Michael Phelps seems superhuman in the water. While winning eight medals at the Athens Olympic Games in 2004 is thought of as a “mission impossible” by many, he has now set the goal of gaining eight gold medals at the World Championships n Melbourne , Australia.
Phelps managed to break world records on every one of the first three days . “One down, one behind,” he said . “After tonight that race is no longer in my memory.”
“Iron Mike”, as he s called ,started swimming at a young age .At first ,he only swam backstroke because he didn’t like putting his face in the water. Now through, he said “the water is my home”.
Is there a secret to his success? Of course not. Phelps says that he just relies on mental force and physical power. According to him, the biggest thing is how mentally tough you can be . “I think that everything is possible as long as you put your mind to it and you put the work and time into it,” he said. “you can’t put a limit on anything . The more you dream ,the further you get.”
One uniquo thing about Phelps is that he likes to listen to rap music (especially songs by Eminem) to get himself prepared before races .When he was 11, he was so nervous that he nearly missed the start of a race . His coach had to shake him back to reality!
When people are as great at their sport as Phelps is ,everyone expects a lot . It is easy to forget that he is just an ordinary guy trying to grow up.
When he is back at home, he drives a second-hand Cadillac including game consoles and three TVs ! But it was this car that got him into trouble . At age of 19, he drove through a red light . The police stopped him and discovered that he had been drinking alcohol. In the US, the legal age for boys and girls to drink alcohol is 21.
Phelps could have been sent to prison for a year, Instead he had to pay a fine and teach school children about the dangers of drinking and driving . “I’m 19,but was taught that no matter how old you are , you take responsibility for actions ,which I will do,” he said.

迈克尔.菲尔普斯在水里面好像一个超人。而2004雅典奥林匹克运动会赢得八块奖牌被很多人认为是一个“不可能的任务”，他现在已经定了一个目标：要在澳大利亚墨尔本的世界锦标赛上获得八枚金牌。

菲耳普斯总是会在前三天的每一天里成功打破世界记录。“一个记录破了，接着是下一个，”他说，“今晚以后，这个比赛又不再我的记忆里了。


“铁人迈克”，他被这样叫着，很小的时候就开始了游泳。起初，他只游仰泳，因为他不喜欢把脸放进水里。现在，他说“水里就是我的家”。


他的成功有什么秘密吗？当然没有。菲耳普斯说他的成功依赖于顽强意志力和强健的体力。按他的说法，最重要的是你的意志力能有多坚强。“我认为只要你把你的心思放在里面，把工作和时间放在里面了，一切事情都是可能的，”他说，“你不要给事情设限制。你的梦想越多，得到的也越多。”

有关菲耳普斯的一件独特的事：他喜欢听温柔的音乐（尤其是Eminem演唱的音乐）来为他的比赛作准备。当他11岁的时候，在比赛时由于精神紧张，他几乎不能正常开始比赛。他的教练不得不摇他使他进入正常状态。


当人们和菲耳普斯一样都钟爱他们的运动项目时，每个人都期望的很多。把菲耳普斯看成一个成长中的普通的小伙子要更好一些。

当他回到家时，他开着一辆二手卡迪拉克，车里有游戏演奏台和三台电视！而就是这辆车给他带来了麻烦。在19岁的时候，他驾车闯了红灯。警察拦住他并且发现他饮酒了。在美国，男孩，女孩们合法饮酒的年龄是21岁。

根据法律，菲耳普斯只能被送到监狱里达一年，而他以交罚款并给学校里的孩子们讲驾驶和饮酒的危险性来代替入狱。“我19岁，受到教育知道，不管你多大年龄，你都应该对你的行为负责，我也会这样做，”他说。