VOA慢速英语--日本奥委会主席在贿赂丑闻中辞职

Japanese Olympic Committee Head Resigns

The president of the Japanese Olympic Committee is resigning.

Tsunekazu Takeda said on Tuesday he will leave office at the end of his term in June. He also announced plans to resign from the International Olympic Committee.

Takeda denied accusations¹ of corruption² against him. French officials placed him under investigation³ last year for suspected corruption in the city of Tokyo’s effort to hold the 2020 Summer Olympics.

Speaking to reporters Tuesday, Takeda said, “I don’t believe I have done anything illegal.”

The French investigation has had an influence on the way some people look at the Tokyo 2020 Games. Japan is spending at least $20 billion to organize the event, which opens on July 24, 2020.

Tokyo’s Olympics described as the ‘Robot Games’

These Summer Olympics may become known as the “Robot Games.”

Last Friday, organizers showed off robots that will be used to provide assistance⁵ for people using wheelchairs. Tokyo Olympic official Masaaki Komiya noted⁶ that Japan is known for its robot technology. He said that the 2020 games are a good place to show off.

“Robots should not overwhelm⁷ people,” said Komiya, the vice⁸ director general to the Tokyo Olympics. “Robots are something that have an amicable⁹ relationship with human beings and can work together.”

The robots are products of Toyota Motor Corporation¹⁰. Toyota officials said that 16 of what they called “human support robots” will be used at the National Stadium. Five other “delivery support robots” will also be available.

At a media event last week, Panasonic Corporation showed off its “power assist⁴” clothing. When worn, the clothes are designed to support the back and help the person wearing them lift heavy objects. Panasonic said 20 of these suits will be used at the Olympics. They could help visitors carrying their belongings¹¹ and with other lifting duties.

At the Olympics, “people in the world will be able to realize how (ahead) Japan is in terms of robot technology,” said Hideyo Hirata. He is the head of technology services for the Tokyo Olympics.

Yoshifumi Uchida is general manager of Panasonic’s Paralympic department. He said its power assist clothing technology was developed partly because of Japan’s aging population. The clothing could help get more women and older people into the working population.

“When you are carrying a suitcase or a heavy box, this is where (it) becomes valuable,” he said.

He said the suits would also be used away from the Olympic events in “related facilities and airports.”

The suits are powered by batteries. Battery life is about four hours. The clothes gives the wearer the ability to lift about 10 kilograms more with the same amount of energy.

I’m Susan Shand.

Words in This Story

overwhelm - v. to affect (someone) very strongly

amicable – adj. showing a friendly desire to avoid disagreement and argument

stadium – n. a sports center

department – n. a division¹² of a government or business

facility – n. a building or other object set up to serve a purpose

battery – n. a device that is placed inside a machine (such as a clock, toy, or car) to supply it with electricity

1 accusations   

n.指责( accusation的名词复数 )；指控；控告；（被告发、控告的）罪名

参考例句：

• There were accusations of plagiarism. 曾有过关于剽窃的指控。
• He remained unruffled by their accusations. 对于他们的指控他处之泰然。

2 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

3 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。

4 assist   

vt.协助，帮助，促进；vi.帮忙，参加

参考例句：

• He asked us to assist him in carrying through their plan.他要我们帮助他实施他们的计划。
• We'll assist at your wedding.我们将出席你们的婚礼。

5 assistance   

n.援助，帮助

参考例句：

• She called and called but no one came to her assistance.她叫了又叫，但没有人来帮。
• He will get the great possible assistance.他将获得尽可能大的帮助。

6 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

7 overwhelm   

vt.使受不了，使不知所措，征服，制服

参考例句：

• No difficulty can overwhelm us.困难压不倒我们。
• After my lecture,the students began to overwhelm me with questions.讲课之后，学生们开始问一系列问题，使我不知所措。

8 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

9 amicable   

adj.和平的，友好的；友善的

参考例句：

• The two nations reached an amicable agreement.两国达成了一项友好协议。
• The two nations settled their quarrel in an amicable way.两国以和睦友好的方式解决了他们的争端。

10 corporation   

n.公司，企业&n.社团，团体

参考例句：

• The company has gone into partnership with Swiss Bank Corporation. 这家公司已经和瑞士银行公司建立合作关系。
• The inflation did the corporation up. 通货膨胀使这个公司破产了。

11 belongings   

n.私人物品，私人财物

参考例句：

• I put a few personal belongings in a bag.我把几件私人物品装进包中。
• Your personal belongings are not dutiable.个人物品不用纳税。

12 division   

n.区分，分开，除法，公司，部门，师(军队里)

参考例句：

• Have you learnt division?你学会除法了吗？
• The division commander ordered that we start the attack before dawn.师长令我们在拂晓前发起攻击。