【美国人物志】杰西·欧文斯 (1/9)

英语自学网

杰西·欧文斯，原名詹姆斯·克利夫兰·欧文斯(James Cleveland Owens)是美国黑人田径明星，短跑运动员。1913年9月12日生于美国南方阿拉巴马州一个棉农之家，黑奴后裔家庭，1980年3月31日卒于亚利桑那州。现代奥运史上最伟大的运动员，被誉为“本世纪最佳田径运动员。”。
Hints:
Jesse Owens
Berlin
Germany
Adolf Hitler
Max Schmeling
Joe Louis

sub_536.gif

In the summer of 1936, people all over the world heard the name of Jesse Owens. That summer, Owens joined the best athletes from 50 nations to compete in the Olympic Games. They met in Berlin, Germany. There was special interest in the Olympic Games that year.
Adolf Hitler was the leader of Germany. Hitler and his Nazi party believed that white people, especially German people were the best race of people on Earth. They believed that other races of people, especially those with dark skin were almost less than human.
In the summer of 1936, Hitler wanted to prove his beliefs to the world. He wanted to show that German athletes could win every important competition. After all, only a few weeks before the Olympics, German boxer Max Schmeling had defeated the great American heavyweight Joe Louis, a black man.