Level 5 Reading 2A

Reading 2A

阅读2A

THE SKY RUNNER Growing up in a village in eastern Nepal's Bhojpur Mountains, Mira Rai had dreams that went far beyond the conventional expectations for Nepali women. The eldest daughter of five children, she was expected to fetch water, tend crops and livestock, and help out at home. By age 12, she no longer regularly attended school, and instead hauled heavy bags of rice up and down steep trails— often barefoot—to trade at the market. It was hard work—but great training for a future trail runner. "As a girl," Rai recalls, "I would constantly be told to know my place, suppress my voice, and act in a certain manner. For me, breaking free from these traditions itself was a big dream." Several years ago, Rai's dream became reality. She was running outside Kathmandu when two male trail runners invited her to enter her first trail race, the Kathmandu West Valley Rim 50K. She had never run 50 kilometers before, had no special gear or training for such a distance, and was also the only woman in the competition. But against all odds, she beat everyone—even the men. From there, a community of supporters came together to give her a chance to compete in international trail running competitions.

空中奔跑者 在尼泊尔东部Bhojpur山脉的一个村庄长大， Mira Rai的梦想远远超出了尼泊尔女性的传统期望。 五个孩子的大女儿， 她被要求取水、照料庄稼和牲畜，并在家里帮忙。 到12岁时，她不再经常上学， 相反，他们拖着沉重的米袋在陡峭的小径上走来走去-- 经常赤脚在市场上交易。 这是一项艰苦的工作，但对未来的越野跑运动员来说，这是一次很好的训练。 “作为一个女孩，”拉伊回忆道， “我总是被告知要知道我的位置，压抑我的声音， 并以某种方式行事。 对我来说，摆脱这些传统本身就是一个很大的梦想。" 几年前，拉伊的梦想变成了现实。 她在加德满都郊外跑步时，两名男子越野跑运动员 邀请她参加她的第一场越野赛，加德满都西谷缘50K。 她以前从未跑过50公里，没有特殊的装备或训练来跑这么长的距离， 也是比赛中唯一的女性。 但她克服重重困难，打败了所有人，甚至是男人。 从那里，一群支持者聚集在一起 让她有机会参加国际越野跑比赛。

Today, the running world recognizes Rai as a high-elevation trail racing phenomenon. Now she is on a mission to help both women and men of Nepal though sports. Rai believes her work to empower others has just begun. "We have realized that Nepal has tremendous potential to develop competitive athletes," she says. Wasfia Nazreen, a mountain climber from Bangladesh, knows first-hand the impact Rai has had on the young women of Nepal. "For someone who has left school so early and missed the learning we take for granted, Mira has been able to turn back time and set a rare example by being the change herself," she says. "Its hard to find good role models for young women in our region, especially one coming from the same rural village background as most of the young generation," Nazreen says. Mira is blazing a trail, not just in terms of being able to speak nationally on gender equality, but also by getting young people into running through the new Kathmandu Trail Race Series. "The grit and joy she embodies throughout all her hardships and victories is an inspiration to all of us!" Rai, however, remains humble. "I have been able to do the things I did because so many people believed in me and took chances, and I want to give back so others can have a chance just the way I did," she says. "We have a saying in Nepal, 'Khana pugyos, dina pugos,' which means, 'Let there be enough to eat, let there be enough to give." Which is more difficult: running a hard, steep trail race or breaking gender stereotypes? Running is no issue, but breaking gender stereotypes is. For the society we live in, its difficult for women and men alike because doing anything out of convention means a lot of struggle—especially for women. As women, we are expected to help out with chores at home from childhood and then get married and raise a family, so it becomes a struggle, not merely a challenge. You get called a rebel, and for an adventure sport that involves risks, nobody encourages you. "You'll end up breaking your bones!" they'd say. Though the mindset seems to be changing it's still at a snail's pace and has a long way to go before women are seen as equivalent to men. What advice do you have for someone who wants to be a stronger runner like you? It was a matter of chance and luck that I became a runner. Back in the village we had to walk hours on end—up and down grueling terrain, often barefoot, with a heavy weight on our backs—and this definitely contributed. I started running, I got professional training that taught me techniques, and gradually I became more determined, motivated, and persistent to chase my dreams. However, I've also learned that proper diet, enough rest, confidence, yoga, and mental well-being— as well as having good support from my mentor Richard Bull and my coach Dhruba Bikram Malla— are just as important as being in shape. You stopped going to school regularly when you were 12. Do you wish you'd had more school? I feel that if I'd finished more school, l would have been able to communicate with more confidence and have a better insight into world affairs. In many cases when I first started racing abroad, I couldn't even be a part of conversations because of my poor English skills. I used to just sit there and listen, but l didn't feel uncomfortable being there as everybody was very supportive. However, with media and sponsors, it would've definitely been more helpful had I obtained more education back home. Even today when I try to read newspapers, I fail to understand quite a few words, so I am taking English classes these days, and it's certainly helping.

