VOA标准英语2009年-Tokyo Bids for 2016 Olympics

By Akiko Fujita
Tokyo
01 October 2009

 
Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama pledges Thursday, 01 Oct. 2009 to do his utmost to bring the Olympics to Tokyo in 2016 as he prepared to go to Copenhagen for the big vote 
The International Olympic Committee will announce the host city for the 2016 Summer Games on Friday. Four cities are competing, including Tokyo. The capital of Japan is the only contender to have held the Olympics before - and the public is not exactly supporting a second run.

Large posters reading "Tokyo 2016" tower from buildings at Tokyo's Yoyogi Park. The site of the 1964 Olympic Games would be the location of the 2016 Summer Games if Tokyo is selected.

But you would be hard-pressed to find anyone who cares in the park.

Tomoko Shimada who was visiting the park with her young son says she has heard about Tokyo's bid on the news but nobody around me seems to care.

That apathy¹ could hurt Tokyo's chances of on Friday when the International Olympic Committee selects the host city for 2016. IOC members have already criticized the city's bid committee for lacking "emotional punch" in its presentations. And they have questioned public support for the bid.

The bid committee tried to quiet that criticism by highlighting Tokyo's strengths.

A video produced by the city describes Tokyo as a world class destination - with venues² already fit for the Games.

The committee plans to renovate³ venues used for the 1964 games and says more than half of the required facilities already exist. The plan is to keep all but two of the sporting events within an eight-kilometer radius⁴.

The committee's strongest pitch? An environmentally friendly Olympics - where the main stadium would be powered entirely⁵ by solar energy.

Newly elected Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama and his wife are in Copenhagen to make the final push for Tokyo. But back home, few are expected to tune⁶ in for the big announcement.

This woman says if the Olympics come here it will only add to the city's congestion⁷. She says the Games themselves will not affect her life.

1 apathy   

n.漠不关心，无动于衷；冷淡

参考例句：

• He was sunk in apathy after his failure.他失败后心恢意冷。
• She heard the story with apathy.她听了这个故事无动于衷。

2 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

3 renovate   

vt.更新，革新，刷新

参考例句：

• The couple spent thousands renovating the house.这对夫妇花了几千元来翻新房子。
• They are going to renovate the old furniture.他们准备将旧家具整修一番。

4 radius   

n.半径，半径范围；有效航程，范围，界限

参考例句：

• He has visited every shop within a radius of two miles.周围两英里以内的店铺他都去过。
• We are measuring the radius of the circle.我们正在测量圆的半径。

5 entirely   

ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
• His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。

6 tune   

n.调子；和谐，协调；v.调音，调节，调整

参考例句：

• He'd written a tune,and played it to us on the piano.他写了一段曲子，并在钢琴上弹给我们听。
• The boy beat out a tune on a tin can.那男孩在易拉罐上敲出一首曲子。

7 congestion   

n.阻塞，消化不良

参考例句：

• The congestion in the city gets even worse during the summer.夏天城市交通阻塞尤为严重。
• Parking near the school causes severe traffic congestion.在学校附近泊车会引起严重的交通堵塞。