英语听力精选进阶版 13632

SEA Games begin with corruption¹ claims

The 26th South East Asian Games begin in the Indonesian city of Palembang today.

Preparations for the Games have seen many allegations of corruption.

Reporter

Karishma Vaswani

SEA Games torch relay in Jakarta 

The torch relay for the Games went through Jakarta

Report

On the surface the sporting venues² in Palembang look grand. But look a little closer, and you'll see that organisers are still trying to get things ready in time.

The roads are filled with dust, because of the unfinished work. Even the road signs need some fixing.

Allegations of graft³ have marred⁴ the Games from the start. Mohammad Nazaruddin, a senior politician from Indonesia's ruling party has been accused of taking bribes⁵ worth millions for awarding contracts to build the athletes' rooms. He's consistently denied the allegations but the scandal has cast an ugly shadow on the event.

Organisers admit the corruption scandal has impacted Palembang's ability to host a successful Games. But officials say this is the best they can do, and are optimistic Indonesia will deliver on time.

This is the first time Indonesia is hosting an event of this scale outside the capital city Jakarta. Hosting the games is a huge matter of pride for the local people in Palembang and for Indonesians around the archipelago.

But the event has been tainted⁶ by the all too familiar smear⁷ of Indonesian corruption.

Karishma Vaswani, BBC, Indonesia

1 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

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 graft   

n.移植，嫁接，艰苦工作，贪污；v.移植，嫁接

参考例句：

• I am having a skin graft on my arm soon.我马上就要接受手臂的皮肤移植手术。
• The minister became rich through graft.这位部长透过贪污受贿致富。

4 marred   

adj. 被损毁, 污损的

参考例句：

• The game was marred by the behaviour of drunken fans. 喝醉了的球迷行为不轨，把比赛给搅了。
• Bad diction marred the effectiveness of his speech. 措词不当影响了他演说的效果。

5 bribes   

n.贿赂( bribe的名词复数 )；向（某人）行贿，贿赂v.贿赂( bribe的第三人称单数 )；向（某人）行贿，贿赂

参考例句：

• It was alleged that he had taken bribes while in office. 他被指称在任时收受贿赂。
• corrupt officials accepting bribes 接受贿赂的贪官污吏

6 tainted   

adj.腐坏的；污染的；沾污的；感染的v.使变质( taint的过去式和过去分词 )；使污染；败坏；被污染，腐坏，败坏

参考例句：

• The administration was tainted with scandal. 丑闻使得政府声名狼藉。
• He was considered tainted by association with the corrupt regime. 他因与腐败政府有牵连而名誉受损。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 smear   

v.涂抹；诽谤，玷污；n.污点；诽谤，污蔑

参考例句：

• He has been spreading false stories in an attempt to smear us.他一直在散布谎言企图诽谤我们。
• There's a smear on your shirt.你衬衫上有个污点。