VOA标准英语2010年-Warm Weather Wrecks Havoc on Olympic S

The warm weather has played havoc¹ with the Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver and Whistler, Canada.  Warm temperatures caused by the "El Nino" weather phenomenon have left Vancouver area devoid² of snow, and Whistler slushy and sloppy³ as athletes wait to compete.

The men's downhill ski event - considered the premier⁴ Alpine⁵ event at any Olympics - had to be postponed⁶ for two days because rain soaked the course in Whistler.  Olympic rules require at least one practice run.  And rain on the course made training impossible.  In addition, the women's super-combined event had to be postponed because of the wet conditions.

The Cypress⁷ Mountain venue⁸ - where freestyle skiing, snowboarding and moguls events are scheduled - had no natural snow.  Canadian organizers are bringing in snow by the truckload to prepare the course for competition.  Off days are built into the Olympic schedule.  But practice on the courses has been impossible because of rain and warm temperatures.

But the warm and wet conditions have not dampened the spirits of Canadian Olympic torch relay runner Gerald Arksey.  Dressed in his white relay uniform and carrying the now extinguished Olympic torch he carried in Squamish, Canada, Arksey says the warm weather is not unusual. "The weather is fairly normal.  You know, it varies year to year.  But it is not unusual to have weather this warm.  I think everybody's going to carry on," he said.

Canadian fan Ken⁹ Kresdee is wearing a huge wizard's pointed¹⁰ hat covered with Canadian flags in downtown Vancouver.  He says that temperatures have deviated¹¹ only a few degrees from what the area has normally. "If you are on the eastern side of this continent, you are used to getting winter weather.  Here, this is pretty much our winter, except that it is probably three or four degrees warmer than normal.  It should be four or five, six degrees Celsius¹² right now.  And we should have more snow.  So the El Nino effect has had an effect," he said.

This is not the first Winter Games to suffer poor conditions.  The 1998 Olympics were hit by rain, fog and snowstorms - even an earthquake - that affected¹³ the competition schedule in Nagano.

Despite El Nino, fans like Kresdee and Arksey say Canadian spirits are high.  And both men predicted that Vancouver will host a successful Winter Games. 

But the weather might not cooperate.  Forecasters are calling for the warm temperatures to continue with downtown readings expected at about 10 degrees for the next several days.  In Whistler, the forecast calls for temperatures between four and eight degrees, with only a few snow showers for the next 10 days.

 

1 havoc   

n.大破坏，浩劫，大混乱，大杂乱

参考例句：

• The earthquake wreaked havoc on the city.地震对这个城市造成了大破坏。
• This concentration of airborne firepower wrought havoc with the enemy forces.这次机载火力的集中攻击给敌军造成很大破坏。

2 devoid   

adj.全无的，缺乏的

参考例句：

• He is completely devoid of humour.他十分缺乏幽默。
• The house is totally devoid of furniture.这所房子里什么家具都没有。

3 sloppy   

adj.邋遢的，不整洁的

参考例句：

• If you do such sloppy work again,I promise I'll fail you.要是下次作业你再马马虎虎，我话说在头里，可要给你打不及格了。
• Mother constantly picked at him for being sloppy.母亲不断地批评他懒散。

4 premier   

adj.首要的；n.总理，首相

参考例句：

• The Irish Premier is paying an official visit to Britain.爱尔兰总理正在对英国进行正式访问。
• He requested that the premier grant him an internview.他要求那位总理接见他一次。

5 alpine   

adj.高山的；n.高山植物

参考例句：

• Alpine flowers are abundant there.那里有很多高山地带的花。
• Its main attractions are alpine lakes and waterfalls .它以高山湖泊和瀑布群为主要特色。

6 postponed   

vt.& vi.延期，缓办，（使）延迟vt.把…放在次要地位；[语]把…放在后面（或句尾）vi.（疟疾等）延缓发作（或复发）

参考例句：

• The trial was postponed indefinitely. 审讯无限期延迟。
• The game has already been postponed three times. 这场比赛已经三度延期了。

7 cypress   

n.柏树

参考例句：

• The towering pine and cypress trees defy frost and snow.松柏参天傲霜雪。
• The pine and the cypress remain green all the year round.苍松翠柏，常绿不凋。

8 venue   

n.犯罪地点，审判地，管辖地，发生地点，集合地点

参考例句：

• The hall provided a venue for weddings and other functions.大厅给婚礼和其他社会活动提供了场所。
• The chosen venue caused great controversy among the people.人们就审判地点的问题产生了极大的争议。

9 ken   

n.视野，知识领域

参考例句：

• Such things are beyond my ken.我可不懂这些事。
• Abstract words are beyond the ken of children.抽象的言辞超出小孩所理解的范围.

10 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

11 deviated   

v.偏离，越轨( deviate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• On this occasion the plane deviated from its usual flight path. 这一次那架飞机偏离了正常的航线。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• His statements sometimes deviated from the truth. 他的陈述有时偏离事实。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 Celsius   

adj.摄氏温度计的，摄氏的

参考例句：

• The temperature tonight will fall to seven degrees Celsius.今晚气温将下降到七摄氏度。
• The maximum temperature in July may be 36 degrees Celsius.七月份最高温度可能达到36摄氏度。

13 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。