有声英文阅读-双人花样滑冰与冰上舞蹈

Pair Skating and Ice Dancing

At this month's Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, U.S.A., some of the most spectacular action will take place on the indoor ice rink. Sports fans who are turned off by the sometimes brutal¹ intensity² of ice hockey can tune³ in to the gentler figure skating competition.

Gold medals are awarded in four categories of Olympic figure skating. Two medals go to the winners of the male and female individual events. The other two are awarded to mixed pairs. Within this group, there are two separate events for pair figure skating: pair skating and ice dancing. 

In pair skating, a couple performs a program of movements in harmony. They add a number of combined spins and spectacular lifts. Ice dancers, in contrast, are not allowed to perform the athletic⁴ moves of pair skaters, and the couple rarely separates. Instead, they perform dances such as tangos and waltzes, and they must interpret the rhythm of the music. 

Figure skating was one of the events at the very first Winter Olympics in 1924. Before that, figure skaters had competed at the Summer Games as early as 1908. Ice dancing is a relatively⁵ new addition to the Games, making its debut⁶ at the 1976 Winter Olympics in Innsbruck, Austria. 

The use of skates as a means of transportation in cold northern regions of the world began in prehistoric⁷ times. Ice-skating as a sport, however, originated in Holland. From there, it spread to the rest of northern Europe and North America. The world's first ice-skating club was formed in Edinburgh, Scotland, sometime around the end of the seventeenth century. 

Though ice-skating is a highly technical activity, it is easy to appreciate. Millions of people around the world enjoy watching the harmonious⁸ movements of a skating couple even if they don't know
the names of the particular spins or jumps being used. They are simply attracted by the graceful⁹ beauty of this highly entertaining sport. 
-by Martin Kelly

双人花样滑冰与冰上舞蹈

这个月在美国盐湖城举行的冬季奥运会，最令人叹为观止的表演将在室内滑冰场举行。有时过于粗暴的冰上曲棍球使运动迷们失去了兴趣，他们可以观看较温和的花样滑冰赛。

奥运会花样滑冰的金牌颁发给四个比赛项目。两枚金牌颁给男女个人单项冠军。另两枚则授予男女混合双人赛的优胜者。在男女混合双人赛中，双人花样滑冰分为两个单独的项目：双人滑冰和冰上舞蹈。

双人滑冰中，一对选手表演一套协调的动作。他们加入若干旋转动作组合和精彩的抬举动作。成鲜明对照地，冰上舞蹈选手是决不允许表演双人滑冰选手那敏捷动作的，而且冰上舞蹈选手彼此也很少分开。作为替代，他们表演探戈和华尔兹这类舞蹈，同时还必须表达出乐曲的韵律。

花样滑冰是1924年首届冬季奥运会的比赛项目之一。在那之前，早在1908年的夏季奥运会，花样滑冰选手们就曾较量过。冰上舞蹈则是奥运会中一个比较新的比赛项目， 于1976年在奥地利因斯布鲁克冬季奥运会中首次登场。

从史前时代起，冰鞋在寒冷的北国就被当作一种交通工具使用。不过滑冰作为一项运动则起源于荷兰。它从那儿传到北欧的其它地区和北美洲。大约在17世纪末，全世界第一家滑冰俱乐部在苏格兰爱丁堡成立。

虽然滑冰是一项技术性很高的运动，欣赏起来却很容易。即使不知道运动员采用的那些特殊旋转或跳跃动作的名称，全世界数百万的人也乐于欣赏一对滑冰选手表演的和谐动作。他们仅仅是被这项高娱乐性的运动所展现的奇妙美感所吸引。

1 brutal   

adj.残忍的，野蛮的，不讲理的

参考例句：

• She has to face the brutal reality.她不得不去面对冷酷的现实。
• They're brutal people behind their civilised veneer.他们表面上温文有礼，骨子里却是野蛮残忍。

2 intensity   

n.强烈，剧烈；强度；烈度

参考例句：

• I didn't realize the intensity of people's feelings on this issue.我没有意识到这一问题能引起群情激奋。
• The strike is growing in intensity.罢工日益加剧。

3 tune   

n.调子；和谐，协调；v.调音，调节，调整

参考例句：

• He'd written a tune,and played it to us on the piano.他写了一段曲子，并在钢琴上弹给我们听。
• The boy beat out a tune on a tin can.那男孩在易拉罐上敲出一首曲子。

4 athletic   

adj.擅长运动的，强健的；活跃的，体格健壮的

参考例句：

• This area has been marked off for athletic practice.这块地方被划出来供体育训练之用。
• He is an athletic star.他是一个运动明星。

5 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

6 debut   

n.首次演出，初次露面

参考例句：

• That same year he made his Broadway debut, playing a suave radio journalist.在那同一年里，他初次在百老汇登台，扮演一个温文而雅的电台记者。
• The actress made her debut in the new comedy.这位演员在那出新喜剧中首次登台演出。

7 prehistoric   

adj.（有记载的）历史以前的，史前的，古老的

参考例句：

• They have found prehistoric remains.他们发现了史前遗迹。
• It was rather like an exhibition of prehistoric electronic equipment.这儿倒像是在展览古老的电子设备。

8 harmonious   

adj.和睦的，调和的，和谐的，协调的

参考例句：

• Their harmonious relationship resulted in part from their similar goals.他们关系融洽的部分原因是他们有着相似的目标。
• The room was painted in harmonious colors.房间油漆得色彩调和。

9 graceful   

adj.优美的，优雅的；得体的

参考例句：

• His movements on the parallel bars were very graceful.他的双杠动作可帅了!
• The ballet dancer is so graceful.芭蕾舞演员的姿态是如此的优美。