VOA标准英语2012--Olympics Blamed for Stoking Debt Crisis in Greece

 

Olympics Blamed for Stoking Debt Crisis in Greece

Eight years on from 2004, Athens’ Olympic Park is abandoned, overgrown, closed to the public.

The fencing arena¹ is now a rusting² warehouse³.

The canoe slalom course was built at a cost of millions of dollars, with water pumped from a manmade lake. The lake is dry; pipes lie discarded on the edge of the park.

Manolis Trickas is a councilor of the Athens suburb Hellenikon next to the park. He laments⁴ what he calls the waste of the 2004 Olympics.

He says it was all about consumption in order to capitalize on the Olympic phenomenon and create advertising⁵ spots to sell products. Unfortunately, he says, the Olympic Games were catastrophic for Greece.

The head of the International Olympic Committee, Jacques Rogge, told a Greek newspaper last year that the Athens Olympics aggravated⁶ the country’s debt problem. The government estimated the cost at $11 billion.

But that did not include other projects commissioned or accelerated in time for the 2004 Games - including a new metro⁷ and tram system, a new airport and highway.

On the edge of the Olympic Park, former members of Greece’s 2004 softball team train for their next match. Greek-American Louisa Sharp was an official scorer in the Athens Games. She says the Olympic facilities should be saved.

“They’re very, very beautiful, very expensive, and it’s sad that somebody can’t turn that around and even make a profit," said Sharp.

Sharp says the legacy⁸ of getting children involved in sport is also fading.

“It did pick up momentum⁹ prior to and through the Olympics and a little afterwards, she said. "But things are economically a little bit difficult, and I think parents have turned their children more towards academic sources [for later in life].”

The government wants to sell the Olympic Park to private companies. Several firms have expressed interest, including a firm from Qatar, who wants to turn it into a huge casino with a hotel and an airport for private jets.

Local councilor Manolis Trickas has other ideas. He and a team of local residents have begun planting olive trees. A small grove¹⁰ has begun to take over part of the park.

He says that during this period of financial crisis, cultivation¹¹ is a solution, even with these small crops, to stave off hunger. "We believe that accumulating money will not help us out of this kind of crisis, but a network of solidarity¹² will support us.

London is preparing to host the 2012 Games at a cost of $14.3 billion. The people of Hellenikon say the experience of Athens should act as a warning of a failed Olympic legacy.

1 arena   

n.竞技场，运动场所；竞争场所，舞台

参考例句：

• She entered the political arena at the age of 25. 她25岁进入政界。
• He had not an adequate arena for the exercise of his talents.他没有充分发挥其才能的场所。

2 rusting   

n.生锈v.（使）生锈( rust的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• There was an old rusting bolt on the door. 门上有一个生锈的旧门闩。 来自辞典例句
• Zinc can be used to cover other metals to stop them rusting. 锌可用来涂在其他金属表面以防锈。 来自辞典例句

3 warehouse   

n.仓库；vt.存入仓库

参考例句：

• We freighted the goods to the warehouse by truck.我们用卡车把货物运到仓库。
• The manager wants to clear off the old stocks in the warehouse.经理想把仓库里积压的存货处理掉。

4 laments   

n.悲恸，哀歌，挽歌( lament的名词复数 )v.（为…）哀悼，痛哭，悲伤( lament的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• In the poem he laments the destruction of the countryside. 在那首诗里他对乡村遭到的破坏流露出悲哀。
• In this book he laments the slight interest shown in his writings. 在该书中他慨叹人们对他的著作兴趣微弱。 来自辞典例句

5 advertising   

n.广告业；广告活动 a.广告的；广告业务的

参考例句：

• Can you give me any advice on getting into advertising? 你能指点我如何涉足广告业吗?
• The advertising campaign is aimed primarily at young people. 这个广告宣传运动主要是针对年轻人的。

6 aggravated   

使恶化( aggravate的过去式和过去分词 )； 使更严重； 激怒； 使恼火

参考例句：

• If he aggravated me any more I shall hit him. 假如他再激怒我，我就要揍他。
• Far from relieving my cough, the medicine aggravated it. 这药非但不镇咳，反而使我咳嗽得更厉害。

7 metro   

n.地铁；adj.大都市的；(METRO)麦德隆(财富500强公司之一总部所在地德国，主要经营零售)

参考例句：

• Can you reach the park by metro?你可以乘地铁到达那个公园吗？
• The metro flood gate system is a disaster prevention equipment.地铁防淹门系统是一种防灾设备。

8 legacy   

n.遗产，遗赠；先人(或过去)留下的东西

参考例句：

• They are the most precious cultural legacy our forefathers left.它们是我们祖先留下来的最宝贵的文化遗产。
• He thinks the legacy is a gift from the Gods.他认为这笔遗产是天赐之物。

9 momentum   

n.动力，冲力，势头；动量

参考例句：

• We exploit the energy and momentum conservation laws in this way.我们就是这样利用能量和动量守恒定律的。
• The law of momentum conservation could supplant Newton's third law.动量守恒定律可以取代牛顿第三定律。

10 grove   

n.林子，小树林，园林

参考例句：

• On top of the hill was a grove of tall trees.山顶上一片高大的树林。
• The scent of lemons filled the grove.柠檬香味充满了小树林。

11 cultivation   

n.耕作，培养，栽培（法），养成

参考例句：

• The cultivation in good taste is our main objective.培养高雅情趣是我们的主要目标。
• The land is not fertile enough to repay cultivation.这块土地不够肥沃，不值得耕种。

12 solidarity   

n.团结；休戚相关

参考例句：

• They must preserve their solidarity.他们必须维护他们的团结。
• The solidarity among China's various nationalities is as firm as a rock.中国各族人民之间的团结坚如磐石。