EZCNN 易英网

Why this Olympian says his banned helmet is bigger than sports  February 12, 2026

 

Hey everybody, I'm Meena Duerson, back in the chair for Coy Wire, and I'm excited to be with you for another fresh edition of CNN 10. It is Thursday, February 12th, and we have some really important stories to tell you about today. So let's do it!

 

We begin in Italy,where a helmet is turning heads and making headlines at the Winter Olympics.

 

turn heads 引起关注；变得为人所知

 

It belongs to Ukrainian flag bearer Vladislav Hruskevich, who is competing in Skeleton, an event similar to Luge, where racers hurtle down an icy track head first.

 

skeleton [ˈskɛlǝtṇ] n. 俯式冰橇; 空架雪车

luge [luʒ] n. 竞赛用的仰卧滑行小雪橇

hurtle [ˈhɝtḷ] v. 猛冲；飞驰

 

The helmet in question features portraits of Hruskevich's fellow Ukrainian Olympians, who were killed during Russia's war in Ukraine. But he says he's now been barred from wearing it by the International Olympic Committee.

 

portrait [ˈportrеt] n. 肖像，画像

bar [bɑr] v. 禁止; 阻拦

 

Check this out. Why did this helmet get banned by Olympic officials? A Ukrainian athlete says it's because of the people who are pictured on it. Skeleton racer Vladislav Hruskevich wants to keep the world's focus on the war in Ukraine.

 

His helmet is decorated with portraits of fellow athletes who were killed in the war.

 

I feel that I fulfill someone's dreams and yeah, these people didn't deserve to die so young.

 

Hruskevich says he was prevented from wearing the helmet by the International Olympics Committee.

 

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky praised Hruskevich on X for, quote, reminding the world of the price of our struggle.

 

Somethings that are more important than the sport. And it's no medal that worth the same as life of people. And we lost many of them. And, yeah, I believe that it's important to show that also.

 

Ukraine's National Olympic Committee says they appealed the International Olympic Committee's decision earlier this week.

 

appeal [ǝˈpil] v. 呼吁，恳求

 

The IOC, for their part, says the helmet was banned for violating their guidelines on athletes making, quote, political statements. They've instead encouraged Hruskevich to wear a black armband during competition to commemorate his teammates.

 

armband [ˈɑrmˌbænd] n. 臂章，袖章

 

What we've tried to do is to address his desires with compassion and understanding. He has expressed himself on social media and in the training. And as you know, we will not stop him expressing himself in press conferences in the in the as he leaves competition in the mix zone and elsewhere.

 

And we feel that this is a good compromise in the situation.

 

But a defiant Hruskevich has told CNN that he doesn't think that's enough and he plans to wear the helmet anyway.

 

Yes, I wear this helmet two days ago, yesterday, today.

 

I will wear it tomorrow and I will wear it for the race day. These people sacrifice their lives. And because of that, I'm able to be here today.

 

I'm able to be at the Olympics and I will not betray them.

 

So what do you think? Should Olympic athletes be allowed to make statements like this? Is the IOC right to try and keep things fair for all participants? How would you handle this situation if it was up to you?

 

Teachers, feel free to pause and take a moment to discuss amongst yourselves.

 

Now to some more breaking news,literally, elsewhere at the Olympics.

 

As some gold medal winners celebrate with their hard-earned bling, they're getting an unwelcome surprise. Their medals are falling off their ribbons. Our Samantha Lindell has a look at how the awkward moments are taking center stage at this year's Games.

 

bling [blɪŋ] n. 绚丽的行头

 

So there's the medal and there's the ribbon. Here's the little piece that is supposed to go in the ribbon to hold it in the medal. And yeah, it came apart.

 

Some Olympians are celebrating their wins with broken medals. I broke it. After winning Team USA's first gold medal of the Games in downhill skiing, Breezy Johnson showcased her medal, which had separated from its ribbon.

 

Do not jump in there. It broke. Meanwhile, Germany's ski team were jumping in celebration when one member's medal slipped off its ribbon.

 

And figure skater Alyssa Liu said her gold medal doesn't even need a ribbon. These medals are the most expensive in Olympic history, thanks to the price of gold and silver skyrocketing. Chief Games Operations Officer Andrea Franchichi says they're looking into the problem.

 

We are aware of the situation. We have seen the images. Obviously, we are trying to understand in detail if there is a problem.

 

But obviously, we are paying the utmost attention to this matter, since the medal is the dream of the athletes. So we want everything to be absolutely perfect at the time of delivery, because we really consider it the most important moment.

 

utmost [ˈʌtˌmost] adj. 最大的；最远的；极度的

 

Time for 10-second trivia.

 

Manatees are most closely related to which animal?

