Yearender: Credibility of Olympic Movement tested in 2012

 BEIJING, Jan. 1 (Xinhua) -- The credibility of the Olympic Movement was called into question in 2012 again when a string of scandals and controversies¹ hit the Olympics in London.

Starting with a ticket sale scandal and ending with a voting violation², the third Summer Games that the British capital has staged were not just a test of Olympic ability, also a test of the Olympic ideals.

Even before the July 27-Aug. 12 extravaganza had begun, there came an embarrassment³ for the International Olympic Committee (IOC) when Britain's Sunday Times reported in mid-June that national Olympic committee officials and ticket agents in several countries were caught offering tickets on the black market for up to 10 times their face value.

As the NOCs are forbidden to sell their tickets abroad or to anyone who plans to resell them, the IOC was quick to launch an investigation⁴ into the report.

After a five-month probe, the IOC ethnics⁵ commission ruled that six officials from four countries - Greece, Lithuania, Malta and Serbia "helped tarnish⁶ the reputation" of the Olympics by offering tickets to the black market and ordered the national Olympic committees concerned "to take the appropriate measures" against their officials or face further action, such as withdrawing accreditation⁷ for Olympic events including the Olympic Games.

Meanwhile, the IOC promised to overhaul⁸ its system of allocating⁹ tickets for the 2016 Rio Games to avoid a repeat of the London situation.

The most controversial incident during the London Games was the disqualification of eight female badminton players - from China, South Korea and Indonesia - on the basis they were deliberately¹⁰ trying to lose their final group matches, to save energy and get a more favorable draw in the knock-out stage.

While some argued that it is all right to lose on purpose in the pursuit of ultimate victory, Thomas Lund, secretary general for the Badminton World Federation¹¹, explained the decision to disqualify the players in the following way: "The rules say you have to win every match, and that doesn't mean you throw some matches and win other matches."

But the BWF also had itself to blame for a change of format¹² for the Olympic badminton competition, which went from a straightforward¹³ knock-out event to a round-robin stage followed by knock-out.

Aware of the danger of being dropped from the Olympics after 2016, the BWF decided¹⁴ in November to change the Olympic doubles rules. In the future, following the group stage, all pairs finishing second in their groups would be placed into a second draw to determine who they face in the knockout phase.

"This will eliminate any player's thoughts about actively¹⁵ trying to lose a match or matches, irrespective of other match results," the BWF said.

The high-profile farce¹⁶ in badminton is not the only controversy¹⁷ that had marred¹⁸ the 2012 Olympics.

More than a few eyebrows¹⁹ were raised when Ye Shiwen, a 16-year-old Chinese swimmer, knocked five seconds off her personal best in the 400-meter individual medley²⁰. She even swam the final 50m of the freestyle leg of her 400m medley faster than the winner of the men's race, American Ryan Lochte, sparking biased²¹ speculation²² which rebounded²³ back against her accusers as voice after voice spoke²⁴ out to defend her displays and drug tests proved that she was clean.

To add to the woes²⁵ of the London Games, officiating was not up to Olympic standards.

British cyclist Philip Hindes admitted during an interview in the mixed zone immediately after the men's team sprint²⁶ that he deliberately crashed in an earlier round because he did not like the start he had. The British team eventually won the restarted race. The International Cycling Union said they were aware of Hindes' remarks but insisted the result of the qualifying race "was not in question", and the IOC also said it would not investigate.

The closing scandal of the games involves lollipops²⁷. Two of four candidates who were elected to the IOC's athletes' commission have been disqualified for breaching²⁸ strict election rules. Both are Olympic gold medalists -Japanese hammer thrower Koji Murofushi and Mu-Ye Chu, a Chinese Taipei taekwondo athlete.

Chu was accused of handing out sweets to athletes, and Murofushi accused of campaigning too hard, such as distributing promotional material to athletes at the Olympic Village dining hall.

While there were other scandals and controversies in connection with the London Olympics, including a couple of positive drug tests and brand protection, these Games, which was dubbed²⁹ by IOC president Jacques Rogge as "happy and glorious Games", had much to brag³⁰ about.

History was made as all the NOCs participating in London brought women athletes, setting a new benchmark for female participation³¹.

In Atlanta 1996 there were still 26 NOCs that came to the Games without women. In Beijing 2008, there were still three NOCs: Qatar, Brunei and Saudi Arabia that had no female participants.

Now that was a part of the past. All three NOCs sent female athletes to the 2012 Summer Olympics, with both Brunei and Qatar selecting female flag bearers at the opening ceremony.

Also, these Games were the only one in which women competed in every sport.

During two weeks of sporting spectacle Jamaican sprinter³² Usain Bolt and U.S. swimmer Michael Phelps lit up the Olympic Park in east London.

Bolt became the first man to win back-to-back Olympic title trebles in the men's 100m and 200m and 4x100m relay. Phelps created history as well when he won four golds to take his life-time medal haul to 22, including 18 golds, making him the most decorated Olympian in history.

