By CUI JIA | China Daily | Updated: 2022-02-12 Snowboarding pioneer Shaun White took his final bow at the bottom of the halfpipe course (U型槽) at the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games on Friday, officially marking the end of his long and storied career as a professional snowboarder. No matter how hard the 35-year-old tried to hold back his emotions, it just got to be too much.
Although he wanted to do his best by performing two 1440s during his final run, he fell while attempting his second double cork 1440. Despite the fall, everyone cheered for the snowboarding legend at Genting Snow Park in Zhangjiakou as he stood back up and continued down the halfpipe. “Siding on my back, I was thinking, this isn’t how I wanted it to go.You don’t always get what you want, but I have to be thankful for everything I do have and what I have gotten in my career and that’s why I’m very emotional. I can’t believe it’s over.It’s wild,” said White, who finished in fourth place.
From a young age, snowboarding was what White wanted to do more than anything. At 19, White took part in his first Winter Olympics in Turin in 2006 and scored gold.The victory changed his life forever and he became the sport’s global superstar.
Meanwhile, he continued to push his limits by landing the first double cork in halfpipe and inventing the double McTwist 1260. Those tricks brought him three Olympic gold medals, as well as injuries, including the brutal (残酷的) crash in 2018 when he slammed his head against the top of a superpipe, leading to 62 stitches (缝合) in his face in the lead-up to the Pyeongchang 2018 Winter Olympics.
“T’m not competing’ doesn’t mean I won’t be here at the next Winter Olympics cheering on all my friends,” he said. “The future for me is so exciting. There is so much to do and so much to live for. This is just the beginning for me.”
【小题1】What did White feel when he finished the competition?| A．He was worried about his future. |
| B．He was proud of his professional career. |
| C．He was doubtful about the result of the competition. |
| D．He was satisfied with what he had done in the competition. |
| A．To explain why he retired. |
| B．To describe the rules of snowboarding. |
| C．To show the hardship before his success. |
| D．To warn about the possible risks of snowboarding. |
| A．He will compete in the next Winter Olympics. |
| B．He will continue to contribute to the ice-snow sports. |
| C．He won’t talk about his early achievements any more. |
| D．He will try his best to make more friends in the future. |
| A．Final Performance |
| B．Emotional Goodbye |
| C．How to Be a Great Snowboarder |
| D．Snowboarding-the World’s Most Dangerous Sport |
