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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 | |
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2 charcoal | |
n.炭,木炭,生物炭 | |
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3 athletic | |
adj.擅长运动的,强健的;活跃的,体格健壮的 | |
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4 outfit | |
n.(为特殊用途的)全套装备,全套服装 | |
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5 terrain | |
n.地面,地形,地图 | |
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6 adorned | |
[计]被修饰的 | |
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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 | |
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8 killer | |
n.杀人者,杀人犯,杀手,屠杀者 | |
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9 raven | |
n.渡鸟,乌鸦;adj.乌亮的 | |
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10 jigsaw | |
n.缕花锯,竖锯,拼图游戏;vt.用竖锯锯,使互相交错搭接 | |
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11 woolen | |
adj.羊毛(制)的;毛纺的 | |
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12 arduous | |
adj.艰苦的,费力的,陡峭的 | |
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13 automobiles | |
n.汽车( automobile的名词复数 ) | |
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14 entirely | |
ad.全部地,完整地;完全地,彻底地 | |
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15 copper | |
n.铜;铜币;铜器;adj.铜(制)的;(紫)铜色的 | |
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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 | |
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17 lengthy | |
adj.漫长的,冗长的 | |
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18 feat | |
n.功绩;武艺,技艺;adj.灵巧的,漂亮的,合适的 | |
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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 | |
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