Celebrating 100 days to go

 　　Celeberating 100 days to go

　　countdown 倒计时

　　gala 晚会

　　marathon 马拉松

　　racquet 球拍

　　shuttlecock 毽子

　　Bonus

　　Expressions

　　go walk about

　　(来访的人)在人群中漫步

　　The royal family went on a walkabout at the barbecue party, shaking hands with ordinary people.

　　皇室成员穿梭在烤肉排队的人群中，频频和群众握手。

　　put one’s best foot forward

　　竭尽所能

　　Come on, put your best foot forward for this interview. You have no other choice.

　　来吧，让我们努力准备这个面试。我们已经别无选择。

　　throw in the towel

　　承认失败，随后放弃

　　意思相近的短语有 throw in the sponge¹

　　I can’t move this huge rock; I’m throwing in the towel and going home.

　　我搬不动这块大石头，我还是放弃吧。

　　Chatter² box

　　Wang and Xiao are talking about applying for a university.

　　Wang: I haven’t heard any news from Peking University so far. Have you?

　　Xiao: Not yet. They’re supposed to publish the results in a couple of days. So, take it easy.

　　Wang: I’m praying that I’ll be admitted. It doesn’t matter which department, I don’t care.

　　Xiao: I agree.

　　STUDENTS in Beijing plan to celebrate Wednesday’s 100-day countdown to the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games in different ways.

　　Some are holding a gala, some organized a marathon and others plan to hang national flags in their dorms to show their support for the Games.

　　21st Century went walk about on campuses and talked to students about how they feel with the Olympics just 100 days away.

　　China University of Political Science and Law

　　More than 1,000 students took part in a 15-kilometer long-distance walk. The route started from the university and wound its way north to the Ming Tombs, near where the Olympic triathlon will be held in August. Students wore uniforms that symbolize³ the five different colors of the Olympic rings.

　　Lu Jia

　　18 sophomore⁴, international law school

　　Did you enjoy the long-distance walking?

　　Lu: It was a long way and I almost threw in the towel halfway⁵ through. It was a great relief when I passed the finishing line. Sport is hard for us at university because we don’t have physical training classes anymore, like we had in high school. The Olympic Games is bringing a sporting atmosphere to our campus and forcing us to get into the spirit of athletics⁶.

　　Beijing Jiaotong University

　　The university volunteer association has started collecting sports equipment donated by students. Footballs, basketballs, badminton racquets, table tennis bats and so on will all be sent to a primary school for the kids of migrant workers in Tongzhou County in north Beijing.

　　Liu Yan

　　19, freshman⁷, a member of the association

　　Why did you donate sports equipment?

　　Liu: The primary school is so poor that it even can’t afford basic sports equipment. Many of the kids we talked to haven’t touched a basketball in their lives. For most of them, the Olympics seem a distant proposition⁸, even though it will happen in the city they live in. We are helping⁹ draw them closer to the Games by introducing them to basketball and football, allowing them to get involved with the fun side of sports.

　　University of International Business and Economics¹⁰

　　The university is said to have one of the largest campus student dorm in Asia. It has 2,500 rooms and around 10,000 people live in the building. This Sunday, all the lights will be turned off; then some will be turned on to form “Beijing” and the five rings symbol.

　　Dong Liang

　　20, sophomore, law student

　　How do you think you will feel the moment you see the word “Beijing” and the five rings symbol?

　　Dong: We had a similar light-based ceremony last year, which projected the words “I love UIBE”. People screamed and clapped their hands for 10 minutes. It gave me a real sense of belonging. I felt I had to try my hardest to honor my university. I imagine I will have the same feeling when I see Beijing and the five rings all lit up. I will put my best foot forward and try to do everything I can to support the Olympic Games.

1 sponge   

n.海绵，海绵状的东西；v.用海绵擦拭，吸收掉， 抹掉

参考例句：

• The child is screwing water out of a sponge.小孩正把海绵中的水挤出来。
• You should try to sponge out the memory of the accident.你该努力抹除那次事故的记忆。

2 chatter   

vi.／n.喋喋不休；短促尖叫；(牙齿)打战

参考例句：

• Her continuous chatter vexes me.她的喋喋不休使我烦透了。
• I've had enough of their continual chatter.我已厌烦了他们喋喋不休的闲谈。

3 symbolize   

vt.作为...的象征，用符号代表

参考例句：

• Easter eggs symbolize the renewal of life.复活蛋象征新生。
• Dolphins symbolize the breath of life.海豚象征着生命的气息。

4 sophomore   

n.大学二年级生；adj.第二年的

参考例句：

• He is in his sophomore year.他在读二年级。
• I'm a college sophomore majoring in English.我是一名英语专业的大二学生。

5 halfway   

adj.中途的，不彻底的，部分的；adv.半路地，在中途，在半途

参考例句：

• We had got only halfway when it began to get dark.走到半路，天就黑了。
• In study the worst danger is give up halfway.在学习上，最忌讳的是有始无终。

6 athletics   

n.运动，体育，田径运动

参考例句：

• When I was at school I was always hopeless at athletics.我上学的时候体育十分糟糕。
• Our team tied with theirs in athletics.在田径比赛中，我们队与他们队旗鼓相当。

7 freshman   

n.大学一年级学生(可兼指男女)

参考例句：

• Jack decided to live in during his freshman year at college.杰克决定大一时住校。
• He is a freshman in the show business.他在演艺界是一名新手。

8 proposition   

n.建议，命题，主张；vt.向...提议，向...调情

参考例句：

• The two teams prepared to debate the given proposition.两个队准备就所给定的命题展开辩论。
• It is clearly illogical to maintain such a proposition.坚持这种主张显然是没有道理的。

9 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

10 economics   

n.经济学，经济情况

参考例句：

• He is studying economics,which subject is very important.他正在学习经济学，该学科是很重要的。
• One can't separate politics from economics.不能把政治与经济割裂开来。