英伦广角 Issue 121 希腊奥运后话

Four years on this is the Olympic legacy¹ in Athens. Millions of pounds were spent on venues³ like the Beach Volleyball Center. Like many now, it's empty, locked up and its future uncertain.
 
Graffiti covers the outside of the gymnastics arena⁴, what should have been a huge public park looks like this. And a venue² built specially⁵ for taekwondo is deserted⁶, nothing more than a backdrop for the local fishermen. And the Greek authorities would rather you didn't see it.
"No.No.NO."
And it is not just the security guards. No one from the Greek government or from the company that now runs these sites or even from the ruling party here in Greece wanted to speak to us on camera. And maybe it's not surprising because 10 of the 20 venues from 2004 are not used at all for anything. And many of the others like the main Olympic Stadium here are only used every now and then. This is the Olympic legacy here in Athens.
 
Try to visit the state-of-the-art Sailing Center and a fence blocks the way. The Greek people who paid for this can't see what they got for their money.
 
A man down there didn't want to appear on camera, but he said that what's happening to the facility like that one there was a terrible waste. He said it was wrong that the Greek public had paid for facilities like that but weren’t allowed to use them. In fact, he said he felt ashamed to be Greek.
 
Staphos Calliopsis was in the Olympic Kayak Squad⁷ in 2004. He, like most Greeks, is proud of the way the country staged the Games, but they worry about the long-term cost.
 
The cost was huge, I mean, like a billion Euro per day and Greece is a small country, already had the financing problem with, you know, the health system, with the educational system, as all know, even I think what’s worse was all this money spent.
 
Officially all these cost Greece 8 billion pounds, unofficially the bill might eventually reach 15 billion. The district of Hellenico is home to what was some of these showpiece venues. The neglect here angers Hellenico’s mayor.
 
Money, he says, seems more important than using venues for the public good.
 
The cost was very big and the result was not what it should have been. The venues have not been given to the local communities with very few exceptions.
 
The government agency that runs these venues is confident that it will eventually find people who want them. Politicians say that highlights a failure of planning.
 
 I don't think that the Greek people mind the bill, perhaps what they mind is that after the Olympics we did not use the Olympics as a springboard for the country. And the quarrel leads of the question "Was it worth it" is could we have done more to explore the Olympics afterwards and the answer is absolutely yes, we could have, in terms of using the facilities more, in terms of using the feeling that is great for a country.
 
 Everywhere people will remember 2004 this man told me, nowhere did it happen as it happened in Greece. National pride and some positives, the Athens transport network is now the envy of many countries. The Olympic Village, once temporary home to thousands of athletes is now short-term accommodation for the city's under-privileged. The country that gave the world the modern Olympics didn't get it all right in 2004. There is still time for London to learn the lessons.

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 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。

3 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

4 arena   

n.竞技场，运动场所；竞争场所，舞台

参考例句：

• She entered the political arena at the age of 25. 她25岁进入政界。
• He had not an adequate arena for the exercise of his talents.他没有充分发挥其才能的场所。

5 specially   

adv.特定地；特殊地；明确地

参考例句：

• They are specially packaged so that they stack easily.它们经过特别包装以便于堆放。
• The machine was designed specially for demolishing old buildings.这种机器是专为拆毁旧楼房而设计的。

6 deserted   

adj.荒芜的，荒废的，无人的，被遗弃的

参考例句：

• The deserted village was filled with a deathly silence.这个荒废的村庄死一般的寂静。
• The enemy chieftain was opposed and deserted by his followers.敌人头目众叛亲离。

7 squad   

n.班，小队，小团体；vt.把…编成班或小组

参考例句：

• The squad leader ordered the men to mark time.班长命令战士们原地踏步。
• A squad is the smallest unit in an army.班是军队的最小构成单位。