第一名是冠军第二名是 [第二名”冠军]
时间：2020-02-23 07:16:31 来源：雅意学习网 本文已影响 人 
Paxton pushed his foot down hard on the gas pedal1) as he steered his go-kart2) out of turn six and onto the racetrack"s long straightaway3). Even with his crash helmet4) and earplugs, the roar of the engine was loud. Paxton loved the sound. At the speed he was going, spectators flashed by as fast as thoughts.
Nothing beats racing, Paxton said to himself.
Paxton hadn"t come from a "racing family", and he had no sponsors for his kart. But with the help of his uncle Bobby, who worked as a mechanic at the local repair shop, Paxton"s kart was fast enough to compete.
On the long straightaway, Paxton pulled alongside the race"s leader, Mark, who so far had stayed just out of Paxton"s reach.
Only five laps5) to go. Paxton glanced over. Mark had so many sponsors that his go-kart looked like a rolling billboard6). Mark turned, and for a moment his eyes met Paxton"s. Both boys wanted to win. No other karts were close to the two leaders.
Paxton returned his attention to the road and pressed harder on the gas, but his go-kart was already at top speed. Mark"s kart pulled away. Paxton had no choice but to fall behind7) him as they slowed to go into the next turn.
A moment later, the boys roared past the pits8).
Uncle Bobby gave Paxton a thumbs-up and held a sign that said "Go Get Him!" Paxton had never finished higher than fifth in a race. Still, he wasn"t going to be satisfied with second place today. The winner would get tickets to the pro championship race―presented9) by two-time champion L.J. Richards!
Mark pulled farther ahead of Paxton as they entered the S-curves10)―a series of quick right and left turns. Paxton"s kart fishtailed11) as he came out of the last short turn. He"d almost lost control. But Paxton wasn"t ready to give up. He concentrated as he made a long right-hand turn, then accelerated onto the straightaway, his foot pressed hard against the pedal. Still, the engine on Mark"s kart was too powerful, and Mark pulled away.
In the curves, Paxton would catch up, sometimes almost tapping the back end of Mark"s kart. But in the straightaways, he"d fall behind.
Meanwhile, the laps counted off: four to go, three to go, two to go, one to go.
On the last turn, Paxton drew directly behind Mark. As they rounded out of the turn and onto the final straightaway, Paxton floored12) it. He pulled beside Mark"s kart. Their engines screamed. Then, as it had so many times before, Mark"s kart pulled ahead.
The finish line was zooming13) toward them. Closer, closer ...
The race was over.
It was not Paxton who would hoist14) the winner"s trophy15). Paxton had come in second.
As Paxton pulled into the pits, his vision blurred16) with tears.
"Good race, Paxton," Uncle Bobby said, helping him climb out of the kart.
Paxton flipped up the visor17) on his helmet. "Thanks, but I didn"t win, Uncle Bobby." Nothing could alter the fact that he"d crossed the finish line looking at the back of Mark"s kart, not at a checkered flag18). Good race? He remembered what other drivers had sometimes said: "Second place is just first loser."
"Great work, kid," said a man"s voice.
Paxton turned. He couldn"t believe it. The man was L.J. Richards!
L.J. Richards reached out to shake Paxton"s hand.
"Thank you, Mr. Richards. But I only came in second." Paxton looked around, wondering if the great driver had mistaken him for Mark, who was now jumping up and down in celebration on pit row. Paxton pointed in Mark"s direction. "You"re probably looking for him, Mr. Richards."
"Oh, I"ll get there," L.J. Richards shrugged. "Every race has a winner, Paxton. But that"s not the only thing racing is about."
Paxton was surprised to hear such words from a two-time champion.
"Getting 100 percent out of your kart is the most important thing," L.J. Richards said. "And to do that, you have to get 100 percent out of yourself. That"s what it"s all about."
Paxton nodded.
L.J. Richards continued, "And today, you got 100 percent."
Paxton thought about this. Had he done the best he could do? After a moment, he smiled. "Yeah, I guess I did."