The spotlight³³ quickly switched to the 2016 Summer Games in Rio de Janerio after the London closing ceremony, with the Brazilian city already struggling with its biggest project.

"Our message remains³⁴: There is time, but time is ticking, and they need to carry on attacking this one with all vigor," IOC spokesman Mark Adams said earlier this month after Rio organizers briefed the IOC executive board on their preparations.

The global economic slowdown has had an impact on the London Games but the IOC's financial situation remains solid with reserves of 558 million U.S. dollars and continuing increases in television and sponsorship revenues.

"For the period 2014-16 we already have 3.6 billion dollars, and it should reach and exceed 4 billion," IOC president Jacques Rogge said in July.

In addition, 722 million dollars have already been generated for the 2017-20 period.

Tokyo, Madrid and Istanbul are nearing the final straight in the race to host the 2020 Games, with the decision due next July in Buenos Aires, where Rogge will also end his 12-year tenure³⁵ at the helm of the IOC.

1 controversies   

争论

参考例句：

• We offer no comment on these controversies here. 对于这些争议，我们在这里不作任何评论。 来自英汉非文学 - 历史
• The controversies surrounding population growth are unlikely to subside soon. 围绕着人口增长问题的争论看来不会很快平息。 来自辞典例句

2 violation   

n.违反(行为)，违背(行为)，侵犯

参考例句：

• He roared that was a violation of the rules.他大声说，那是违反规则的。
• He was fined 200 dollars for violation of traffic regulation.他因违反交通规则被罚款200美元。

3 embarrassment   

n.尴尬；使人为难的人(事物)；障碍；窘迫

参考例句：

• She could have died away with embarrassment.她窘迫得要死。
• Coughing at a concert can be a real embarrassment.在音乐会上咳嗽真会使人难堪。

4 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

5 ethnics   

n.伦理学，人种学

参考例句：

• Philadelphia may be known as home of the establishment and ethnics. 费城也许是名门和族裔之乡。 来自辞典例句
• For ethnics who want to add their culture to the mosaic that is America. 为想把自己的文化添入美国万花筒的少数族裔说话。 来自演讲部分

6 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。

7 accreditation   

n.委派，信赖，鉴定合格

参考例句：

• a letter of accreditation 一份合格证明书
• This paper gives an overview of the Verification, Validation and Accreditation (VV&A) in High Level Architecture(HLA). 对基于高层体系结构(High Level Architecture,简称HLA)的仿真系统的校核、验证与确认(Verification, Validation and Accreditation,简称VV&A)问题进行了详细的介绍及分析。 来自互联网

8 overhaul   

v./n.大修，仔细检查

参考例句：

• Master Worker Wang is responsible for the overhaul of this grinder.王师傅主修这台磨床。
• It is generally appreciated that the rail network needs a complete overhaul.众所周知，铁路系统需要大检修。

9 allocating   

分配，分派( allocate的现在分词 )； 把…拨给

参考例句：

• Administrative practice generally follows the judicial model in allocating burdens of proof. 在分配举证责任方面，行政实践通常遵循司法模式。
• A cyclical multiplexing technique, allocating resources in fixed-time slices. 以固定的时间片分配资源的循环复用技术。

10 deliberately   

adv.审慎地；蓄意地；故意地

参考例句：

• The girl gave the show away deliberately.女孩故意泄露秘密。
• They deliberately shifted off the argument.他们故意回避这个论点。

11 federation   

n.同盟，联邦，联合，联盟，联合会

参考例句：

• It is a federation of 10 regional unions.它是由十个地方工会结合成的联合会。
• Mr.Putin was inaugurated as the President of the Russian Federation.普京正式就任俄罗斯联邦总统。

12 format   

n.设计，版式；[计算机]格式，DOS命令:格式化(磁盘)，用于空盘或使用过的磁盘建立新空盘来存储数据；v.使格式化，设计，安排

参考例句：

• Please format this floppy disc.请将这张软盘格式化。
• The format of the figure is very tasteful.该图表的格式很雅致。

13 straightforward   

adj.正直的，坦率的；易懂的，简单的

参考例句：

• A straightforward talk is better than a flowery speech.巧言不如直说。
• I must insist on your giving me a straightforward answer.我一定要你给我一个直截了当的回答。

14 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

15 actively   

adv.积极地，勤奋地

参考例句：

• During this period all the students were actively participating.在这节课中所有的学生都积极参加。
• We are actively intervening to settle a quarrel.我们正在积极调解争执。

16 farce   

n.闹剧，笑剧，滑稽戏；胡闹

参考例句：

• They played a shameful role in this farce.他们在这场闹剧中扮演了可耻的角色。
• The audience roared at the farce.闹剧使观众哄堂大笑。

17 controversy   

n.争论，辩论，争吵

参考例句：

• That is a fact beyond controversy.那是一个无可争论的事实。
• We ran the risk of becoming the butt of every controversy.我们要冒使自己在所有的纷争中都成为众矢之的的风险。

