英闻天下——151 2012 Review: London Olympics

 　　The London Olympics have come and gone, but they have left a positive legacy¹ and impact on the future of the Olympics. Chairman of the Organizing Committee of the 2012 Games, Lord Sebastian Coe, says it started with the delivery of great events.

 

　　"The first legacy of course is the delivery of a great Games, if you don't deliver a great games, it makes any discussion about legacy very difficult, so the best way to create sustainable legacy is to deliver a great games."

 

　　And indeed London didn't disappoint.

 

　　The games, of course, seeing Michael Phelps becoming the most decorated Olympian of all time, Usain Bolt becoming the first person to ever win the 100m twice. Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Brunei enter female athletes for the first time. Tennis star Andy Murray winning gold in his home country. China and the United States battling it out for number one in the medal count all provided moments for a spectacular event.

 

　　The President of the International Olympic Committee Jaques Rogge was happy saying London promised an athletes games and that is exactly what they gave. Adding that they had a splendid Olympic Village, state-of-the-art venues², 44 world records, 117 Olympic records.

 

　　However, the London Games weren't without controversy³ though. Whether it be surrounding the security and transportation before the Olympics began or the competition issues during the Games.

 

　　One of those cases involving three badminton teams, which were disqualified after the Badminton World Federation⁴ or BWF found them guilty of not using their best efforts and conducting oneself in a manner that was disgraceful to the sport.

 

　　After the disqualification, the President of the BWF Dr. Kang Young Joong said they would take appropriate action to avoid similar incidents in the future. Adding that they would assess the present rules and regulations, while looking to create increased awareness⁵ among players and their coaches about the ethical⁶ standards in the sport.

 

　　Unfortunately, this wasn't the only incident. Another story was the doping rumors⁷ surrounding Chinese swimmers. Most notably⁸ the 16-year-old Ye Shiwen, who took home two golds and set two records in the process.

 

　　The speculation⁹ coming from Ye's significant improvement over a two-year period in the 400m individual medley¹⁰ as she knocked three seconds off her best time to win the gold.

 

　　The controversy coming then when a few commentators¹¹ suggested she was not doing it naturally. However, The British Olympic Association stating at the time that Ye had passed all the drugs tests and that she deserved the recognition for her talent.

 

　　But despite these controversies¹², Lord Sebastian Coe says the Games have left a positive impact on the community, the athletes and in the lives of young people.

 

　　"For me the biggest legacy is the change that the games have brought to the lives of young people in sports participation¹³ and in the neighborhoods they live in whether it is young people with disability. The Paralympics have changed so many of those attitudes, but it is about changing the lives of young people."

 

　　So as we move forward towards Rio 2016, the hope there is to create another spectacular games, creating a lasting¹⁴ legacy that showcases Brazil and South America for the first time ever.

 

　　The Chair of the IOC Coordination¹⁵ Committee for Rio 2016, Nawal EL Moutawakel says Rio will be ready and that they will put on a show.

 

　　"Rio has the energy, Rio has the willingness, Rio has the determination to leave a great legacy for the city and for the country. You will see an entire transformation¹⁶ of Rio because of the Olympic Games. So many projects that are underway to make the city of Rio ready by 2016, so that it is one of the greatest games."

 

　　For CRI, I'm Nate Schlabach.

1 legacy   

n.遗产，遗赠；先人(或过去)留下的东西

参考例句：

• They are the most precious cultural legacy our forefathers left.它们是我们祖先留下来的最宝贵的文化遗产。
• He thinks the legacy is a gift from the Gods.他认为这笔遗产是天赐之物。

2 venues   

n.聚集地点( venue的名词复数 )；会场；（尤指）体育比赛场所；犯罪地点

参考例句：

• The band will be playing at 20 different venues on their UK tour. 这个乐队在英国巡回演出期间将在20个不同的地点演出。
• Farmers market corner, 800 meters long, 60 meters wide livestock trading venues. 农牧市场东北角，有长800米，宽60米的牲畜交易场地。 来自互联网

