VOA慢速英语2010年-EXPLORATIONS - Winter Olympics Open Fr

BOB DOUGHTY¹:

I'm Bob Doughty.

FAITH LAPIDUS:

And I'm Faith Lapidus with EXPLORATIONS in VOA Special English. Today we tell about the Winter Olympic Games that open February twelfth in Vancouver, Canada.

About five thousand men and women from more than eighty countries will compete for seventeen days at the Vancouver Olympics. They will compete in more than eighty separate medal events in fifteen sports. The games are about sportsmanship², hard work, and national pride. The athletes share a common goal -- to do their best and win a gold medal.

(MUSIC)

BOB DOUGHTY:

This will be the twenty-first Winter Olympic Games. The last Winter Games were held in two thousand six in Turin, Italy. The next Winter Olympics will be in Sochi, Russia, in four years. But this month, millions of people around the world will turn their attention to the games taking place in Vancouver, British Columbia.

The city is on the western coast of Canada. It is known for its many bike and hiking paths, forests, lakes and beautiful mountain views. Vancouver is also a busy city with interesting cultural events, shops, restaurants and galleries. Many people spend their vacations visiting the city. For years, Vancouver has been rated one of the most livable places in the world. And, it has been rated one of the most environmentally friendly cities in the world.

FAITH LAPIDUS:

The Olympics events will be held at several places in and around Vancouver. Event organizers have worked hard to ensure that the games will not pollute the environment. For example, people are urged to ride bicycles to the Olympic events. There are no places to park cars near the events. But all areas will have spaces to lock up bicycles.

In addition, many Olympic buildings were made from reused materials. Organizers made efforts to avoid cutting down old-growth trees. They also made careful decisions about how each building will be used after the Olympic Games. The event Web site describes every Olympic building and competition area and the environmental decisions that were made about its design.

BOB DOUGHTY:

Event organizers have had seven years and several billion dollars to plan for these Winter Games. But one thing outside of their control has been the weather. Warmer than average temperatures and lack of snow have been major concerns in the weeks leading up to the games.

The lack of snow will not be a problem for events being held at the ski area in the city of Whistler. However, the area called Cypress³ Mountain has been a problem.

Organizers have had to make huge efforts to guarantee the area is ready for six skiing and snowboarding events. For months, machines there have been producing and storing snow. Huge truckloads of snow have also been brought down from higher areas of the mountain.

The snow has been placed onto large forms made out of straw. These straw foundations⁴ have helped reduce the amount of snow needed. Organizers in Vancouver say the athletes will notice very little difference between a natural ski slope and the one that has been built for the games.

FAITH LAPIDUS:

Speaking of warm weather, some of the countries sending athletes to the Winter Games might surprise you. A few of these athletes live in countries that rarely if ever see snow. For example, the popular bobsleigh team from the island of Jamaica did not qualify⁵ for the Olympics four years ago. But a team will be back to compete this year.

Philip Boit of Kenya began his athletic⁶ career as a runner. He decided⁷ to try a new sport in the nineteen nineties. The Nike athletic shoe company gave financial support to turn Kenyan runners into skiers. In nineteen ninety-eight, he became the first athlete from Kenya to compete in the Winter Games. He will return this year to compete in his fourth and final Olympics.

BOB DOUGHTY:

China will be sending its largest Winter Olympics team ever to the games. It will include ninety-one athletes, compared to seventy-six athletes four years ago. An official from the Chinese Olympic team says the country is much weaker in winter sports. But it still expects to match its results from the last Winter Games. He says China is working to narrow the difference between its strength during the Olympic Summer and Winter Games.

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FAITH LAPIDUS:

Winter Olympic sports include different forms of skiing, such as cross-country, Alpine⁸, Nordic combined, free-style, and ski jumping. Snowboarding became an Olympic sport in nineteen ninety-eight. The athlete's feet are attached to a board that moves quickly on the snow. The sport combines the skills of surfing, skateboarding and skiing.

There are also three different sledding sports. These are bobsleigh, skeleton⁹ and luge. A bobsleigh is like a little car with a rounded nose made of fiberglass. But instead of wheels, it sits on steel runners that race along the ice. Runners push the bobsleigh for a distance of about fifty meters.

Then they jump onto the bobsleigh and continue racing¹⁰ down the track. Men compete in teams of two and four, while women only compete in teams of two.

