在线听音频：
2010年第21届冬奥会将于2.12——2.28日在加拿大温哥华举行，该赛事的主要特征是在冰上和雪地举行的冬季运动，如滑冰、滑雪等适合在冬季举行的项目。此次冬奥会中国代表队也将在冰雪之中一展身姿，抛却冷硬的数字，让我们投入这种种的至真激情之中，全身心体验冰雪竞技的纯粹乐趣吧！
Today we tell about the Winter Olympic Games that open February twelfth in Vancouver, Canada.
About five thousand men and women from more than eighty countries will compete for seventeen days at the Vancouver Olympics. They will compete in more than eighty separate medal events in fifteen sports. The games are about sportsmanship, hard work, and national pride. The athletes share a common goal -- to do their best and win a gold medal.
(MUSIC)
BOB DOUGHTY:
This will be the twenty-first Winter Olympic Games. The last Winter Games were held in two thousand six in Turin, Italy. The next Winter Olympics will be in Sochi, Russia, in four years. But this month, millions of people around the world will turn their attention to the games taking place in Vancouver, British Columbia.
The city is on the western coast of Canada. It is known for its many bike and hiking paths, forests, lakes and beautiful mountain views. Vancouver is also a busy city with interesting cultural events, shops, restaurants and galleries. Many people spend their vacations visiting the city. For years, Vancouver has been rated one of the most livable places in the world. And, it has been rated one of the most environmentally friendly cities in the world.
FAITH LAPIDUS:
The Olympics events will be held at several places in and around Vancouver. Event organizers have worked hard to ensure that the games will not pollute the environment. For example, people are urged to ride bicycles to the Olympic events. There are no places to park cars near the events. But all areas will have spaces to lock up bicycles.
In addition, many Olympic buildings were made from reused materials. Organizers made efforts to avoid cutting down old-growth trees. They also made careful decisions about how each building will be used after the Olympic Games. The event Web site describes every Olympic building and competition area and the environmental decisions that were made about its design.
BOB DOUGHTY:
Event organizers have had seven years and several billion dollars to plan for these Winter Games. But one thing outside of their control has been the weather. Warmer than average temperatures and lack of snow have been major concerns in the weeks leading up to the games.
The lack of snow will not be a problem for events being held at the ski area in the city of Whistler. However, the area called Cypress Mountain has been a problem.
Organizers have had to make huge efforts to guarantee the area is ready for six skiing and snowboarding events. For months, machines there have been producing and storing snow. Huge truckloads of snow have also been brought down from higher areas of the mountain.
The snow has been placed onto large forms made out of straw. These straw foundations have helped reduce the amount of snow needed. Organizers in Vancouver say the athletes will notice very little difference between a natural ski slope and the one that has been built for the games.
FAITH LAPIDUS:
Speaking of warm weather, some of the countries sending athletes to the Winter Games might surprise you. A few of these athletes live in countries that rarely if ever see snow. For example, the popular bobsleigh team from the island of Jamaica did not qualify for the Olympics four years ago. But a team will be back to compete this year.
Philip Boit of Kenya began his athletic career as a runner. He decided to try a new sport in the nineteen nineties. The Nike athletic shoe company gave financial support to turn Kenyan runners into skiers. In nineteen ninety-eight, he became the first athlete from Kenya to compete in the Winter Games. He will return this year to compete in his fourth and final Olympics.
BOB DOUGHTY:
China will be sending its largest Winter Olympics team ever to the games. It will include ninety-one athletes, compared to seventy-six athletes four years ago. An official from the Chinese Olympic team says the country is much weaker in winter sports. But it still expects to match its results from the last Winter Games. He says China is working to narrow the difference between its strength during the Olympic Summer and Winter Games.
(MUSIC)
在家也快乐学英语：
声明：音视频均来自互联网链接，仅供学习使用。本网站自身不存储、控制、修改被链接的内容。"沪江英语"高度重视知识产权保护。当如发现本网站发布的信息包含有侵犯其著作权的链接内容时，请联系我们，我们将依法采取措施移除相关内容或屏蔽相关链接。
