2007年VOA标准英语-Annual Dakar Rally Starts in Lisbon

By Phuong Tran
Dakar
07 January 2007

Portuguese1 rider Ruben Faria steers2 his KTM during the 1st stage of the Lisbon-Dakar Rally, 6 Jan 2007" hspace="2" src="/upimg/allimg/070515/1418540.jpg" width="160" vspace="2" border="0" />

Portuguese rider Ruben Faria steers his KTM during the 1st stage of the Lisbon-Dakar Rally, 6 Jan 2007

Almost 250 competitors set off Saturday from Lisbon, Portugal in the annual car, motorcycle and truck race that will cross the sandy terrain³ of six countries. Billed by its organizers as the world's toughest off-road race, last year fewer than half the competitors reached the final destination of Dakar, Senegal. Phuong Tran reports from VOA's West African bureau in Dakar.

Pending⁴ confirmation⁵ from the Dakar Rally's officials, Portugal's Ruben Faria won the first timed race for the motorcycle category of the 2007 Dakar Rally. The race took place Saturday in Lisbon, Portugal under foggy skies.

The race will cover six countries and almost eight thousand kilometers in 15 stages, entering Africa on the third stage. The longest stage of the rally will be an 800-kilometer timed race that will take place in Mauritania, from Tan Tan to Zouérat.

Since the Dakar Rally began in 1979, 23 racers have died in the competion. Rally officials say they are taking extra precautions this year to ensure safety.

Last week, the rally's organizer, the Amaury Sport Organization, citing safety concerns, canceled a section of the race that was going to take place in Timbuktu, Mali.

Race official Emilie Poucan says for the first time since the competition began a scouting⁶ team is on various stages of the course identifying risk zones.

"Just before the race, they went to Africa for three months. They made a map of all the dangers," said Poucan. "Each participant has the map saying where it is safe and where they have to be very careful because the road is not good. We hope it is going to much much safer."

Poucan says that these security patrols will remain posted along the route to alert drivers of potential dangers.

She says more than 45,000 comic strips depicting⁷ the safety precautions of the race were distributed to local populations along the route, and that the maximum speed allowed in the villages that the race crosses is 50 kilometers per hour. 

 

The dangers have not turned away some long-time racers like 55-year old Ari Vatanen from Finland, a four-time winner of the rally.

"You're excited because you know that you have got everything that it takes to win. There [is a] sort of pressure, of course, [a] certain anxiety but that's real competition," said Vatanen.

Since 1979, more than 13,000 men and women have competed in the race. This year more than 500 racers are entered; of these 27 are women.

The race is scheduled to finish in Dakar, Senegal on January 21.

1 Portuguese   

n.葡萄牙人；葡萄牙语

参考例句：

• They styled their house in the Portuguese manner.他们仿照葡萄牙的风格设计自己的房子。
• Her family is Portuguese in origin.她的家族是葡萄牙血统。

2 steers   

n.阉公牛，肉用公牛( steer的名词复数 )v.驾驶( steer的第三人称单数 )；操纵；控制；引导

参考例句：

• This car steers easily. 这部车子易于驾驶。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Good fodder fleshed the steers up. 优质饲料使菜牛长肉。 来自辞典例句

3 terrain   

n.地面，地形，地图

参考例句：

• He had made a detailed study of the terrain.他对地形作了缜密的研究。
• He knows the terrain of this locality like the back of his hand.他对这一带的地形了如指掌。

4 pending   

prep.直到，等待…期间；adj.待定的；迫近的

参考例句：

• The lawsuit is still pending in the state court.这案子仍在州法庭等待定夺。
• He knew my examination was pending.他知道我就要考试了。

5 confirmation   

n.证实，确认，批准

参考例句：

• We are waiting for confirmation of the news.我们正在等待证实那个消息。
• We need confirmation in writing before we can send your order out.给你们发送订购的货物之前，我们需要书面确认。

6 scouting   

守候活动，童子军的活动

参考例句：

• I have people scouting the hills already. 我已经让人搜过那些山了。
• Perhaps also from the Gospel it passed into the tradition of scouting. 也许又从《福音书》传入守望的传统。 来自演讲部分

7 depicting   

描绘，描画( depict的现在分词 )； 描述

参考例句：

• a painting depicting the Virgin and Child 一幅描绘童贞马利亚和圣子耶稣的画
• The movie depicting the battles and bloodshed is bound to strike home. 这部描写战斗和流血牺牲的影片一定会取得预期效果。