VOA标准英语2010年-Canadian Pride, Craftsmanship Go into

Paralympic medals are displayed at the unveiling of Olympic and Paralympic medals at Olympic Village in Vancouver, 15 Feb 2010

The teams of athletes gathered in Vancouver for the Winter Olympics have trained and honed their skills to win medals.  But another team - from the Royal Canadian Mint - has used all of its skills and training to make the medals the athletes are trying to capture.

Outside a former Bank of Montreal building in downtown Vancouver, two long lines snake their way up Granville Street.  Some of the people in line have been waiting several hours to see, feel and hold Olympic medals.

The Royal Canadian Mint has taken over the building - now Simon Fraser University's School of Business - for a special exhibit of the Olympic medals to be awarded in Vancouver.

The medals for the Olympics and Paralympics are on display on the second floor of the building, where Project Manager Dan Mallett tells tour groups about how the medals were designed and made.

Dressed in a charcoal² gray athletic³ outfit⁴, Mallet¹ wears special white cotton gloves - gloves that every visitor receives before entering the exhibit.  He explains that each medal is unique - none of the 615 Olympic and 339 Paralympic medals is identical.

This is the first time the Olympic medals are not flat.  Their surfaces undulate to simulate Canada's terrain⁵.  The medals are adorned⁶ with Native Canadian icons⁷ and designs of killer⁸ whales.  The Paralympic medals have a native symbol of a raven⁹ that represents overcoming obstacles.

Like a jigsaw¹⁰ puzzle, each medal is a piece of the master design.  If all of the medals were placed together, they would form a complete picture.  Medal winners receive a scarf with the overall design, so they can see where their medal fits.

Deanna Scott of White Rock, Surrey in British Columbia is one of the people listening to Mallett's presentation.  Wearing a Canada team sweatshirt, a woolen¹¹ cap and sunglasses, she picked up the gold medal, snapped a photograph and turned over the prize to see the back.  Scott says that waiting in line for three hours was worth it to hold one of the medals.

"That's pretty cool, especially after we just won one yesterday," she said.  "I am extremely proud of all our Canadian athletes.  I was in line at 9:00 this morning.  But it was worth it, definitely worth it."

The Royal Canadian Mint was tasked with bringing the vision of local artists Corrine Hunt and Omer Arbel to life in a way that uniquely represents Canada.

Mint Communications Director Christine Aquino says that when the final products emerged, it was a very special day. "I can tell you it was quite an emotional day at the Mint.  There were approximately 34 people who worked directly on those medals.  They got quite attached over two-and-a-half years.  And now that we see them being awarded to athletes from all over the world, we are very proud about that," she said.

Creating the medals is an arduous¹² process.  Each one weighs more than 500 grams and took more than 30 steps to manufacture.  Because of their unique surface, each medal is struck with 12 dies - nine times with 1,900 tons of pressure, the weight of more than 700 automobiles¹³.  The native designs were laser-engraved on each medal.

The gold medals are mostly silver.  But each is plated with six grams of gold.  The silver medals are almost entirely¹⁴ made of silver.  The bronze medals are largely copper¹⁵ because burnished¹⁶ bronze and gold are similar in color, and the mint did not want any confusion as to which medal an athlete receives.

The Mint's Christine Aquino says people don't mind the lengthy¹⁷ wait to see, hold and photograph the medals.  She says most visitors are shocked by their weight and are thrilled to touch something that only a few people will ever possess.

"They are meant to represent the feat¹⁸ that an athlete has to accomplish to win that sport.  And we're just thrilled.  We knew we had something great to come to Vancouver with, and we're quite proud of it," said Aquino.

Outside at the head of the line, Luca and Andre Bucci of Hamilton, Ontario are almost to the door.  The two men attended the women's moguls event on February 13, where Canadian Jennifer Heil won a silver medal.  They say that even though Heil's medal wasn't gold, they are proud a Canadian made the podium.

The hundreds of fans who visit the Mint pavilion get to hold the medals and take photographs.  The thousands of athletes competing in Vancouver are striving for the same privilege.  But only a few will possess the coveted¹⁹ prizes.  The artists and craftspeople who made the medals say that the winners will take a special piece of Canada with them when the Games are over.
 

