EZCNN 易英网

The incredible story behind one of the most decorated Paralympians of all time  March 10, 2026

 

Good morning, good afternoon, good evening, wherever you are in this world. Go on and smell the flowers, cool the soup. Let's take 10 minutes to get caught up on our news.

 

I'm Coy Wire. This is CNN 10, where I simply tell you the what, letting you decide what to think.

 

We start today in Iran, where now we have a clearer picture of who will be leading the country following the death of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.

 

The Iranian government has announced that Khamenei's second son, Mujtaba Khamenei, will succeed his father as the country's new supreme leader. He'll take over a role his father held for nearly four decades before being killed in U.S.-Israeli airstrikes last month.

 

It's a move that U.S. President Donald Trump has previously indicated would be, quote, unacceptable, and Israel has pledged to target any successor.

 

Our Isabel Young has more on the implications this pick could have within Iran and throughout the region.

 

implication [ˌɪmplɪˈkеʃǝn] n. 含意；言外之意；暗示

 

Mujtaba Khamenei is Iran's declared new head of state, the spiritual leader for a brutal regime his father came to embody before he was slain by Israel and the U.S. in joint strikes.

 

slay [slе] v.【书】杀死，杀害 (slain = pt of slay)

 

Alongside his father, Mujtaba's mother and wife were also killed in U.S.-Israeli airstrikes.

 

The signal regime is sending is continuation. We're still holding together. It's more of the same.

 

continuation [kǝnˌtɪnjʊˈеʃǝn] n. (间断后的）再开始；继续不断；延续

 

And in fact, we're going to become even more hardliners than we were before. All the military pressure that the country is under is not going to get us to shift position.

 

Born in Mashhad in 1969, Mujtaba Khamenei served in the Iran-Iraq war and studied in the holy city of Qom.

 

Mujtaba Khamenei has strong links with the security establishment, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, as well as the besieged paramilitary force, relationships he's likely to foster if he wishes to rule in the same vein as his father.

 

establishment [ɪsˈtæblɪʃmǝnt] n. 权势集团

besieged [bɪˈsidʒd] adj. 拥在…周围的

 

But the junior Khamenei could struggle for legitimacy, even among supporters of the regime. He's not a well-known cleric and has not held government office.

 

cleric [ˈklɛrɪk] n. 教會聖職人員

 

And a father-to-son succession may not be palatable to the supporters of a revolution that overthrew a monarchy.

 

palatable [ˈpælǝtǝbḷ] adj. 使人愉快的

 

To Scotland now, where a huge fire engulfed an historic building near Glasgow Central Station. Fortunately, no casualties have been reported at the time of this taping, but the fire destroyed several places of business and caused major travel disruptions.

 

More than 60 firefighters fought the blaze, which started in a vape shop on Sunday, according to the BBC.

 

vape shop 电子烟专卖店

 

People were told to stay clear of the area and to keep all windows closed. Opening in 1879, Glasgow Central has become Scotland's busiest station, and all train services were expected to be canceled until at least the end of Monday.

 

Pop quiz hotshot. What year were the first Paralympic Games held?

 

1950, 1960, 1970, or 1980?

 

Gold medal with you said 1960. The first Paralympic Games took place during the summer of 1960 in Rome, Italy, featuring 400 athletes from 23 countries.

 

The first winter Paralympic Games took place in 1976 in Sweden.

 

Now to a story about inspiration and motivation from the world of sports. At the 2026 Paralympic Games in Italy, Team USA's Oksana Masters has done it again, and by it, I mean gold, winning the women's sitting sprint para-biathlon.

 

sprint [sprɪnt] n. 短距离赛跑

biathlon [baɪˈæθlǝn] n. 冬季两项（即滑雪射击，冬奥委会项目之一）

 

Oksana now has 20 Paralympic medals overall, 10 of them gold. The eight-time Paralympian has become legendary in both the winter and summer games.

 

She was born in Ukraine, with her hands, feet, and legs not properly formed due to radiation poisoning from the Chernobyl nuclear reactor incident.

 

Abandoned by her parents, she spent seven years in an orphanage, where she would have to sneak out to find food because of the neglect and abuse she faced.

 

She was adopted by an American professor, Ms. Gay Masters, moved to the U.S., and over the course of seven years would have both of her legs amputated.

 

amputate [ˈæmpjǝˌtеt] v.【医】切断；锯掉；截（肢）

 

But nothing stopped her from dreaming big, not even a surgery, a bone infection, and a concussion leading into these Paralympic Games in Italy.

 

concussion [kǝnˈkʌʃǝn] n.【医】脑震荡

 

At 36 years old, Oksana is the most decorated American Paralympian of all time. I had the chance to catch up with her to hear her incredible story and find out what motivates her to reach new heights.

 

decorated [ˈdɛkǝˌrеtɪd] adj. 得过勋章的、授勋的

 

Oh, my gosh.

 

It was amazing to be able to bring home the first gold. I didn't think I was going to bring home any gold. So for it to be the first one for Team USA was just, it just feels, doesn't even feel real.

 

It's funny to hear you say, I didn't think I was going to win any medals at these games. In the lead up, you had to battle surgery, a bone infection, a concussion.

