VOA标准英语2012--Olympic Construction Brings Big Changes to E. London

 

Olympic Construction Brings Big Changes to E. London

Rebuilding East London was part of the 2012 Olympics plan from the very beginning, with an environmental cleanup, new housing, stores and parks, as well as the sports facilities. The goal was to make this a prosperous, integral part of London in a way it had never been.

So Olympics organizers created Olympic Park Legacy¹ Company to plan for the future from the very beginning. The company promises park land, access to first class sports facilities, thousands of jobs and a more vibrant² local economy.

"This park has been invested in," said Peter Tudor, one of the senior officials behind Olympic Park Legacy Company. "It used to be almost wasteland. There were some factories here. There were some disused areas. There was a lot of junk that had been dumped here. But now it's a beautiful park and it becomes a new park for the city."

Most of what is now the Olympic Park was either abandoned or occupied by factories and businesses. One of them was the Forman and Sons fish smoking business, run by Lance Forman, who decided³ to build his new factory, along with a restaurant, art gallery and party venue⁴, just a few hundred meters from the old one, in the shadow of the new Olympic Stadium.

"People come here now, people who lived in London all their lives, and they come to events or to our restaurant and they look out of the window and they say 'Oh my God, I didn't realize this part of London existed.' Well I think that when the Olympics happens, you're going to have half a million people here on our doorstep every day. They will love it and they will want to come back," said Forman.

But some local residents are not happy with the redevelopment that the Olympics brought, including Julian Cheyne, whose apartment building was torn down to make way for the Park.

"I'm not saying there hasn't been a transformation⁵," Cheyne explained. "The question is whether it's a desirable transformation in what they've done now, or whether it was so bad in first place. The kind of language which is used, 'urban desert' and a 'scar,' is simply not true."

Cheyne believes the Olympic facilities will not benefit the people who live nearby and says redevelopment was beginning to happen anyway.

Much of the impact of the Olympics in East London will not be known for years, maybe decades. But Peter Tudor of Olympic Park Legacy Company is eager to get started.

"We've been planning for this for a long time and we can't wait to get our hands on the park and get to work," Tudor said. "We can make a difference with these venues⁶. Come back in a few years' time and we'll show you how we've done it."

With a string of broken promises in some past Olympic cities, many people will be doing just that. 

1 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。

2 vibrant   

adj.震颤的，响亮的，充满活力的，精力充沛的，(色彩)鲜明的

参考例句：

• He always uses vibrant colours in his paintings. 他在画中总是使用鲜明的色彩。
• She gave a vibrant performance in the leading role in the school play.她在学校表演中生气盎然地扮演了主角。

3 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

4 venue   

n.犯罪地点，审判地，管辖地，发生地点，集合地点

参考例句：

• The hall provided a venue for weddings and other functions.大厅给婚礼和其他社会活动提供了场所。
• The chosen venue caused great controversy among the people.人们就审判地点的问题产生了极大的争议。

5 transformation   

n.变化；改造；转变

参考例句：

• Going to college brought about a dramatic transformation in her outlook.上大学使她的观念发生了巨大的变化。
• He was struggling to make the transformation from single man to responsible husband.他正在努力使自己由单身汉变为可靠的丈夫。

6 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