Program announced for 2012 London Cultural Olympiad

 　　LONDON, April 26 (Xinhua) -- Program for the London 2012 Festival to celebrate the Olympic and Paralympic Games was announced on Thursday.

　　The 12-week festival, from June 21 to September 9, will draw together more than 25,000 artists from all 204 competing countries and regions.

　　"The Olympic and Paralympic Games come to our home country once in a lifetime, and we faced the challenge to deliver a London 2012 Festival just as amazing," said Ruth Machenzie, director of the festival.

　　"If we get the Festival right, people will remember 2012 not just for amazing moments of sport, but for unforgettable art as well," she said.

　　According to Machenzie, the idea for such a festival derives¹ from Olympic Truce², as in ancient Greece, all nations agreed to stop fighting to listen to the artists and watch the athletes.

　　More than 10 million free tickets and opportunities were given for the festival across UK to enjoy free concerts, exhibitions and special outdoor spectaculars at some of the landmarks³ in the country such as Stonehenge, the Tower of London, Giant's Causeway, among others.

　　The festival has some Chinese elements as well. For instance, from June 18 to 19, dance featuring vitality⁴ and street life in Hong Kong will be performed in the Sadler's Wells Threater in London, and a movie showing pensioners⁵ from across the world compete in the over 80s Table Tennis Championships in Inner Mongolia is to be launched from July 3 to September 15.

　　Besides, an exhibition namely Treasures of China is to be put on from July 30 to next January in the Colchester Castle, and people could watch a funny and moving parable⁶ of consumerism, disconnection and flickering⁷ hope entitled "made in China" from June 25 to July 4 at the National Theater.

　　A China's all-female percussion⁸ band will stage a spell-binding show and Chinese superstar Gong Linna will appear on the Asia Stage in the Battersea Park on the weekend of 21 and 22 July.

　　"The breath-taking line up of artistic⁹ talent and inspired events heralds¹⁰ an Olympic Games that will be remembered as much for the beauty and excitement of its cultural experiences as for its sporting victories," said Alan Davey, chief executive of Arts Council England.

　　While Dugald Mackie, chair of Legacy¹¹ Trust UK, said: "We hope that people in communities across the UK will embrace Cultural Olympiad and Festival activities happening in their area this summer and come together to celebrate this once in a lifetime opportunity."

1 derives   

v.得到( derive的第三人称单数 )；（从…中）得到获得；源于；（从…中）提取

参考例句：

• English derives in the main from the common Germanic stock. 英语主要源于日耳曼语系。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He derives his income from freelance work. 他以自由职业获取收入。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 truce   

n.休战，(争执，烦恼等的)缓和；v.以停战结束

参考例句：

• The hot weather gave the old man a truce from rheumatism.热天使这位老人暂时免受风湿病之苦。
• She had thought of flying out to breathe the fresh air in an interval of truce.她想跑出去呼吸一下休战期间的新鲜空气。

3 landmarks   

n.陆标( landmark的名词复数 )；目标；（标志重要阶段的）里程碑 ~ (in sth)；有历史意义的建筑物（或遗址）

参考例句：

• The book stands out as one of the notable landmarks in the progress of modern science. 这部著作是现代科学发展史上著名的里程碑之一。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The baby was one of the big landmarks in our relationship. 孩子的出世是我们俩关系中的一个重要转折点。 来自辞典例句

4 vitality   

n.活力，生命力，效力

参考例句：

• He came back from his holiday bursting with vitality and good health.他度假归来之后，身强体壮，充满活力。
• He is an ambitious young man full of enthusiasm and vitality.他是个充满热情与活力的有远大抱负的青年。

5 pensioners   

n.领取退休、养老金或抚恤金的人( pensioner的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• He intends to redistribute income from the middle class to poorer paid employees and pensioners. 他意图把中产阶级到低薪雇员和退休人员的收入做重新分配。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I am myself one of the pensioners upon the fund left by our noble benefactor. 我自己就是一个我们的高贵的施主遗留基金的养老金领取者。 来自辞典例句

6 parable   

n.寓言，比喻

参考例句：

• This is an ancient parable.这是一个古老的寓言。
• The minister preached a sermon on the parable of the lost sheep.牧师讲道时用了亡羊的比喻。

7 flickering   

adj.闪烁的，摇曳的，一闪一闪的

参考例句：

• The crisp autumn wind is flickering away. 清爽的秋风正在吹拂。
• The lights keep flickering. 灯光忽明忽暗。

8 percussion   

n.打击乐器；冲突，撞击；震动，音响

参考例句：

• In an orchestra,people who play percussion instruments sit at the back.在管弦乐队中，演奏打击乐器的人会坐在后面。
• Percussion of the abdomen is often omitted.腹部叩诊常被省略。

9 artistic   

adj.艺术(家)的，美术(家)的；善于艺术创作的

参考例句：

• The picture on this screen is a good artistic work.这屏风上的画是件很好的艺术品。
• These artistic handicrafts are very popular with foreign friends.外国朋友很喜欢这些美术工艺品。

10 heralds   

n.使者( herald的名词复数 )；预报者；预兆；传令官v.预示( herald的第三人称单数 )；宣布（好或重要）

参考例句：

• The song of birds heralds the approach of spring. 百鸟齐鸣报春到。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• The wind sweeping through the tower heralds a rising storm in the mountain. 山雨欲来风满楼。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

11 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。