VOA标准英语2012--London Not Gripped by Olympic Fever

 

London Not Gripped by Olympic Fever

At Trafalgar Square, in the heart of the city, the official Olympic countdown clock gets a steady stream of people posing for pictures. But most of them are foreign tourists.

Many Londoners appear indifferent, worried or actually hostile toward the Games. 

"I think it is a waste of money," declared Dave Thomas, a man passing through the Square. "All the money that is being wasted could have been spent on something else.” 

Jessica, a young woman on crowded Oxford² Street was worried about her shopping trips during the Olympics. “It is already busy in London,” she said. “Imagine when the Olympics are here. Imagine how busy it is going to be everywhere. Nobody is going to be able to get around.”

And a woman named Amanda said she is not caught up in the Olympic spirit partly because she doesn’t like the event’s souvenirs. “The stuff they have designed to support the Olympics, they’re absolutely hideous,” she said. “The Olympic logo thing is a complete and utter farce³. And those mascot⁴ toys that they’ve got, I have not met anyone who thinks they are not completely ridiculous.”

Those Olympics items range in price from just a few dollars to hundreds. And they can be hard to find. So far, they are only available at licensed⁵ shops and in official London 2012 stores, mainly at transport hubs. 

Olympics merchandising chief Simon Lilley says that is part of the Games’ strategy. “I think the key thing is we are focusing on the quality of distribution,” he said. “So we want them in the right places, putting our brand in the right way. So, I think we have got selective distribution. And I think this will build and build as we move towards the Games.”

Other London 2012 officials like British Olympic gold medalist Jonathan Edwards, who is now a member of the Organizing Committee, believe the enthusiasm will build along with the sales of the souvenirs. 

“When you are involved within the Olympic and Paralympic world, it feels like that is everything," he said in a post-Committee meeting interview. " But for people out in the streets, it is kind of like, ‘Oh yeah, the Olympics, that is in the summer and I will, kind of, engage with it when it is actually here.’”

And the Olympics have had another event vying⁶ for attention. These days, many people in Britain are more focused on celebrations marking 60 years of Queen Elizabeth’s reign¹, which culminate⁷ with a two-day holiday in early June.

The price tag of the Games also saps some people’s enthusiasm. Estimates range from the official figure of about $20 billion up to $40 billion or more.

But there are some are getting excited about the Olympics. At a visitors’ center overlooking the Olympic Park, a man named Bart, who lives 30 kilometers from the site, said he is not worried about the cost. “I think that people will forget the cost,” he said. “It is the atmosphere and the new life that it brings that people value.” 

A woman named Fiona, who was cycling past the visitors’ center, cautioned against listening to people who complain about the cost, inconvenience, security risks and other potentially troublesome aspects of the Games. “I think people do like to moan, don’t they," she noted⁸. “That is their default position. They like to moan. So let them moan. And I am quite happy about it.”

Back on Oxford Street, a teenaged student named Jordan said there may be some problems during the games, but he is taking a long view. “I think overall it’s cool," he said. “I am going to look back on it and say, yeah, I was in London when the Olympics happened.”

That is the attitude Olympics officials are hoping for, but many Londoners are not there yet.

1 reign   

n.统治时期，统治，支配，盛行；v.占优势

参考例句：

• The reign of Queen Elizabeth lapped over into the seventeenth century.伊丽莎白王朝延至17世纪。
• The reign of Zhu Yuanzhang lasted about 31 years.朱元璋统治了大约三十一年。

2 Oxford   

n.牛津（英国城市）

参考例句：

• At present he has become a Professor of Chemistry at Oxford.他现在已是牛津大学的化学教授了。
• This is where the road to Oxford joins the road to London.这是去牛津的路与去伦敦的路的汇合处。

3 farce   

n.闹剧，笑剧，滑稽戏；胡闹

参考例句：

• They played a shameful role in this farce.他们在这场闹剧中扮演了可耻的角色。
• The audience roared at the farce.闹剧使观众哄堂大笑。

4 mascot   

n.福神，吉祥的东西

参考例句：

• The football team's mascot is a goat.足球队的吉祥物是山羊。
• We had a panda as our mascot.我们把熊猫作为吉详物。

5 licensed   

adj.得到许可的v.许可，颁发执照(license的过去式和过去分词)

参考例句：

• The new drug has not yet been licensed in the US. 这种新药尚未在美国获得许可。
• Is that gun licensed? 那支枪有持枪执照吗？

6 vying   

adj.竞争的；比赛的

参考例句：

• California is vying with other states to capture a piece of the growing communications market.为了在日渐扩大的通讯市场分得一杯羹，加利福尼亚正在和其他州展开竞争。
• Four rescue plans are vying to save the zoo.4个拯救动物园的方案正争得不可开交。

7 culminate   

v.到绝顶，达于极点，达到高潮

参考例句：

• The celebration of the centenary will culminate with a dinner.百年庆典活动将以宴会作为高潮。
• Everyone feared that the boundary dispute between these two countries would culminate in a war.人人都担心,这两国间的边境争端将以一场战争到达顶点。

8 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。