英语听力精选进阶版 14115

Britain's Olympic legacy¹

Summary

21 December 2012

The body which funds elite² sport in Britain has announced an increase of 11% across Olympic and Paralympic sports. But some sports which underperformed in London 2012 have been given less money. 

Reporter:

Alex Capstick

Report

Britain finished third in the gold medal table at the London Olympics. The target is for the country to become the first host nation to improve on its tally³ at the following Games. And so UK Sport, which divides up the cash available to individual sports, has increased its funding to five hundred and sixty two million dollars, a rise of eleven per cent. But those sports which underperformed in 2012 have seen their allowance go down. Liz Nichol is the Chief Executive of UK Sport: 

"We're very confident that the system can be even better in Rio. We're very confident there is more medal-winning potential to come. And so we're setting out with a very ambitious goal, we want to be the first nation in recent history to be more successful in both the Olympics and the Paralympics post hosting." 

In this century Australia, Greece and even China failed to match their medal count in the years after they staged the summer Olympics. Britain has a no-compromise approach to investment. It means the likes of cycling, rowing and boxing, which delivered in London, get a financial windfall. But the amount set aside for swimming, which failed to meet expectations, has been slashed⁴ by six and a half million dollars. And there are four sports - basketball, handball, wrestling and table tennis - which will receive no money at all. Meanwhile, Paralympic sports were given a huge boost; their pot of cash has been swollen⁵ by 43%.

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 elite   

n.精英阶层；实力集团；adj.杰出的，卓越的

参考例句：

• The power elite inside the government is controlling foreign policy.政府内部的一群握有实权的精英控制着对外政策。
• We have a political elite in this country.我们国家有一群政治精英。

3 tally   

n.计数器，记分，一致，测量；vt.计算，记录，使一致；vi.计算，记分，一致

参考例句：

• Don't forget to keep a careful tally of what you spend.别忘了仔细记下你的开支账目。
• The facts mentioned in the report tally to every detail.报告中所提到的事实都丝毫不差。

4 slashed   

v.挥砍( slash的过去式和过去分词 )；鞭打；割破；削减

参考例句：

• Someone had slashed the tyres on my car. 有人把我的汽车轮胎割破了。
• He slashed the bark off the tree with his knife. 他用刀把树皮从树上砍下。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 swollen   

adj.肿大的，水涨的；v.使变大，肿胀

参考例句：

• Her legs had got swollen from standing up all day.因为整天站着，她的双腿已经肿了。
• A mosquito had bitten her and her arm had swollen up.蚊子叮了她，她的手臂肿起来了。