18 marred   

adj. 被损毁, 污损的

参考例句：

• The game was marred by the behaviour of drunken fans. 喝醉了的球迷行为不轨，把比赛给搅了。
• Bad diction marred the effectiveness of his speech. 措词不当影响了他演说的效果。

19 eyebrows   

眉毛( eyebrow的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Eyebrows stop sweat from coming down into the eyes. 眉毛挡住汗水使其不能流进眼睛。
• His eyebrows project noticeably. 他的眉毛特别突出。

20 medley   

n.混合

参考例句：

• Today's sports meeting doesn't seem to include medley relay swimming.现在的运动会好象还没有混合接力泳这个比赛项目。
• China won the Men's 200 metres Individual Medley.中国赢得了男子200米个人混合泳比赛。

21 biased   

a.有偏见的

参考例句：

• a school biased towards music and art 一所偏重音乐和艺术的学校
• The Methods: They employed were heavily biased in the gentry's favour. 他们采用的方法严重偏袒中上阶级。

22 speculation   

n.思索，沉思；猜测；投机

参考例句：

• Her mind is occupied with speculation.她的头脑忙于思考。
• There is widespread speculation that he is going to resign.人们普遍推测他要辞职。

23 rebounded   

弹回( rebound的过去式和过去分词 )； 反弹； 产生反作用； 未能奏效

参考例句：

• The ball rebounded from the goalpost and Owen headed it in. 球从门柱弹回，欧文头球将球攻进。
• The ball rebounded from his racket into the net. 球从他的球拍上弹回网中。

24 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

25 woes   

困境( woe的名词复数 )； 悲伤； 我好苦哇； 某人就要倒霉

参考例句：

• Thanks for listening to my woes. 谢谢您听我诉说不幸的遭遇。
• She has cried the blues about its financial woes. 对于经济的困难她叫苦不迭。

26 sprint   

n.短距离赛跑；vi. 奋力而跑，冲刺；vt.全速跑过

参考例句：

• He put on a sprint to catch the bus.他全速奔跑以赶上公共汽车。
• The runner seemed to be rallied for a final sprint.这名赛跑者似乎在振作精神作最后的冲刺。

27 lollipops   

n.棒糖，棒棒糖( lollipop的名词复数 )；（用交通指挥牌让车辆暂停以便儿童安全通过马路的）交通纠察

参考例句：

• I bought lollipops and a toot-toot bugle. I started for home. 我给她买了棒棒糖，一吹就呜的打响的小喇叭。我就往回走。 来自互联网
• Our company specialize marshmallows, lollipops, bubble gums, chocolates and toys with candy. 本公司主要出口棉花糖、棒棒糖、泡泡糖、巧克力、儿童玩具等。 来自互联网

28 breaching   

攻破( breach的过去式 )； 破坏，违反

参考例句：

• The company was prosecuted for breaching the Health and Safety Act. 这家公司被控违反《卫生安全条例》。
• Third, an agency can abuse its discretion by breaching certain principles of judge-made law. 第三，行政机关会因违反某些法官制定的法律原则而构成滥用自由裁量权。

29 dubbed   

v.给…起绰号( dub的过去式和过去分词 )；把…称为；配音；复制

参考例句：

• Mathematics was once dubbed the handmaiden of the sciences. 数学曾一度被视为各门科学的基础。
• Is the movie dubbed or does it have subtitles? 这部电影是配音的还是打字幕的？ 来自《简明英汉词典》

30 brag   

v./n.吹牛，自夸；adj.第一流的

参考例句：

• He made brag of his skill.他夸耀自己技术高明。
• His wealth is his brag.他夸张他的财富。

31 participation   

n.参与，参加，分享

参考例句：

• Some of the magic tricks called for audience participation.有些魔术要求有观众的参与。
• The scheme aims to encourage increased participation in sporting activities.这个方案旨在鼓励大众更多地参与体育活动。

32 sprinter   

n.短跑运动员，短距离全速奔跑者

参考例句：

• He is more a sprinter than a swimmer. 他是短跑健将，而不是游泳选手。 来自辞典例句
• The sprinter himself thinks he can run the race at 9.4 seconds. 这位短跑运动员自认为可以用9.4秒跑完比赛。 来自互联网

33 spotlight   

n.公众注意的中心，聚光灯，探照灯，视听，注意，醒目

参考例句：

• This week the spotlight is on the world of fashion.本周引人瞩目的是时装界。
• The spotlight followed her round the stage.聚光灯的光圈随着她在舞台上转。

34 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

35 tenure   

n.终身职位；任期；(土地)保有权，保有期

参考例句：

• He remained popular throughout his tenure of the office of mayor.他在担任市长的整个任期内都深得民心。
• Land tenure is a leading political issue in many parts of the world.土地的保有权在世界很多地区是主要的政治问题。