3 controversy   

n.争论，辩论，争吵

参考例句：

• That is a fact beyond controversy.那是一个无可争论的事实。
• We ran the risk of becoming the butt of every controversy.我们要冒使自己在所有的纷争中都成为众矢之的的风险。

4 federation   

n.同盟，联邦，联合，联盟，联合会

参考例句：

• It is a federation of 10 regional unions.它是由十个地方工会结合成的联合会。
• Mr.Putin was inaugurated as the President of the Russian Federation.普京正式就任俄罗斯联邦总统。

5 awareness   

n.意识，觉悟，懂事，明智

参考例句：

• There is a general awareness that smoking is harmful.人们普遍认识到吸烟有害健康。
• Environmental awareness has increased over the years.这些年来人们的环境意识增强了。

6 ethical   

adj.伦理的，道德的，合乎道德的

参考例句：

• It is necessary to get the youth to have a high ethical concept.必须使青年具有高度的道德观念。
• It was a debate which aroused fervent ethical arguments.那是一场引发强烈的伦理道德争论的辩论。

7 rumors   

n.传闻( rumor的名词复数 )；[古]名誉；咕哝；[古]喧嚷v.传闻( rumor的第三人称单数 )；[古]名誉；咕哝；[古]喧嚷

参考例句：

• Rumors have it that the school was burned down. 有谣言说学校给烧掉了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Rumors of a revolt were afloat. 叛变的谣言四起。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 notably   

adv.值得注意地，显著地，尤其地，特别地

参考例句：

• Many students were absent,notably the monitor.许多学生缺席，特别是连班长也没来。
• A notably short,silver-haired man,he plays basketball with his staff several times a week.他个子明显较为矮小，一头银发，每周都会和他的员工一起打几次篮球。

9 speculation   

n.思索，沉思；猜测；投机

参考例句：

• Her mind is occupied with speculation.她的头脑忙于思考。
• There is widespread speculation that he is going to resign.人们普遍推测他要辞职。

10 medley   

n.混合

参考例句：

• Today's sports meeting doesn't seem to include medley relay swimming.现在的运动会好象还没有混合接力泳这个比赛项目。
• China won the Men's 200 metres Individual Medley.中国赢得了男子200米个人混合泳比赛。

11 commentators   

n.评论员( commentator的名词复数 )；时事评论员；注释者；实况广播员

参考例句：

• Sports commentators repeat the same phrases ad nauseam. 体育解说员翻来覆去说着同样的词语，真叫人腻烦。
• Television sports commentators repeat the same phrases ad nauseam. 电视体育解说员说来说去就是那么几句话，令人厌烦。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 controversies   

争论

参考例句：

• We offer no comment on these controversies here. 对于这些争议，我们在这里不作任何评论。 来自英汉非文学 - 历史
• The controversies surrounding population growth are unlikely to subside soon. 围绕着人口增长问题的争论看来不会很快平息。 来自辞典例句

13 participation   

n.参与，参加，分享

参考例句：

• Some of the magic tricks called for audience participation.有些魔术要求有观众的参与。
• The scheme aims to encourage increased participation in sporting activities.这个方案旨在鼓励大众更多地参与体育活动。

14 lasting   

adj.永久的，永恒的；vbl.持续，维持

参考例句：

• The lasting war debased the value of the dollar.持久的战争使美元贬值。
• We hope for a lasting settlement of all these troubles.我们希望这些纠纷能获得永久的解决。

15 coordination   

n.协调，协作

参考例句：

• Gymnastics is a sport that requires a considerable level of coordination.体操是一项需要高协调性的运动。
• The perfect coordination of the dancers and singers added a rhythmic charm to the performance.舞蹈演员和歌手们配合得很好，使演出更具魅力。

16 transformation   

n.变化；改造；转变

参考例句：

• Going to college brought about a dramatic transformation in her outlook.上大学使她的观念发生了巨大的变化。
• He was struggling to make the transformation from single man to responsible husband.他正在努力使自己由单身汉变为可靠的丈夫。