms ushered in the new regime.
The rising sun ushered in a new day.
3.quit: stop (doing something)
Examples:
He quit his job for a better position.
He should really quit smoking for the sake of his health.
4.persevere: continue firmly in spite of difficulties
Examples:
He didn’t know any English, but he persevered and became a good student.
Despite the failure of his early experiments, the scientist persevered in his research.
5.in the way: blocking space for the forward movement
Examples:
The chair is in the way; so move it, please.
Although he thought he was helping us prepare the dinner, he was only in the way.
6.interview: ask questions of (somebody)
Examples:
At the end of the race the winner was interviewed by NBC news.
In the oral test the student is interviewed by an examiner.
7.count...out: leave ... out by choice
Examples:
If you are playing football in this rainy weather you can count me out.
We have ten applicants for the post, but two of them have now accepted other
appointments, so we can count them out.
8.at times: sometimes
Examples:
I do feel a little nervous at times.
We have pie for dinner at times.
9.have a shot: try
Examples:
I don’t know if I can do that, but I’ll have a shot (at it).
Have a shot at solving the problem.
10.as opposed to: in contrast to
Examples:
The tax system favors the very rich as opposed to ordinary working people.
This is a book about business practices as opposed to theory.
11.exclusive: not shared with others
Examples:
The actress granted the reporter an exclusive interview.
This company has the exclusive right to print Mr. Dare’s books.
12.merit: deserve; have a right to
Examples:
The suggestion merits serious consideration.
He merited all the praise they gave him.
13.crisis: a point or moment of great danger, difficulty, or uncertainty
Examples:
I was on the verge of a terrible crisis in my life.
The potentiality for future government crises was growing.
14.behind the scenes: out of sight; secretly; without public knowledge
Examples:
He is an important man behind the scenes.
John was president of the club, but behind the scenes Robert told him what to do.