1 mallet   

n.槌棒

参考例句：

• He hit the peg mightily on the top with a mallet.他用木槌猛敲木栓顶。
• The chairman rapped on the table twice with his mallet.主席用他的小木槌在桌上重敲了两下。

2 charcoal   

n.炭，木炭，生物炭

参考例句：

• We need to get some more charcoal for the barbecue.我们烧烤需要更多的碳。
• Charcoal is used to filter water.木炭是用来过滤水的。

3 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。

4 outfit   

n.（为特殊用途的）全套装备，全套服装

参考例句：

• Jenney bought a new outfit for her daughter's wedding.珍妮为参加女儿的婚礼买了一套新装。
• His father bought a ski outfit for him on his birthday.他父亲在他生日那天给他买了一套滑雪用具。

5 terrain   

n.地面，地形，地图

参考例句：

• He had made a detailed study of the terrain.他对地形作了缜密的研究。
• He knows the terrain of this locality like the back of his hand.他对这一带的地形了如指掌。

6 adorned   

[计]被修饰的

参考例句：

• The walls were adorned with paintings. 墙上装饰了绘画。
• And his coat was adorned with a flamboyant bunch of flowers. 他的外套上面装饰着一束艳丽刺目的鲜花。

7 icons   

n.偶像( icon的名词复数 )；（计算机屏幕上表示命令、程序的）符号，图像

参考例句：

• Distinguish important text items in lists with graphic icons. 用图标来区分重要的文本项。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓
• Daemonic icons should only be employed persistently if they provide continuous, useful status information. 只有会连续地提供有用状态信息的情况下，后台应用程序才应该一直使用图标。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓

8 killer   

n.杀人者，杀人犯，杀手，屠杀者

参考例句：

• Heart attacks have become Britain's No.1 killer disease.心脏病已成为英国的头号致命疾病。
• The bulk of the evidence points to him as her killer.大量证据证明是他杀死她的。

9 raven   

n.渡鸟，乌鸦；adj.乌亮的

参考例句：

• We know the raven will never leave the man's room.我们知道了乌鸦再也不会离开那个男人的房间。
• Her charming face was framed with raven hair.她迷人的脸上垂落着乌亮的黑发。

10 jigsaw   

n.缕花锯，竖锯，拼图游戏；vt.用竖锯锯，使互相交错搭接

参考例句：

• A jigsaw puzzle can keep me absorbed for hours.一副拼图就能让我沉醉几个小时。
• Tom likes to work on jigsaw puzzles,too.汤姆也喜欢玩拼图游戏。

11 woolen   

adj.羊毛(制)的；毛纺的

参考例句：

• She likes to wear woolen socks in winter.冬天她喜欢穿羊毛袜。
• There is one bar of woolen blanket on that bed.那张床上有一条毛毯。

12 arduous   

adj.艰苦的，费力的，陡峭的

参考例句：

• We must have patience in doing arduous work.我们做艰苦的工作要有耐性。
• The task was more arduous than he had calculated.这项任务比他所估计的要艰巨得多。

13 automobiles   

n.汽车( automobile的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• When automobiles become popular,the use of the horse and buggy passed away. 汽车普及后，就不再使用马和马车了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Automobiles speed in an endless stream along the boulevard. 宽阔的林荫道上，汽车川流不息。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

14 entirely   

ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
• His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。

15 copper   

n.铜；铜币；铜器；adj.铜(制)的；(紫)铜色的

参考例句：

• The students are asked to prove the purity of copper.要求学生们检验铜的纯度。
• Copper is a good medium for the conduction of heat and electricity.铜是热和电的良导体。

16 burnished   

adj.抛光的，光亮的v.擦亮（金属等），磨光( burnish的过去式和过去分词 )；被擦亮，磨光

参考例句：

• The floor was spotless; the grate and fire-irons were burnished bright. 地板上没有污迹；炉栅和火炉用具擦得发亮。 来自辞典例句
• The woods today are burnished bronze. 今天的树林是一片发亮的青铜色。 来自辞典例句

17 lengthy   

adj.漫长的，冗长的

参考例句：

• We devoted a lengthy and full discussion to this topic.我们对这个题目进行了长时间的充分讨论。
• The professor wrote a lengthy book on Napoleon.教授写了一部有关拿破仑的巨著。

18 feat   

n.功绩；武艺，技艺；adj.灵巧的，漂亮的，合适的

参考例句：

• Man's first landing on the moon was a feat of great daring.人类首次登月是一个勇敢的壮举。
• He received a medal for his heroic feat.他因其英雄业绩而获得一枚勋章。

19 coveted   

adj.令人垂涎的；垂涎的，梦寐以求的v.贪求，觊觎(covet的过去分词)；垂涎；贪图

参考例句：

• He had long coveted the chance to work with a famous musician. 他一直渴望有机会与著名音乐家一起工作。
• Ther other boys coveted his new bat. 其他的男孩都想得到他的新球棒。 来自《简明英汉词典》