VOA慢速英语2016--肯尼亚举办难民奥运会

AS IT IS 2016-06-28 Kenya Hosts Refugee¹ Olympic Athletes 肯尼亚举办难民奥运会

When athletes from around the world march in the opening ceremony of the 2016 Olympic Games, one team will walk into the stadium without a country flag.

The team will be carrying the Olympic flag, instead.

They are the team of refugees².

The International Olympic Committee announced in March that it would sponsor the first-ever Olympic refugee team. It named 10 athletes to the team in June.

The athletes are from Syria, South Sudan, Ethiopia and the Democratic Republic of Congo. They will compete in the swimming, running and judo³ events at the Olympic Games, which start on August 5 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

The IOC says it hopes the 10 athletes can be a “symbol of hope” for refugees worldwide, as well as a reminder⁴ of the refugee crisis⁵.

Five of the refugee Olympic athletes are runners from South Sudan. They are training in Kenya.

Rose Nathike Lokonyen is one of the team members. She was just four years old when her family left South Sudan. Now, she is 23. She and her family lived at a refugee camp in Kenya for 16 years.

She says she was determined⁶ to participate in sports from young age. She remembers her father punishing her for playing soccer. She says he was “just looking after me.”

Lokonyen thinks about her family often. She had to leave her younger brothers at the refugee camp in order to train for the Olympics.

Lokonyen trains with the four other runners from South Sudan at a training center named after Tegla Loroupe, a famous Kenyan runner. She competed in the marathon and 10,000-meter races at many Olympics and world championships.

Lokonyen runs for about two hours each day to train for the Olympics. She will compete in the 800-meter race in Rio.

Jackson Kemboi is the manager of the training camp in Kenya. He says he is hopeful about the athletes’ chances in Rio. He describes them as “disciplined, and that is what’s needed most.”

A recent story from the New York Times called the runners from South Sudan “promising⁷” but “untested in top competition.”

Words in This Story

sponsor – n. a person or organization that pays the cost of an activity or event

judo – n. a sport developed in Japan in which opponents attempt to throw or wrestle⁸ each other to the ground

miss – v. to be without something

promising – adj. likely to succeed or to be good : full of promise

contend⁹ – v. to compete with someone or for something

disciplined – adj. being able to do something by controlling your behavior

stadium – n. a very large usually roofless building that has a large open area surrounded by many rows of seats and that is used for sports events, concerts, etc.

1 refugee   

n.难民，流亡者

参考例句：

• The refugee was condemned to a life of wandering.这个难民注定要过流浪的生活。
• The refugee is suffering for want of food and medical supplies.难民苦于缺少食物和医药用品。

2 refugees   

n.避难者，难民( refugee的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The UN has begun making airdrops of food to refugees. 联合国已开始向难民空投食物。
• They claimed they were political refugees and not economic migrants. 他们宣称自己是政治难民，不是经济移民。

3 judo   

n.柔道

参考例句：

• The judo is a kind of fighting sport.柔道是一种对抗性体育活动。
• Which is more important in judo, strength or techniques?柔道运动中，力量和技术哪个更重要？

4 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。

5 crisis   

n.危机，危急关头，决定性时刻，关键阶段

参考例句：

• He had proved that he could be relied on in a crisis.他已表明，在紧要关头他是可以信赖的。
• The topic today centers about the crisis in the Middle East.今天课题的中心是中东危机。

6 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

7 promising   

adj.有希望的，有前途的

参考例句：

• The results of the experiments are very promising.实验的结果充满了希望。
• We're trying to bring along one or two promising young swimmers.我们正设法培养出一两名有前途的年轻游泳选手。

8 wrestle   

vi.摔跤，角力；搏斗；全力对付

参考例句：

• He taught his little brother how to wrestle.他教他小弟弟如何摔跤。
• We have to wrestle with difficulties.我们必须同困难作斗争。

9 contend   

vi.竞争，搏斗，声称，主张；vt.坚持主张

参考例句：

• The firm is too small to contend against large international companies.这家公司太小，无法与国际性的大公司竞争。
• Let a hundred flowers blossom,let a hundred schools of thought contend.百花齐放，百家争鸣。