BOB DOUGHTY:

A skeleton is a flat kind of sled. An athlete lies on top of it with his or her face down. Luge comes from the French word for sled. In luge racing, the athlete lies on top of the sled facing upwards¹¹.

Improvements¹² in technology have greatly changed the equipment for these and other Winter Olympic sports. With specially¹³ cooled tracks and racing equipment, it is not unusual for luge athletes to reach speeds of one hundred forty kilometers an hour or more.

FAITH LAPIDUS:

Some of the winter sports played at the Olympics are internationally known, such as ice hockey. Others, like curling¹⁴, are less widely known. Curling is a team sport played on ice. Two teams take turns pushing stones weighing almost twenty kilograms towards a circular¹⁵ target drawn¹⁶ on the ice.

The biathlon is another Olympic sport that is not as well known. This event combines cross-country skiing and rifle¹⁷ shooting. It began as a survival¹⁸ method. Northern Europeans skied to hunt for food, then later to defend their countries.

The biathlon requires great skill to combine the physical demands of skiing and the calm, focused attention needed for shooting at a target.

BOB DOUGHTY:

One of the most popular events at the winter Olympics is figure skating. This sport combines the athleticism¹⁹ of skating with the gracefulness²⁰ and creativity of dance. There are four categories of figure skating: men's singles, women's singles, pairs, and ice dancing.

In women's skating, several of the Olympic favorites are the South Korean skater Kim Yu-Na, and Mao Asada and Miki Ando of Japan. Two athletes representing the United States are Rachel Flatt and Mirai Nagasu . In men's skating, Russia has won the gold medal in the last four Olympics. This year's favorites include Russian Evgeni Plushenko, Brian Joubert of France and Evan Lysacek of the United States.

FAITH LAPIDUS:

Ice dancing is another popular event. It is judged on a couple's skill performing steps and turns to music. Unlike the other figure skating events, there are no overhead²¹ lifts and big jumps.

Charlie White and Meryl Davis are competing for the United States at the Olympics for the first time. They became very popular on the Internet for their ice dance performance set to traditional Indian music.

Speed skating is also a popular Olympic event. Americans will be watching short track speed skater Apolo Anton Ohno. He won five Olympic medals for the United States at the past two Winter Games.

(MUSIC)

BOB DOUGHTY:

The competition nearest to the hearts of many Canadians is ice hockey. For generations of Canadians, ice hockey has been an important part of their culture. Some say that for Canadians hockey is closer to a religion than a sport.

Twelve of the best national teams in the world will compete over twelve days. The first men's hockey game will be between the United States and Switzerland on February sixteenth. The National Hockey League in the United States is again permitting its players to represent their native countries in the Olympics. This has only been permitted for three other Olympic games.

For many hockey fans, the most important game of the Olympics will be decided on the final day, February twenty-eighth. This is when the final game of the men's hockey competition takes place. Experts say the men's hockey event will be one of the most competitive²² ever. One American hockey official said he thinks it will be the greatest hockey competition in the history of the world.

FAITH LAPIDUS:

This program was written and produced by Dana Demange. I'm Faith Lapidus.

BOB DOUGHTY:

And I'm Bob Doughty. For a link to the Vancouver Olympics Web site, go to voaspecialenglish.com. You can also comment on our programs. Join us again next week for EXPLORATIONS in VOA Special English.

1 doughty   

adj.勇猛的，坚强的

参考例句：

• Most of successful men have the characteristics of contumacy and doughty.绝大多数成功人士都有共同的特质：脾气倔强，性格刚强。
• The doughty old man battled his illness with fierce determination.坚强的老人用巨大毅力与疾病作斗争。

2 sportsmanship   

n.体育道德

参考例句：

• We identify sportsmanship with good character. 我们认为体育道德与良好品质是一致的。
• He told Shane that they were going to learn about good sportsmanship. 他告诉夏恩他们要来学学何谓良好的运动家精神。 来自常春藤生活英语杂志-2006年5月号

3 cypress   

n.柏树

参考例句：

• The towering pine and cypress trees defy frost and snow.松柏参天傲霜雪。
• The pine and the cypress remain green all the year round.苍松翠柏，常绿不凋。

4 foundations   

n.地基

参考例句：

• The builders are now beginning to lay the foundations of the new school. 建筑工人正开始给新校舍打地基。
• The house is unsafe since the foundations were undermined by floods. 这栋房子不安全，因为地基被洪水损坏了。