如今，跑步界将Rai视为一种高海拔越野赛现象。 现在，她肩负着通过体育帮助尼泊尔男女的使命。 拉伊认为，她赋予他人权力的工作才刚刚开始。 她说：“我们已经意识到，尼泊尔在培养有竞争力的运动员方面具有巨大的潜力。”。 来自孟加拉国的登山者Wasfia Nazreen， 第一手了解拉伊对尼泊尔年轻女性的影响。 “对于那些这么早就离开学校，错过了我们认为理所当然的学习的人来说， 米拉已经能够让时间倒流 并以身作则，以身作则。”她说。 “在我们地区很难找到适合年轻女性的好榜样， 尤其是与大多数年轻一代有着相同农村背景的人，”Nazreen说。 米拉正在开辟一条道路， 不仅仅是能够在全国范围内就性别平等问题发表意见， 而且通过让年轻人参加新的加德满都越野赛系列赛。 “她体现的勇气和快乐 她所有的艰辛和胜利都激励着我们所有人！" 然而，拉伊依然保持谦逊。 “我能够做我做过的事情 因为有那么多人相信我，敢于冒险， 我想回馈社会，这样其他人就可以像我一样有机会，”她说。 “尼泊尔有句谚语，‘Khana pugyos，dina pugos，’ 这意味着，‘要有足够的食物，要有足够多的给予。" 哪个更难：跑一场艰难、陡峭的越野赛还是打破性别刻板印象？ 跑步不是问题，但打破性别刻板印象才是。 对于我们生活的社会来说，男女都很难相处 因为做任何不符合惯例的事情都意味着很多斗争，尤其是对女性来说。 作为女性，我们从小就被期望在家帮忙做家务 然后结婚成家， 所以它变成了一场斗争，而不仅仅是一个挑战。 你被称为叛逆者，对于一项涉及风险的冒险运动，没有人鼓励你。 他们会说：“你最终会摔断骨头的！”。 虽然心态似乎正在改变，但速度仍然很慢 在女性被视为与男性同等之前，还有很长的路要走。 对于像你这样想成为更强壮的跑步者的人，你有什么建议？ 我成为一名跑步者纯属偶然。 回到村子后，我们不得不连续走上几个小时——在崎岖的地形上走来走去， 我们经常光着脚，背上背着沉重的负担——这无疑起到了作用。 我开始跑步，我接受了专业训练，教会了我技巧， 渐渐地，我变得更加坚定、有动力、坚持不懈地追逐我的梦想。 然而，我也学会了适当的饮食、充足的休息、自信、瑜伽和心理健康-- 我的导师Richard Bull和教练Dhruba Bikram Malla也给予了我很好的支持-- 与保持身材同样重要。 你12岁时就不再上学了。 你希望你有更多的学校吗？ 我觉得如果我完成了更多的学业， 我本来可以更有信心地交流的 更好地了解世界事务。 在许多情况下，当我第一次开始在国外比赛时， 我甚至不能参与对话，因为我的英语水平很差。 我过去常常坐在那里听， 但我在那里并不觉得不舒服，因为每个人都非常支持我。 然而，有了媒体和赞助商， 如果我在家接受更多的教育，肯定会更有帮助。 即使在今天，当我试着看报纸时，我也听不懂很多单词， 所以这些天我在上英语课，这肯定很有帮助。

Running has helped you see the world. What is it like to return to your village now that you have been to Hong Kong, Italy, and other places? I return once a year during the Dashain, the largest festival of the year, and the people there are living the same sort of lives as I saw when I was a kids. We used to have kerosene lanterns, but now there are bulbs that run on solar power. The village had no access by road back in the day; now there are dirt tracks that connect to big towns. But the mud houses are the same. There's phone connection, but it doesn't work well. When I go back, I meet a lot of youngsters that ask me how they can live differently. They definitely seem motivated, but sadly their folks do not agree with such ambition. While the physical infrastructure in my village has improved, the mindset has not. I remain hopeful that the future generation will break the mold. What work are you doing now with communities in Nepal? While recovering from knee surgery, I have been providing guidance to men and women alike in running and encouraging them to pursue a career as professional athletes. Every so often, I visit schools and children's homes to share my knowledge about running, particularly training, diet, and more importantly, an active lifestyle. We have realized that Nepal has tremendous potential to develop competitive athletes, so we're organizing a series of trail races in Kathmandu. These are short races aimed for both beginners and experienced runners. I also organized a small race back in my hometown of Sano Dumma last October, to introduce the sport to the young crowd and get them interested in running. In the coming days, I plan to organize races that aim to identify and promote promising runners. Is there a personal challenge that you still want to achieve? I have always dreamed of running in the Ultra-Trail du Mont Blanc in France. It's a challenging race for elite runners from all over the world—166 kilometers! I would love to see where I stand in this race.

跑步帮助你看世界。 既然你去过香港、意大利和其他地方，回到你的村庄是什么感觉？ 我每年都会在大山节回来一次，这是一年中最大的节日， 那里的人们过着和我小时候看到的一样的生活。 我们过去有煤油灯，但现在有太阳能灯泡。 那个村子白天没有公路； 现在，有土路连接着大城镇。 但泥屋是一样的。 有电话连接，但不太好用。 当我回去的时候，我遇到了很多年轻人，他们问我如何才能过上不同的生活。 他们看起来确实很有动力， 但遗憾的是，他们的家人不同意这种野心。 虽然我村的物质基础设施有所改善，但心态却没有。 我仍然希望下一代能够打破这种模式。 你现在在尼泊尔的社区做什么工作？ 在从膝盖手术中恢复的同时， 我一直在为男女跑步提供指导 并鼓励他们追求职业运动员的职业生涯。 我偶尔会去学校和儿童之家分享我的跑步知识， 特别是训练、饮食，更重要的是积极的生活方式。 我们已经意识到，尼泊尔在培养有竞争力的运动员方面具有巨大的潜力， 所以我们正在加德满都组织一系列越野赛。 这些是针对初学者和经验丰富的跑步者的短距离比赛。 去年十月，我还在家乡佐野杜马组织了一场小型比赛， 向年轻人介绍这项运动，让他们对跑步感兴趣。 在接下来的几天里，我计划组织旨在识别和推广有前途的跑步者的比赛。 你还有想要实现的个人挑战吗？ 我一直梦想着在法国的勃朗峰超级步道上跑步。 对于来自世界各地的精英跑步者来说，这是一场具有挑战性的比赛——166公里！ 我很想看看我在这场比赛中的位置。

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