黑色閃電歐文斯

該文的句子結構、用詞非常嚴謹，句子長但層次清晰，結構富于變化。該文是學習寫作表達的佳作。

Jesse Owens was the son of a 1)sharecropper and the grandson of a slave. But he had the world’s attention at the 1936 Berlin Olympics， when he left Hitler’s Aryan 2)supremacy theories in the dust and collected four individual gold medals.

Owens was still at high school when he equaled the world record for the hundred 3)yard dash. At Ohio State University he became known as the “4)Buckeye Bullet” and won a record eight championships. However， as an African-American student， he was forced to live off-campus and America’s racial laws also forbade him to eat out with white teammates when the athletics team traveled around the United States. But the determined athlete could not be held back， and on May 25， 1935， he 5)astounded America by equaling the world record for the hundred yard dash and setting world records in the long jump， the 220 yard dash and the 220 yard low 6)hurdles. This set him up as a force to be 7)reckoned with at the 1936 Olympics.

Adolf Hitler planned to use the Berlin Olympics to 8)showcase the superiority of Germany’s Aryan people， but Owens’ extraordinary achievements 9)put paid to that， and by the end of the Games the Germans themselves were cheering him on.

After the Games， Owens returned to the States to follow up on some potential endorsement deals rather than competing in Sweden with the rest of the team. Sporting authorities 10)revoked his 11)amateur status ending his athletics career. But Owens was unrepentant， as he did not receive any sporting scholarships and needed to support his young family. Unfortunately， prejudice made it impossible for a black athlete to make a living from endorsements， so Owens turned to professional running， taking part in 12)stunts such as racing a horse in Cuba. He won by 20 yards. Owens later said， “People say that it was 13)degrading for an Olympic champion to run against a horse， but what was I supposed to do? I had four gold medals， but you can’t eat four gold medals.”

The great 14)sprinter struggled to get by when his running days were over， going into the dry cleaning business and even working as a gas station attendant. But in the late 1960’s he started to carve a name for himself as a good will ambassador， spreading the message that with determination anyone could achieve greatness. He participated in events such as the opening of the American Embassy in the 15)Ivory Coast in 1971， where the street was renamed in his honour. The mayor of 16)Abidjan said calling the street Rue Jesse Owens celebrated the athlete’s achievements and 17)commemorated his contribution to disproving Nazi racialist theory.

In 1976， US President Gerald Ford awarded him a Medal of Freedom， the nation’s highest civilian honour. Four years later， following Owen’s death， President Jimmy Carter paid tribute. “Perhaps no athlete better symbolized the human struggle against 18)tyranny， poverty and racial 19)bigotry，” Carter said. “His work with young athletes as an unofficial ambassador overseas and a spokesman for freedom are a rich legacy to his fellow Americans.”

杰西·歐文斯是佃農之子，奴隸之孫，但他在1936年的柏林奧運會上奪得四面個人金牌，把希特勒的雅利安人優越論拋在了身后，吸引了世人的目光。

歐文斯平了100碼短跑世界紀錄時，仍在念中學;而在念俄亥俄州立大學時，他被稱為“俄亥俄州子彈”，并破紀錄地贏了八項賽事。但身為非裔學生，他不能入住學生宿舍，美國的種族歧視法例禁止他在隨田徑隊到美國各地比賽時，與白人隊友一起外出用餐，但這位心意已決的運動員并未因此而退縮。1935年5月25日，他平了100碼短跑世界紀錄，刷新了跳遠、220碼短跑和220碼低欄項目的世界紀錄，震驚了美國。這些令他成為1936年奧運會上不可小覷的人物。

阿道夫·希特勒本打算利用柏林奧運會展示德國雅利安人的優越性，但歐文斯的超凡成就徹底推翻了這一套論調。比賽快結束時，就連德國人也替他打氣。

奧運會后，歐文斯沒有隨隊友到瑞典比賽，而是返回美國跟進洽談一些廣告合約。體育當局取消了其業余田徑選手的身份，終結其體育生涯。不過，歐文斯沒有后悔，因為他根本沒有得到任何體育獎學金，還要養活妻兒。可惜的是，偏見令黑人運動員無法依靠廣告維持生計。于是歐文斯轉向職業選手的路，還參加驚險特技表演，如在古巴與馬賽跑，他在比賽中跑贏了20碼。后來歐文斯說:“人們覺得奧運冠軍跟馬賽跑是有失身份的，但我該怎么做?我拿到了四面金牌，但總不能把四面金牌拿來吃吧。……