VOA慢速英语20116 美国游泳运动员瑞安·洛赫特被撤销赞助分享到:

AS IT IS 2016-08-24 U.S. Swimmer Ryan Lochte Loses Sponsors 美国游泳运动员瑞安·洛赫特被撤销赞助分享到:

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现在是《正在发生》节目。

Ryan Lochte’s name stayed in the news this week, two days after the closing ceremony of the Rio de Janeiro Summer Olympics.

里约热内卢夏季奥运会闭幕式结束两天后，瑞安·洛赫特的名字依然出现在这周的新闻里面。

Lochte is the American swimmer who did not tell the truth about being robbed early one morning during the Rio Games.

洛赫特是美国游泳运动员，关于里约奥运会期间有一天早上被抢劫的事，他没有说实话。

Four of Lochte’s sponsors said they would no longer support him. Two of the sponsors are well-known companies, Speedo and Ralph Lauren.

洛赫特的四家赞助商称将不会再与他合作。其中两家公司比较著名，分别是速比涛和拉尔夫·劳伦。

Speedo makes swimwear, including the suits many swimmers wore in the Olympics. Ralph Lauren made the clothing Team USA athletes wore during the opening and closing ceremonies in Rio de Janeiro.

速比涛是泳衣制造商，包括制造了许多奥运游泳选手穿的泳衣。拉尔夫·劳伦制造了美国代表团在里约奥运会开幕式和闭幕式上穿的衣服。

Many companies pay money so athletes will wear their clothing, use their equipment and appear in their advertisements.

很多公司花钱赞助运动员穿他们的衣服、用他们的设备，并出现在他们的广告上。

Lochte got into trouble for saying he and three teammates were robbed when men posing as police officers stopped his taxi.

洛赫特惹了麻烦——他说他和三名队友被自称警察的人逼停了出租车，还被抢劫了。

But after the Rio de Janeiro police investigated the incident, it turned out that Lochte was not telling the truth. Video cameras at a gas station showed Lochte and his teammates getting into an argument with armed security guards.

但是里约当地警方调查这起事件之后，发现洛赫特并没有说实话。一家加油站的监控录像显示，洛赫特和他的队友们和带着武器的保安吵了起来。

Lochte and his teammates explained that they were asked to pay money for damaging property at the gas station.

洛赫特和他的队友解释称，因为破坏了加油站的财产，他们被要求赔钱。

But the explanation came many days after the first story they told.

但这是在出了第一种说法之后好几天才等来的解释。

In an interview, Lochte said the incident and his behavior tarnished² the Rio de Janeiro Olympics “a little.”

在一次采访中，洛赫特说这起事件和他的行为给里约奥运会蒙上了“一点点”阴影。

Speedo said it would donate $50,000 to a charity that supports children.

速比涛称将给一家儿童慈善机构捐赠五万美元。

The other sponsors that ended their connection with Lochte were a hair removal company and a Japanese company that makes mattresses³.

其他与洛赫特终止合作关系的公司是一家脱毛剂公司以及一家制造床垫的日本公司。

Sponsors can usually end their deals with an athlete if he or she behaves badly.

如果运动员行为不端，赞助商通常可以和他（她）们终止合作协议。

Many people on Facebook and Twitter reacted to the news. They said the moral of the Lochte story is: take responsibility for your actions, however embarrassing they may be.

脸书网和推特上的很多人都对这件事做出了反应。他们说洛赫特事件的寓意是：不管自己做的事有多尴尬，都要为自己的行为负责。

Others said people should remember “what you do in the present affects your future.”

也有人说，人们应该记住“你现在的行为会影响你的未来”。

Words in This Story

sponsor – n. an individual or organization that gives money to an athlete for training, clothes, equipment, etc., in return for the right to use the athlete for advertising⁴

tarnish¹ – v. to damage the good quality of something

pose as – v. to pretend to be someone in order to deceive people

teammate – n. a person who is on the same team as someone else

embarrassing – adj. confusing or foolish relating to actions or behavior

1 tarnish   

n.晦暗，污点；vt.使失去光泽；玷污

参考例句：

• The affair could tarnish the reputation of the prime minister.这一事件可能有损首相的名誉。
• Stainless steel products won't tarnish.不锈钢产品不会失去光泽。

2 tarnished   

（通常指金属）（使）失去光泽，（使）变灰暗( tarnish的过去式和过去分词 )； 玷污，败坏

参考例句：

• The mirrors had tarnished with age. 这些镜子因年深日久而照影不清楚。
• His bad behaviour has tarnished the good name of the school. 他行为不轨，败坏了学校的声誉。

3 mattresses   

褥垫，床垫( mattress的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The straw mattresses are airing there. 草垫子正在那里晾着。
• The researchers tested more than 20 mattresses of various materials. 研究人员试验了二十多个不同材料的床垫。

4 advertising   

n.广告业；广告活动 a.广告的；广告业务的

参考例句：

• Can you give me any advice on getting into advertising? 你能指点我如何涉足广告业吗?
• The advertising campaign is aimed primarily at young people. 这个广告宣传运动主要是针对年轻人的。