VOA标准英语2011--Koreans Ecstatic Pyeongchang Will Host 2

Koreans Ecstatic Pyeongchang Will Host 2018 Winter Olympics

The South Korean resort of Pyeongchang has been selected to host the 2018 Winter Olympics. It took only one round of voting in Durban, South Africa, for Pyeongchang to defeat Munich, Germany, and France's Annecy. Now many South Koreans hope that by having the games, it will also put them on the map as a winter sports hot spot.
After two consecutive¹ failed bids to host the Winter Olympics, the ski resort area of Pyeongchang, about 180 kilometers east of Seoul, finally will get its chance.
A few hundred Korean fans cheered on the lawn of Seoul Plaza² late Wednesday as the result of the International Olympic Committee's vote in Durban, South Africa, was announced.
Ahn Kyoung An, 23, who sounded a little hoarse³ from cheering, says she is really happy South Korea won this time. "We are also very stunned⁴, because we tried a lot of times," said Ahn.
Pyeongchang is already the center for winter sports in Korea, but many here say the 2018 Olympics could turn the area into an international hub.
That sounds a little overambitious, says Jason Lee, a long time sportscaster with Korea's Arirang TV. But he says the resorts there have already done a good job at luring⁵ some foreign skiers.
"They are bringing people from countries that do not have snow, from South East Asia, from Africa," said Lee. "They have got good intentions in trying to make Pyeongchang an area that is just not central to Korea."
But Lee says the hard part is making Pyeongchang's facilities meet international expectations. The area does not have much in the way of an after ski culture, and major transportation projects are planned to make the three-hour trip from Seoul a little less of a trek⁶.
But Lee says he's confident the Koreans will have it all done by 2018. "There are a lot of things that need to be built, but it has been one of those things," Lee added. "We will do it once we are promised these games and I think they definitely do have a long way to go. But the fact that they have the support of the Olympic committee, the nation is fully⁷ behind it."
South Korea becomes the second Asian nation, after Japan, to hold the Winter Games.

1 consecutive   

adj.连续的，联贯的，始终一贯的

参考例句：

• It has rained for four consecutive days.已连续下了四天雨。
• The policy of our Party is consecutive.我党的政策始终如一。

2 plaza   

n.广场，市场

参考例句：

• They designated the new shopping centre York Plaza.他们给这个新购物中心定名为约克购物中心。
• The plaza is teeming with undercover policemen.这个广场上布满了便衣警察。

3 hoarse   

adj.嘶哑的，沙哑的

参考例句：

• He asked me a question in a hoarse voice.他用嘶哑的声音问了我一个问题。
• He was too excited and roared himself hoarse.他过于激动，嗓子都喊哑了。

4 stunned   

adj. 震惊的，惊讶的 动词stun的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• The fall stunned me for a moment. 那一下摔得我昏迷了片刻。
• The leaders of the Kopper Company were then stunned speechless. 科伯公司的领导们当时被惊得目瞪口呆。

5 luring   

吸引，引诱（lure的现在分词形式）

参考例句：

• Cheese is very good for luring a mouse into a trap. 奶酪是引诱老鼠上钩的极好的东西。
• Her training warned her of peril and of the wrong, subtle, mysterious, luring. 她的教养警告她：有危险，要出错儿，这是微妙、神秘而又诱人的。

6 trek   

vi.作长途艰辛的旅行；n.长途艰苦的旅行

参考例句：

• We often go pony-trek in the summer.夏季我们经常骑马旅行。
• It took us the whole day to trek across the rocky terrain.我们花了一整天的时间艰难地穿过那片遍布岩石的地带。

7 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。