 

in the lead up 在...的准备期间

 

Do you ever just say to yourself, why me?

 

Um, I think the human in me, definitely, there's moments of it, but I don't live in like the why me, I think it's just more, like, especially as, you know, sometimes you're just dealt with a certain card deck of cards, and you just got to play them how they are.

 

deck of cards 一副扑克牌

 

And I think, not why me, but I think just another opportunity to show and learn something about myself, how strong I am, how resilient humans are, and just power through.

 

power through 保持顽强坚定直到最后

 

Yeah. And I know you've talked a lot about this in your book, and I can't wait to have people get into that.

 

But when you talk about your upbringing, how tough your childhood was, all that you've been through, what is one story you can share with us? How did that tough time end up shaping you into the strong woman that you are today?

 

upbringing [ˈʌpˌbrɪŋɪŋ] n. 养育；教养，培养

 

You know, I was told when I was having my legs amputated, I would never walk again, I'll never be an athlete and didn't know any of this was possible for me.

 

And I think for those little kids and people that are watching, if someone's telling you no, don't be afraid to be that first one for the next person to see what's truly possible. And if you're doing it alone, do it the best you can.

 

And just you know, you're going to create an opportunity for someone in the future.

 

As superhuman and all these superpowers you seem to have. Do you ever have that invader of the mind creep in and try to tell you just give up, you're tired, you're injured, you've already accomplished so much.

 

superhuman [ˌsupɚˈhjumǝn] adj. 超人的，超乎常人的，非凡的

 

Do you ever do you ever feel that?

 

Yeah, I feel that. And honestly, I felt that every single three weeks leading to the games. And and it happened on my most recent race yesterday where I got fourth place and it didn't end up going my way up for me.

 

I am an athlete and a person that believes in finishing what I start whether it puts you on top of the podium or puts you dead last or DNF. I want to finish what I can if I have the ability to do so. And I think you know, yeah, it's easy to lean into that voice.

 

dead last 最后一名、垫底或倒数第一

DNF: Did not finish

 

But I would have so much regret if I did and me pushing through and ignoring just to let that thought go in and one ear, not the other like I see you not today. Thank you. And just listening to the voice of my family, my community and my team that showed up for me to help me be where I am right now.

 

A digital basketball courtis making big waves at the big 12 men's and women's conference tournaments in Kansas City. It's like a transformer. You can swap out team logos, the advertisements, some seem to love it, some not so much.

 

conference tournament 联盟锦标赛; 分区锦标赛

 

The court is built from a layered system, individual panels made of tempered safety glass and ceramic dots for grip on the top, then LED panels which can be changed at the touch of an iPad. And finally, metal springs beneath it all to add elasticity to the floor's substructure.

 

tempered safety glass 强化安全玻璃

tempered [ˈtɛmpɚd] adj.【冶】回火的；经过锻炼的

ceramic dots 陶瓷点; 陶瓷颗粒

elasticity [ɪˌlæsˈtɪsǝtɪ] n. 弹性；弹力

 

This is the first time this technology has been used for official collegiate games in the US.

 

collegiate [kǝˈlidʒɪɪt] adj. 大学的

 

Today's story getting a 10 out of 10, you. As we do on the 10th of every month, we're going to highlight some of our viewers' top moments of the year so far. Let's start in Owensboro, Kentucky, with a team giving us something to cheer about.

 

The Burns Middle School Cheerleaders just made school history, winning a national championship at UCA Nationals in Orlando in the junior high game day non-tumbling division with teamwork, determination and a 3.73 team GPA. They are proving they've got the spirit and the smarts. Way to stick the landing.

 

tumbling [ˈtʌmblɪŋ] n. 翻跟头；翻滚

 

Next up, we're headed to Illinois where one team finished their season with a bang. The Effingham Mustangs fifth grade girls basketball team galloping past the competition, wrapping up their season with a dub, giving Mrs. Bowman's class at Central Grade School plenty to celebrate.

 

gallop [ˈɡælǝp] v.（马等）疾驰，飞跑

dub [dʌb] n. 非正式的俚语，意思就是「胜利」（Win）

 

Let's head over now to Kansas where one Roman Peterson, a student from Miss Ferguson's class at Quail Run Elementary in Lawrence, Kansas, got the chance to fly a plane on January 10th.

 

Pretty fitting for one of our CNN 10 family members. Roman says he hopes to become a pilot or maybe a football player someday and after getting behind the controls looks like he is already soaring towards his goals.

 

In more aviation celebration, Jack Crosby of Lakewood Ranch High School in Bradenton, Florida just earned acceptance into the United States Air Force Academy.

 

His sibling who goes to Dr. Mona Jane Middle School wrote in to share the news because for the family, getting into the academy is a huge honor. And after all the hard work and dedication, Jack's future is reaching new heights.

 

Lots of big dreams and big inspiration from our friends all across the country.

 

If you have a moment worth celebrating, remember to keep sharing it with us and it might show up in a future episode.

 

All right, tomorrow is Your Word Wednesday, so submit those vocabulary words to our latest post on Instagram, @CNN10 or @CoyWire and we will choose a winner to work into tomorrow's show. Bring it.

 

Have an awesome day, everyone. I'm Coy Wire and we are CNN10.