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Visita Mikael Books en Facebook para ver más contenido de libros en inglés.

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Unit 17, page 293, exercise 6, listening.

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Thanks for tuning in to Sports Talk, all you listeners out there.

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I'm Mary Mobley, and today we're talking with Lillian Swanson, champion swimmer,

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whose team, Jamaica, just won the world championship.

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Lillian will be participating in the upcoming Olympics as part of the Jamaican national team.

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Lillian, thanks so much for being here with us.

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Thanks for having me, Mary.

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There are a million questions I could ask, Lillian, but I'll start with this one.

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From all appearances, you've had a charmed athletic career.

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To what do you attribute your success?

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Well, Mary, whenever I've been asked that question,

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I've always...

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I've always answered it in the same way.

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It was because my parents loved and supported me.

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Okay. Tell us more. How did it all happen?

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It started when I was a girl in Jamaica.

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I learned to swim when I was four.

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I swam in the Caribbean, and swimming wasn't such a big deal.

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It's the most natural thing in the world in Jamaica.

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I think I became a good swimmer

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because I was a good swimmer.

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Because I had to swim in the Caribbean,

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which is a lot more difficult to swim in than a pool.

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Who taught you to swim?

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My parents.

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My family and I spent a lot of time at the beach

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since we didn't have many toys or video games or things like that.

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What did you mean when you said that your parents supported you?

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Well, when I was 12,

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I decided I wanted to become a champion swimmer and go to the Olympics someday.

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My parents said they'd pay for lessons and training

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if I would stick to my plan and practice regularly.

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So I did.

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That's why I'm grateful to my parents.

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After I started swimming seriously,

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I became a better person in so many ways.

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In what ways?

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Can you say a bit more about that?

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Sure.

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Even though everyone knows

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that there are a lot of physical benefits to sports,

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fewer people know

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that they also have psychological benefits. Sports can help kids build their character and become

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disciplined. Swimming helped me to develop these qualities. Whenever kids play sports, they achieve

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more, connect with other people, and improve their self-esteem. They learn to care about others.

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They're able to do all these things because they have to play on a team, listen to the coach,

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learn how to deal with both winning and losing, and especially train a lot.

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Okay, very well said, Lillian. Now, 12 is pretty young to make a decision like the one you made.

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Didn't you ever get tired of practicing all the time? And didn't you ever get discouraged?

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Sure, I got tired of practicing lots of times. And yes, I got discouraged whenever I had a hard

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time learning a new stroke.

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Any regrets?

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None at all. Because swimming is a total passion for me. I can't imagine myself doing anything else,

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but I owe it all to my parents.

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Well, Lillian, thanks very much for talking with us. And good luck in the Olympics.

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Thanks. My pleasure.