当帕克斯顿将卡丁车开出第六跑道、开上赛车场的长直道时，他狠狠地踩了一脚油门。尽管戴着防撞头盔和耳塞，但是发动机的隆隆声还是很响。帕克斯顿很享受这种声音。随着赛车快速前行，观众一晃而过，速度之快就像他此时的思绪一样。
什么事都比不上赛车，帕克斯顿对自己说。
帕克斯顿并非来自“赛车家族”，而且也没有人给他的卡丁车赞助。但是他叔叔博比是当地一家汽车修理店的机械师，在叔叔的帮助下，帕克斯顿的卡丁车车速已经快到可以参赛了。
在长直道上，帕克斯顿驱车靠近了这场比赛的领先选手马克，到目前为止，马克也就比帕克斯顿快一点点。
只剩下五圈了。帕克斯顿扫了一眼马克的卡丁车。马克的赞助商太多，搞得他的卡丁车看起来就像个移动的广告牌。马克扭过脸来，就在那一刻，他们四目相对，这两个男孩都想赢。其他赛车都被他们远远地甩在后面。
帕克斯顿将注意力转回到赛道上，然后更加用力地踩了下油门，但是他的卡丁车速度已经达到极限了。马克的卡丁车扬长而去。此时，他们刚好减速进入了下一个弯道。帕克斯顿别无选择，只好落在了马克后面。
片刻过后，赛车手们的车呼啸着开过了赛道旁的检修加油站。
博比叔叔朝帕克斯顿竖起了大拇指，还举了个牌子，上面写着“追上他！”帕克斯顿还从未在比赛中拿过第五名以上的成绩。今天，他仍然不会满足于第二名的位置，因为冠军将会得到职业车王争霸赛的门票，而且门票将由蝉联两届卡丁车比赛冠军的L.J. 理查兹颁发！
S形弯道是一系列急速的右转弯和左转弯，当他们进入S形弯道的时候，马克把帕克斯顿甩得更远了。帕克斯顿驶出最后的短弯道后，他的车左右摇晃，他几乎失去了控制，但是帕克斯顿并不打算就此放弃。他集中精力完成了一段很长的右转弯，然后用力踩着油门，加速进入了直道。但马克的卡丁车发动机动力十足，他再一次扬长而去。
在弯道上，帕克斯顿眼看着要追上马克了，有的时候，他几乎就要碰到马克的车尾了，但是一上直道，他就又被甩在了后面。
与此同时，圈道进入了倒计时：还剩四圈，还剩三圈，还剩二圈，还剩一圈。
就在最后一个弯道上，帕克斯顿紧跟在马克后面。当他们驶出弯道上了最后的直道时，帕克斯顿一脚将油门踩到了底。他追上了马克的卡丁车，他们的发动机发出刺耳的轰鸣声。接着，就像之前的好几次一样，马克的卡丁车又扬长而去了。
终点线迅速向他们靠近，近了，更近了……
比赛结束了。
举起冠军奖杯的人不是帕克斯顿，他只得了第二名。
当帕克斯顿把车开进检修加油站的时候，泪水模糊了他的视线。
“开得不错，帕克斯顿。”博比叔叔一边说，一边帮他从卡丁车里爬出来。
帕克斯顿掀起头盔上的面罩，说：“谢谢您，博比叔叔，但是我没有赢！”当帕克斯顿穿过终点线的时候，他看到的是马克卡丁车的车尾，而不是冠军能看到的方格旗，没有什么可以改变这一事实。开得不错？他记得有赛车手曾经说过：“第二名只是第一个失败者。”
“很棒啊，孩子。”传来一个男人的声音。
帕克斯顿转过身。他简直不敢相信，说话的这位男士竟然是L.J. 理查兹！
L.J. 理查兹伸出手，与帕克斯顿握手。
“谢谢您，理查兹先生。但是我只得了第二名。”帕克斯顿四下张望，怀疑这位优秀的赛车手是否把他误认成了马克，而马克此时正在检修加油站旁的赛道上蹿下跳地庆贺胜利呢。帕克斯顿朝马克的方向指去，说：“理查兹先生，您要找的或许是他。”
“哦，我会过去的，”L.J. 理查兹先生耸耸肩说，“帕克斯顿，每场赛车都有一个获胜者，但那并不是赛车的唯一目的。”
蝉联两届赛车冠军的这番话令帕克斯顿甚是吃惊。
“将你的卡丁车用到极致才是最重要的，”L.J. 理查兹说，“为了做到这点，你必须全力以赴，这才是赛车的真谛。”
帕克斯顿点点头。
L.J. 理查兹继续说：“而今天，你已经全力以赴了。”
帕克斯顿思考着这番话。他是否已经尽力做到了最好？想了一会儿，他笑了：“是的，我想我做到了。”
1. pedal [ˈpedl] n. (自行车、摩托车等下部用脚蹬的)踏板，脚蹬子
2. go-kart [ˈ�əʊ k�ːt] n. 卡丁车
3. straightaway [ˌstreɪtəˈweɪ] n. (跑道的)直道
4. crash helmet: (摩托车手等戴的)防撞头盔，安全帽
5. lap [læp] n. (跑道的)一圈
6. billboard [ˈbɪlbɔːd] n. (户外)告示牌，广告牌，招贴板
7. fall behind: 落在(……)后面
8. pit [pɪt] n. [常作the ~s] (赛车道旁的)检修加油站
9. present [prɪˈzent] vt. 授予
10. S-curve [ˈeskɜːv] n. S形曲线；S形弯道
11. fishtail [ˈfɪʃteɪl] vi. (车)摆尾行驶
12. floor [flɔː(r)] vt. 踩足(汽车的油门踏板)
13. zoom [zuːm] vi. 迅速接近
14. hoist [hɔɪst] vt. 举起
15. trophy [ˈtrəʊfi] n. (体育比赛等的)奖杯，奖盾；奖品
16. blur [blɜː(r)] vt. 使(视线、感觉、形状、界线等)模糊不清
17. visor [ˈvaɪzə(r)] n. (头盔上的)面甲；面罩，护面
18. checkered flag: (表示赛车获胜的)格子旗
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