VOA标准英语2008年-Beijing Olympics End, Paralympics Set to Begin

The Beijing Olympics have been declared a sporting success. Attention is now turning to the Paralympics, which many hope will improve the situation for the disabled in China. Daniel Schearf reports from Beijing.

The Beijing Olympics ended Sunday night with a grand closing ceremony.

Beijing's organization, infrastructure¹, and iconic sports venues² for the games drew widely praised during two weeks of competition.
　
IOC chief Jacques Rogge (L) stands with BOCOG president Liu Qi during closing ceremony of 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, 24 Aug 2008

Jacques Rogge, the president of the International Olympic Committee, declared the Beijing games a success that would leave a lasting³, positive legacy⁴.

"Through these Games the world learnt more about China and China learned more about the world," Rogge said.

Beijing is now gearing up to host the Paralympics - the world's biggest sporting event for those with physical disabilities.

Disabled people have long been discriminated⁵ against in Chinese society. Many advocates for China's disabled hope the Paralympics will help millions of people be able to better integrate into society here.

Tang Xiaoquan is president of the China Disabled Persons' Federation⁶ and vice⁷ president of the Beijing Olympic committee.

She says they will take the opportunity of the Paralympics games in Beijing to greatly improve accessible facilities. She says this will help the 999,000 people with disabilities in Beijing better integrate into society.

China has 83 million disabled people. Most of them find it difficult to travel and hold jobs because cities have few facilities that are accessible for those using wheelchairs or crutches⁸, or who have vision problems.

As part of its Olympics preparations, Beijing has made all of its subway stops accessible to wheelchairs. During the Paralympics, there will be 16 dedicated⁹ public bus lines for the disabled and 400 shuttle buses.

The Chinese government requires all new buildings to have accessible facilities, and older public buildings are to be renovated¹⁰ to provide access.

More than 4,000 athletes will compete in the Paralympics, which begin September 6 and last 12 days. The athletes will compete in and stay in the same facilities used for Olympics, including the popular Water Cube and Bird's Nest stadium.

1 infrastructure   

n.下部构造，下部组织，基础结构，基础设施

参考例句：

• We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
• We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设，发展各类群众文化。

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 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。

4 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。

5 discriminated   

分别，辨别，区分( discriminate的过去式和过去分词 )； 歧视，有差别地对待

参考例句：

• His great size discriminated him from his followers. 他的宽广身材使他不同于他的部下。
• Should be a person that has second liver virus discriminated against? 一个患有乙肝病毒的人是不是就应该被人歧视？

6 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。

7 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

8 crutches   

n.拐杖, 支柱 v.支撑

参考例句：

• After the accident I spent six months on crutches . 事故后我用了六个月的腋杖。
• When he broke his leg he had to walk on crutches. 他腿摔断了以后，不得不靠拐杖走路。

9 dedicated   

adj.一心一意的；献身的；热诚的

参考例句：

• He dedicated his life to the cause of education.他献身于教育事业。
• His whole energies are dedicated to improve the design.他的全部精力都放在改进这项设计上了。

10 renovated   

翻新，修复，整修( renovate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He renovated his house. 他翻修了房子。
• The house has been renovated three years earlier. 这所房子三年前就已翻新。