Athens Olympic Mascots Are Big Hit With Kids

 
By Rebecca Ward¹

Phevos and Athena, the brother and sister mascots³ of the 2004 Olympics, might be considered a step above the usual stuffed toy Olympic merchandisers come up with every two years, if only because this particular mascot² has hundreds of years of history behind it. The male and female dolls, whose gender⁴ is only distinguished⁵ by either blue or orange dress, are based on a bell-shaped doll from the 7th century B.C. And, they are named for two Olympian Gods: Phevos, god of light and music and Athena, godess of wisdom and patron of Athens.
Of course, that would be of little significance to Olympic vendors⁶, if the dolls and their image did not sell. But, as it turns out, these strange looking creatures are a big hit with kids.
At the Hercules souvenir shop in Athens historic Plaka, the store clerk says Phevos and Athena are its biggest sellers, especially the T-shirts. But there are also a number of mugs, Olympic pins and backpacks adorned⁷ by the two mascots.
"Everything you know, the pins are also going very well, and T-shirts, things they are wearing," the clerk said.
Phevos and Athena are everywhere in Athens, on billboards⁸ welcoming visitors to the Olympics, on flags at the Olympic park, on the cover of a transit⁹ map and on one family from the U.S. city of Los Angeles. Visiting the Olympic park, the parents and their three children had donned T-shirts and hats bearing the image of Phevos and Athena. They also carried a number of the stuffed dolls to bring back home to the United States.
"Actually for our three children and one coming, four, and one for the parents, us. So we make sure we get one for everybody," the mother said.
"I guess the interesting thing is that they represent toys that existed in antiquity¹⁰, so it's a good thing to go back several thousand years, 3,000 years and see what it is they used to entertain the younger generation," her husband added.
This year's Olympic mascots may look like just another marketing¹¹ gimmick¹², but as with so much of the summer games in Athens, the dolls are another reminder¹³ of just where and when the games began, some 2,700 years ago in Greece.
Rebecca Ward, VOA NEWS, Athens.
注释:
Phevos 费沃斯（光明与音乐之神）
Athena 雅典娜（智慧女神）
mascot 吉祥物
merchandiser 商人
doll 玩偶
wisdom  智慧
patron 守护
vendor 商贩
Hercules 大力神
souvenir 纪念品
Plaka 普拉卡（雅典的古城）
mug 杯子
pins 饰针
backpack 背包
billboard 广告宣传
antiquity 古代
generation 一代人

 

 

1 ward   

n.守卫，监护，病房，行政区，由监护人或法院保护的人（尤指儿童）；vt.守护，躲开

参考例句：

• The hospital has a medical ward and a surgical ward.这家医院有内科病房和外科病房。
• During the evening picnic,I'll carry a torch to ward off the bugs.傍晚野餐时，我要点根火把，抵挡蚊虫。

2 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。

3 mascots   

n.吉祥物( mascot的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• One of the mascots was the platypus. 吉祥物一是鸭嘴兽。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Information on all things Olympic, including logos, mascots, venues,and bid candidates. 所有事情奥林匹克，包括的标识语，吉祥物，地点，和出价候选人的信息。 来自互联网

4 gender   

n.（生理上的）性，（名词、代词等的）性

参考例句：

• French differs from English in having gender for all nouns.法语不同于英语，所有的名词都有性。
• Women are sometimes denied opportunities solely because of their gender.妇女有时仅仅因为性别而无法获得种种机会。

5 distinguished   

adj.卓越的，杰出的，著名的

参考例句：

• Elephants are distinguished from other animals by their long noses.大象以其长长的鼻子显示出与其他动物的不同。
• A banquet was given in honor of the distinguished guests.宴会是为了向贵宾们致敬而举行的。

6 vendors   

n.摊贩( vendor的名词复数 )；小贩；（房屋等的）卖主；卖方

参考例句：

• The vendors were gazundered at the last minute. 卖主在最后一刻被要求降低房价。
• At the same time, interface standards also benefIt'software vendors. 同时，界面标准也有利于软件开发商。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓

7 adorned   

[计]被修饰的

参考例句：

• The walls were adorned with paintings. 墙上装饰了绘画。
• And his coat was adorned with a flamboyant bunch of flowers. 他的外套上面装饰着一束艳丽刺目的鲜花。

8 billboards   

n.广告牌( billboard的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Large billboards have disfigured the scenery. 大型告示板已破坏了景色。 来自辞典例句
• Then, put the logo in magazines and on billboards without telling anyone what it means. 接着我们把这个商标刊在杂志和广告看板上，却不跟任何人透漏它的涵意。 来自常春藤生活英语杂志-2006年4月号

9 transit   

n.经过，运输；vt.穿越，旋转；vi.越过

参考例句：

• His luggage was lost in transit.他的行李在运送中丢失。
• The canal can transit a total of 50 ships daily.这条运河每天能通过50条船。

10 antiquity   

n.古老；高龄；古物，古迹

参考例句：

• The museum contains the remains of Chinese antiquity.博物馆藏有中国古代的遗物。
• There are many legends about the heroes of antiquity.有许多关于古代英雄的传说。

11 marketing   

n.行销，在市场的买卖，买东西

参考例句：

• They are developing marketing network.他们正在发展销售网络。
• He often goes marketing.他经常去市场做生意。

12 gimmick   

n.(为引人注意而搞的)小革新，小发明

参考例句：

• He dismissed the event as just a publicity gimmick.他不理会这件事，只当它是一种宣传手法。
• It is just a public relations gimmick.这只不过是一种公关伎俩。

13 reminder   

n.提醒物，纪念品；暗示，提示

参考例句：

• I have had another reminder from the library.我又收到图书馆的催还单。
• It always took a final reminder to get her to pay her share of the rent.总是得发给她一份最后催缴通知，她才付应该交的房租。