5 qualify   

vt.取得资格，有资格，限定，描述；vi.取得资格，有资格

参考例句：

• I won't qualify until next year.我明年才具备资格。
• You must qualify yourself for the post.你必须使自己具备担任这一工作的资格。

6 athletic   

adj.擅长运动的，强健的；活跃的，体格健壮的

参考例句：

• This area has been marked off for athletic practice.这块地方被划出来供体育训练之用。
• He is an athletic star.他是一个运动明星。

7 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

8 alpine   

adj.高山的；n.高山植物

参考例句：

• Alpine flowers are abundant there.那里有很多高山地带的花。
• Its main attractions are alpine lakes and waterfalls .它以高山湖泊和瀑布群为主要特色。

9 skeleton   

n.骨骼，框架，骨干，梗概，提要

参考例句：

• A long illness made a skeleton out of him.长期的卧病使他骨瘦如柴。
• Her notes gave us just the bare skeleton of her theory.她的笔记只给我们提供了她的理论的梗概。

10 racing   

n.竞赛，赛马；adj.竞赛用的，赛马用的

参考例句：

• I was watching the racing on television last night.昨晚我在电视上看赛马。
• The two racing drivers fenced for a chance to gain the lead.两个赛车手伺机竞相领先。

11 upwards   

adv.向上，在更高处...以上

参考例句：

• The trend of prices is still upwards.物价的趋向是仍在上涨。
• The smoke rose straight upwards.烟一直向上升。

12 improvements   

增加或修改( improvement的名词复数 )； 改进； 改善； 改良

参考例句：

• improvements in efficiency at the factory 工厂效率的提高
• They've spent a lot of money on home improvements. 他们花了很多钱装修家居。

13 specially   

adv.特定地；特殊地；明确地

参考例句：

• They are specially packaged so that they stack easily.它们经过特别包装以便于堆放。
• The machine was designed specially for demolishing old buildings.这种机器是专为拆毁旧楼房而设计的。

14 curling   

n. 苏格兰的冰上掷石游戏, 头发的卷曲, 卷缩 动词curl的现在分词

参考例句：

• Curling hair styles are all the cry this year. 今年烫发的发型很流行。
• I love curling up in an armchair with a good book. 我爱在扶手椅上蜷作一团看我喜欢的书。

15 circular   

adj.圆(形)的，环形的；循环的；n.传单，通报

参考例句：

• The bright boy altered it to a circular form.这个聪明的男孩把它改成了圆形。
• The lamp stands on a circular base.这盏台灯是装在圆形底座上的。

16 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

17 rifle   

n.来复枪，步枪

参考例句：

• The soldiers keep a tight hold of the rifle.战士们紧握手中的枪。
• They armed him with a rifle.他们发给他一支步枪。

18 survival   

n.留住生命，生存，残存，幸存者

参考例句：

• The doctor told my wife I had a fifty-fifty chance of survival.医生告诉我的妻子，说我活下去的可能性只有50%。
• The old man was a survival of a past age.这位老人是上一代的遗老。

19 athleticism   

n.运动竞赛，崇尚运动，竞技热

参考例句：

• He brings defense. He brings talent. He brings athleticism. That's a lot. “他带来的防御，他带来了人才，他带来了身体，这是很多”。 来自互联网
• Each of these sports isn't won through sheer athleticism alone. 每个体育项目无法凭借纯粹的运动能力而获胜。 来自互联网

20 gracefulness   

参考例句：

• His manly beauty and more than common gracefulness were instantly the theme of general admiration. 他那男子气的美和出众的优雅风度马上成了大家赞扬的话题。 来自辞典例句
• Magnanimousness, tastefulness gracefulness are basic traits and characters of Shan cuisine. 这即是陕菜的基本特征及品性、风格。 来自互联网

21 overhead   

adj.在头顶上的，悬空的；n.间接开支

参考例句：

• A number of birds are circling overhead.很多鸟在头顶上空盘旋。
• Many stars overhead are invisible to the naked eye.天上的许多星星是肉眼看不到的。

22 competitive   

adj.竞争的，比赛的，好竞争的，有竞争力的

参考例句：

• Some kinds of business are competitive.有些商业是要竞争的。
• These businessmen are both competitive and honourable.这些商人既有竞争性又很诚实。