High Jumper

Группа Learning English. Продолжение текста: [bad word] /downloads.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/people_and_places/pdfs/people_071022_highjump.pdf

Jackie: Hello!Welcome to the programme on [bad word] with me,
Jackie Dalton. Today we're going to hear from Donald Thomas – he's the
new world high jump champion. High jump is a sport where people try
to jump over a horizontal bar, whoever jumps the highest without
knocking the bar off wins. Donald is 23 and from the Bahamas. The
funny thing is, he never actually wanted to do high jump. There was
another sport that he was much more interested in. What was it?
Donald
Growing up, I always played basketball. I played basketball up until last year in college.
I always dreamt of going to the NBA.
Jackie: Donald always played basketball – another sport where being tall and
good at jumping is helpful. What was his dream? Listen again.
Donald
Growing up, I always played basketball. I played basketball up until last year in college.
I always dreamt of going to the NBA.
Jackie: He dreamt of going to the NBA – the National Basketball Association,
which is the leading men's basketball league in the United States. So how
did he end up doing high jump?Well it all started as a bet with a friend,
who said "I bet you can't jump higher than two meters!" And Donald said
he could and he wanted to prove it – to show it was true – to prove it. So
Donald went to a place where high jumpers were practising to show what
he could do. How did other people react when they saw him jumping?
Donald
They just stopped and was watching*. And, like, formed a circle around the high jump
pit. *note: 'watched' would be grammatically correct here, rather than 'was watching'
Jackie: Everyone was so amazed by how good he was, that they stopped what
they were doing and started to watch. They formed a circle around the
high jump pit.
Donald
They just stopped and was* watching. And, like, formed a circle around the high jump
pit.
Jackie: So that's how it all started. Everyone was so impressed with his high
jump skills that eventually he was persuaded to take it up seriously. And
just over one year later, he officially became the best in the world. You
would think that to become that good so quickly, he would've had to
train – to train, to practice - very hard. How much training does he do?
Donald
I just, I just enjoy competing – there's no pressure go to practise, or do anything like that.
Like, during the week, I probably practise a little more than five hours a week max. I
don't take it that serious[ly]. I think that's the key to my success – just having fun.
Jackie: Donald says he does no more than five hours a week.
Donald
..during the week, I probably practise a little more than five hours a week.
Jackie: Five hours a week! That's probably what most high jumpers do in a day!
But as Donald says, his relaxed attitude is the reason why he's succeeded. He uses the phrase 'the key to my success', meaning the reason why he
has done so well. Listen again.
Donald
I just, I just enjoy competing – there's no pressure go to practice, or do anything like that.
Like, during the week, I probably practise a little more than five hours a week max. I
don't take it that serious. I think that's the key to my success – just having fun.
Jackie: So how did it feel when he cleared 2.35m at the World Athletics
Championships in Osaka?
Donald
I was very excited and motivated. It was a good feeling.
Jackie: Donald was excited and motivated – motivated, meaning you feel good
about something and want to do well in it.
Donald
I was very excited and motivated. It was a good feeling.
Jackie: Donald is certainly motivated to do more now. He's going to compete in
the Olympics next. 
...