VOA慢速英语--东京奥运会将成为首个男女运动员参与率平等的奥运会

Grace¹ Luczak had left competitive² rowing and taken a job. But a move toward³ gender⁴ equity⁵ at the Tokyo Olympic Games brought her back into the boat.

This year, a woman's rowing event was added to make sure that there is an equal number of men's and women's sports at the Olympics. That change meant four additional⁶ spots on the U.S. team and a place for Luczak.

The rower said it was hard to make the decision to go back to the sport and leave her job for a year. She did not think it was possible until more seats were added.

"There are four more seats," Luczak said. "Four. And it's the first gender-equal Olympics. How can you not try?"

Most of the public attention goes to big sports like gymnastics, swimming and track and field. But women from smaller sports that are less popular are now being recognized and given a chance to compete in the Olympics.

The International Olympic Committee, or IOC, added 18 new events to the Tokyo Games in a push toward gender equity. There are an equal number of women and men for every sport, aside from baseball and softball because of different team sizes.

The IOC said 49 percent of athletes in Tokyo are women. That is up from 45 percent at the last Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. The IOC said that when women began competing in the 1900 Paris Olympics, there were only 22 out of 997 total athletes.

"Tokyo 2020 is predicted to be the most gender equal yet with female⁷ participation," the IOC said.

Closing the gender difference is an important issue for many women. Concerns about equity got attention at this year's NCAA college basketball championship. People on social media became upset when images showed how the women's teams had less equipment than men's teams.

The new chances for women at the Olympics come in several sports. In water polo, two additional teams were added, for a total of 10. Britain is sending more women than men to the Olympics for the first time.

Gains for women in many cases meant fewer spots for men. Boxing has 100 women competing in five weight groups. That is an increase from 36 women in three weight groups at the Games in Rio de Janeiro. Two men's groups were lost.

Weightlifting this year is equal at seven teams for both men and women. But that was possible only by dropping one men's team. Women's canoeing⁸ was added. Two men's canoeing events were dropped.

Not every addition hurt men's sports. Swimming added the 1,500-meter freestyle for women. But the men's 800 freestyle swim was brought back for the first time since 1904. This year, there will be the first mixed gender relay⁹ race.

Five new sports were added this year: baseball, softball, karate¹⁰, skateboarding, sports climbing and surfing. The IOC made sure to have equal numbers of men and women.

Luczak, now 32, knows that a male teammate's sport was lost for her to be able to compete. Her four-person rowing event replaces the same event for men.

"It's never fun seeing people find out their opportunity is gone," Luczak said. "But in creating an equal number of opportunities, it shows there is a pathway for female athletes."

Words in This Story

gender –n. the state of being either female or male

equity — n. fairness or justice in the way people are treated

participate – v. to be involved with others in doing something : to take part in an activity or event with others

relay –n. a race between teams in which team members run, swim or compete in different parts of the race

opportunity– n. an amount of time or a situation in which something can be done

1 grace   

n.优雅，雅致，魅力，恩惠，慈悲

参考例句：

• She is a beautiful girl with the grace and poise.她是一位仪态优雅的佳丽。
• I hope the grace of God would descend on me.我期望上帝的恩惠。

2 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。

3 toward   

prep.对于，关于，接近，将近，向，朝

参考例句：

• Suddenly I saw a tall figure approaching toward the policeman.突然间我看到一个高大的身影朝警察靠近。
• Upon seeing her,I smiled and ran toward her. 看到她我笑了，并跑了过去。

4 gender   

n.（生理上的）性，（名词、代词等的）性

参考例句：

• French differs from English in having gender for all nouns.法语不同于英语，所有的名词都有性。
• Women are sometimes denied opportunities solely because of their gender.妇女有时仅仅因为性别而无法获得种种机会。

5 equity   

n.公正，公平，（无固定利息的）股票

参考例句：

• They shared the work of the house with equity.他们公平地分担家务。
• To capture his equity,Murphy must either sell or refinance.要获得资产净值，墨菲必须出售或者重新融资。

6 additional   

adj.添加的，额外的，另外的

参考例句：

• It is necessary to set down these additional rules.有必要制定这些补充规则。
• I think we can fit in an additional room.我想我们可以再加建一间房子。

7 female   

adj.雌的，女(性)的；n.雌性的动物，女子

参考例句：

• We only employ female workers.我们只雇用女工。
• The animal in the picture was a female elephant.照片上的动物是头母象。

8 canoeing   

n.划独木舟，玩独木舟；皮划艇运动

参考例句：

• We were canoeing in the lake. 我们在湖中划独木舟。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• You can take part in activities from canoeing to bird watching. 你可以参与从划独木舟到观鸟等各种活动。 来自辞典例句

9 relay   

n.接力赛，中继转播（设备）；vt.转述，转播

参考例句：

• They will relay your message.他们会转达你的口信。
• This metal tower is used to relay television signals to distant villages.这个金属塔是用于向遥远的村子转播电视讯号的。

10 karate   

n.空手道(日本的一种徒手武术)

参考例句：

• Alice's boyfriend knew a little karate.艾丽斯的男朋友懂一点儿空手道。
• The black belt is the highest level in karate.黑腰带级是空手道的最高级别。