新西兰英语 357 World Rowing Championships

　　The World Rowing Championships started today at Lake Karapiro on the Waikato River. This is the first time in 32 years that New Zealand has held this event. 50 countries have sent teams to compete during the eight days of the championships. There are more than 800 athletes. New Zealand has 55 athletes competing in various races. New Zealand is one of the strong rowing countries and will be hoping for some gold medals.
We will hear some vocabulary which is new for some of us: rowers use two oars² – one in each hand – in the sculls, for example the double sculls, but one oar¹ each in the pairs. There are races for single scull, double scull, pairs, quads³ (4) and eights. Some of these have a cox (short for coxswain) in the boat to steer⁴ while other races are coxless.
Lake Karapiro is 35km south-east of Hamilton. It is a beautiful lake which was formed behind a dam when a hydro-electric power station was built in 1940. It is on the Waikato River which starts at Lake Taupo.
This is a very expensive event for New Zealand to host. The organisers had to build a new tower at the finish line and a large stand for the spectators⁵ on the banks of the lake. Countries pay the airfares of their own athletes but New Zealand pays for the food, accommodation⁶ and travel each day for all teams. The cost of hosting the championships will probably be $16m but ticket sales and sponsorship⁷ may be enough to cover these costs.
Questions
Why does New Zealand want to host the rowing championships? What advantages are there for the team? Are there any advantages for the country?

1 oar   

n.桨，橹，划手；v.划行

参考例句：

• The sailors oar slowly across the river.水手们慢慢地划过河去。
• The blade of the oar was bitten off by a shark.浆叶被一条鲨鱼咬掉了。

2 oars   

n.桨，橹( oar的名词复数 )；划手v.划（行）( oar的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• He pulled as hard as he could on the oars. 他拼命地划桨。
• The sailors are bending to the oars. 水手们在拼命地划桨。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 quads   

n.四倍( quad的名词复数 )；空铅；（大学的）四周有建筑物围绕的方院；四胞胎之一

参考例句：

• For best performance, use triangles and quads or a combination of both. 为了更好的性能，使用三边形和四边形或联合使用三边形与四边形。 来自互联网
• Because the quads follow the camera, they give the illusion of filling a 3D volume. 由于这些矩形是跟随摄像机的，所以利用它们就像幻觉一样就描绘出了3D体积效果。 来自互联网

4 steer   

vt.驾驶，为…操舵；引导；vi.驾驶

参考例句：

• If you push the car, I'll steer it.如果你来推车，我就来驾车。
• It's no use trying to steer the boy into a course of action that suits you.想说服这孩子按你的方式行事是徒劳的。

5 spectators   

n.观众，旁观者( spectator的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The spectators were wilting visibly in the hot sun. 看得出观众在炎热的阳光下快支撑不住了。
• The policemen asked the spectators to stand well back. 警察要求旁观者靠后站。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 accommodation   

n.设备，膳宿，旅馆房间；容纳，提供，适应；调解，妥协；贷款

参考例句：

• Many old people choose to live in sheltered accommodation.许多老年人选择到养老院居住。
• Have you found accommodation?找到住处没有？

7 sponsorship   

n.赞助；发起；倡议；保证人

参考例句：

• Sport is being debased by commercial sponsorship. 体育运动因受商业赞助而降低了声誉。
• Any sponsorship deal would be scuppered if Jones misses the Olympics. 如果琼斯不能参加奧运会，赞助商的所有赞助协议都会化成泡影。 来自《简明英汉词典》