【话匣子英语】冬奥会

加拿大的冬天很长，而且温度又很低。所以很适合办冬奥会。

Harp¹: I’m so excited because we are in the middle of the Olympics. I love the Winter Olympics.

 

Andrew: That’s true. Yeah. I’m pretty excited for the Olympics today, and, you know what? Our topic for our conversation is the Olympics.

 

Harp: Yeah. It’s perfect. So let’s get started. We are gonna do a Chatterbox episode² today and that’s where we chat. And our topic today is the Olympics.

 

Andrew: Yeah. Specifically³ the Winter Olympics.

 

Harp: Yup. Exactly. So we’re going to start with talking about what the Olympics mean to Canadians. Then we’re going to talk about some of our Olympic memories. And we’re going to finish by talking about some of the different events in the Winter Olympics.

 

Andrew: Yeah. There are some new events this year so that’s going to be interesting to see. Harp: Yup. Exactly. So let’s get started. Our first topic: what the Winter Olympics mean to Canadians.

 

Andrew: Yes. As many of our listeners⁴ will know, Canada is a winter country. We have long, cold winters, and because of that. I think most Canadians really enjoy the winter Olympics more so than the summer Olympics.

 

Harp: Yup. And I think that there are two reasons for that.

 

Andrew: OK. Why? Harp: First reason is ‘cause it’s freezing⁵ outside, so we don’t want to go outside and can watch TV.

 

Andrew: Yeah. I agree with that. Yeah.

 

Harp: The second thing is, again, it’s freezing outside. So we can actually practice some these sports that we’re good at.

 

Andrew: Exactly. Canadians, we usually do much better in the Winter Olympics than we do in the Summer Olympics, and I think one of the reasons for that is that there are less countries to compete⁶ with, right?

 

Harp: Yup. Exactly. Summer Olympics, there are more warm countries, so there’s more competition. But it doesn’t snow everywhere, so they can’t practice skiing⁷, and it’s not cold enough to have skating rinks outside, so they can’t practice hockey. It’s the one advantage of living in this freezing country.

 

Andrew: Yeah. Exactly. We can win all kinds of gold metals at the Winter Olympics. And, actually, we interviewed, maybe two years ago, an athlete who will be in Russia at the Winter Olympics competing⁸ this year as a speed skater.

 

Harp: Yes. We interviewed our friend Michael Gilday a couple of years ago, and now he’s actually competing in the Olympics, which is super exciting, and we’ll definitely⁹ be cheering him on.

 

Andrew: Yeah. Absolutely¹⁰. So if you want to hear his story, you should check out the interview that we did with him, and we’ll link¹¹ it there so it’s easy for you to find.

 

Harp: Yup. We’ll post it on Facebook, and we’ll link it to the episode. And he’s competing in the speed skating short track¹² event.

 

Andrew: That’s right. The short track event. So if you are watching the speed skating events. make sure to look out for him.

 

Harp: Yes. And cheer him on. We really hope he wins a gold and does fantastic, and we’re excited to watch him.

 

Andrew: Absolutely. Yeah. And another reason why Canadians like the Winter Olympics is ‘cause Canada is a cold country, we have the right climate¹³ for hosting the Winter Olympics. We’ve held it two times, I believe. Once in Calgary in 1988 and just the last Winter Olympics in 2010 were in Vancouver. And in Vancouver, we actually performed pretty well. I think we won a lot of gold medals.

 

Harp: Yeah. We did fantastic. I think, if I remember correctly, we won the most gold medals of any country in the Vancouver Olympics.

1 harp   

n.竖琴；天琴座

参考例句：

• She swept her fingers over the strings of the harp.她用手指划过竖琴的琴弦。
• He played an Irish melody on the harp.他用竖琴演奏了一首爱尔兰曲调。

2 episode   

n.（作品的一段）情节，插曲，系列事件中之一

参考例句：

• The episode was a huge embarrassment for all concerned.这段小插曲令所有有关人员都感到非常尴尬。
• This episode remains sharply engraved on my mind.这段经历至今仍深深地铭刻在我的心中。

3 specifically   

adv.明确地，具体地；特别地，特意

参考例句：

• The book was written specifically for children.这本书是特地为儿童编写的。
• I told you specifically not to do that.我明确地告诉你不要那样做。

4 listeners   

n.倾听者，收听者( listener的名词复数 )；听众

参考例句：

• the demographics of radio listeners 电台听众统计数据
• The singer's high notes jarred on the ears of her listeners. 那位歌手的高音让听众们觉得刺耳。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 freezing   

adj.冰冻的，冷冻用的，严寒的

参考例句：

• It is freezing outside, and put on your winter coat.外面很冷，穿上你的大衣吧。
• It's freezing in the river.河水冰人。

6 compete   

vi.竞争；比赛

参考例句：

• They knew they could not compete against business from the U.S. 他们知道他们无法与美国在商业上进行竞争。
• I compete with you for that position.我和你竞争那个职位。

7 skiing   

n.滑雪运动

参考例句：

• I'm a complete novice at skiing. 滑雪我完全是个新手。
• to go skiing 去滑雪

8 competing   

adj.对抗的，竞争的；相互矛盾的v.竞赛(compete的现在分词)

参考例句：

• Several companies are competing for the contract. 为得到那项合同，几家公司正在竞争。
• Any amateur would be skinned alive competing against the world champion. 一个业余爱好者向世界冠军挑战肯定要被彻底打败。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 definitely   

adv.一定地，肯定地；明确地，确切地

参考例句：

• The team will definitely lose if he doesn't play.如果他不参加比赛，这个队肯定会输。
• I shall definitely be home before six o'clock.6点以前，我一定回家。

10 absolutely   

adv.绝对地；完全地

参考例句：

• The plane absolutely refused to start.这架飞机完全发动不起来。
• All the car parks are absolutely full.所有的停车场都停满了车。

11 link   

n.链环，连结物，火把，链接；vt.连结，联合，挽；vi.连接起来

参考例句：

• The new bridge will link the island to the mainland.新的桥梁将把该岛与大陆连接在一起。
• Where do the two railroads link up?两条铁路在何处连接？

12 track   

n.轨道；足迹；痕迹；磁轨；途径；vt.循路而行；追踪；通过；用纤拉；vi.追踪

参考例句：

• The new race track is nearly six miles in extent.这条新跑道将近六英里长。
• The police are on his track.警察在跟踪他。

13 climate   

n.气候，民意状况，社会趋势，风土

参考例句：

• Some plants will not seed in a cold climate.有些植物在寒冷的气候条件下不能结果实。
• They have decided to remove to a warm climate.他们已决定搬到一个气候温暖的地方居住。