 

manatee [ˌmænǝˈti] n.【动】海牛

 

Is it walruses, elephants, hippos, or whales?

 

walrus [ˈwɑlrǝs] n.【动】海象

 

If you said elephants, you are manatee-rific. Both animals share a common ancestor, and despite their different habitats, they have a lot in common.

 

Manatee's snouts are actuallyshortened versions of elephant trunks, and they even have elephant-like toenails on their flippers.

 

toenail [ˈtoˌnеl] n. 脚趾甲

 

Speaking of manatees, one of these gentle giants is getting a second chance thanks to an amazing rescue in Florida after he became stuck in a storm drain. City workers stumbled upon the stranded sea cow while working on a baffle box, which prevents trash and debris from flowing back out into a nearby lagoon.

 

baffle box 沉砂箱; 拦污箱

 

Following a round-the-clock rescue effort, the 400-pound marine mammal was finally freed and taken to nearby SeaWorld to recover.

 

That was really, really awesome that someone was able to spot him, because if he was not being able to be found, he would not have a fortunate outcome like right now.

 

It's unclear exactly how the manatee ended up stuck in the drain, but officials think he may have been seeking out warmer water. Manatees require warm water to survive, and they'll often migrate to many of Florida's natural springs to wait out the winter.

 

Meanwhile, this lucky manatee is nowon the mend, and he's enjoying a lettuce buffet while SeaWorld staffers work hard to get him ready for release.

 

on the mend 在转好, 在修补

 

Once we can get his blood analyzed and we can get a treatment implant, then I'm hopeful for his recovery.

 

implant [ˈɪmplænt] n. 移植物

 

China's AI competition is bubbling over, and this time it comes with tapioca pearls.

 

bubble over 无比激动; to be very excited and enthusiastic

tapioca [ˌtæpɪˈokǝ]n. 树薯粉，木薯淀粉

tapioca pearl 木薯粉圆; 又称波霸或珍珠

 

CNN's Mike Valerio takes us to Beijing, where a free bubble tea promotion brewed up massive chaos for delivery drivers.

 

Okay, what does it look like in some of these videos? China is having a national boba emergency. Tons of delivery drivers absolutely packing these stores.

 

We'll call it China's AI bubble tea. One of China's biggest tech companies, Alibaba, gave out millions of vouchers for free boba, all to get people to download its AI chatbot, Quen. You ask it to find bubble tea.

 

It suggests options. You choose how much sugar you want, put in your address, and then done. The result? In just nine hours, people placed more than 10 million free drink orders, the company said.

 

Some bubble tea shops were out of cups, other stores had to shut down for the day, and the app temporarily crashed. But Quen shot to number one on app stores in China, beating offerings from Alibaba rivals like Tencent, ByteDance, and Baidu.

 

All these Chinese tech giants are pouring billions of dollars into AI labs, a key part of Beijing's push to challenge Silicon Valley's early lead as U.S.-China tensions continue to simmer.

 

But in the increasingly heated domestic AI race, especially during the Lunar New Year holiday, when companies duke it out for attention and market share, Chinese tech firms are now enticing users, not just with better benchmarks, but also with tastier freebies, one bubble tea at a time.

 

duke it out 一决高下; 一决胜负

benchmark [ˈbɛntʃˌmɑrk] n. 水平点；基准

freebie [ˈfribi] n. 免费物（如戏院赠票）

 

Today's story, getting a 10 out of 10, is ready for takeoff. At 88 years old, Frances Dahlke has reached plenty of milestones, but she'd never stepped foot on an airplane until now.

 

Nice as well. I'll fly when Alex gets his pilot license. That was her one condition.

 

If she was going to take to the skies, her grandson Alex had to be the one flying the plane. And after years of hard work, the moment finally arrived.

 

As an airline employee, you do get these flight benefits.

 

I was able to throw her name on the list and then put her on the standby list.

 

Frances and her family boarded the flight from Wisconsin's La Crosse Regional Airport to Chicago with her grandson in the cockpit, making sure the trip was one to remember.

 

It's very, very nice. I felt like a spoiled celebrity. I had the first seat in the first class.

 

spoil [spɔɪl] v. 宠坏，溺爱

 

A full circle moment years in the making, and a memory this family will hold on to long after the flight touchdown.

 

full circle 圆满、回到原点

 

All right, superstars, I've got time for two shout outs today. The first one is going to Miss Barone at Marley Middle School in Glen Burnie, Maryland. Thank you for subscribing to our YouTube channel.

 

And this next one is going all the way to Africa. Mr. Kingfisher at Lusaka International Community School in Lusaka, Zambia. Wow.

 

Thanks for watching. I hope you guys have an awesome day. It's almost Friday.

 

We'll see you right back here tomorrow. I'm Meena Duerson and this is CNN 10.