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举办奥运会对城市有好处吗(Hosting the Olympics Costs Billions. What Does a City Get Back?)
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当新一届奥运会来临时，一个熟悉的故事就会重新被讲述：奥运会是主办城市快速推进基础设施建设和城市再开发项目的一种方式。
双语精读
It was a sunny morning in mid-June and the athletes' village for the Summer Olympics, in Seine-Saint-Denis, just outside Paris, was still nominally under construction.
那是六月中旬的一个晴朗早晨，位于巴黎郊外塞纳-圣但尼的夏季奥运会奥运村据说是仍在建设中。
Workers sweated in hard hats and yellow vests, watching over the empty site.
工人们热得冒汗，戴着安全帽，穿着黄色背心，看管着这个空旷的工地。
Built in the midst of various housing developments, the village sprawls across 128 riverine acres. Luc Besson's former film studio complex, in a converted power plant, has been partly turned into the athletes' mess hall.
奥运村建于众多住宅开发区之中，横跨128英亩河边土地。吕克·贝松之前的电影工作室大楼位于一座经过改造的发电厂内，现在部分已被改造成运动员食堂。
Next door, another power plant, gut renovated and whitewashed, which now houses a gym, will become office space for 2,500 civil servants in France's Ministry of the Interior after the Games are done.
隔壁的另一座发电厂从内到外彻底翻新和粉刷，现在里面有一个健身房，奥运会结束后，它将成为法国内政部2500名公务员的办公楼。
Every couple of years, when another Olympics rolls around, a familiar story is recycled: The Games are a way for host cities to fast-track infrastructure and urban-redevelopment projects.
每隔几年，当新一届奥运会来临时，一个熟悉的故事就会重新被讲述：奥运会是主办城市快速推进基础设施建设和城市再开发项目的一种方式。
But there is surprisingly little evidence to back this story up and examples galore suggesting the reverse.
但令人惊讶的是，几乎没有证据能证明这个故事，反而有大量的例子表明情况恰恰相反。
Athens, which splurged on white elephant arenas in 2004 for sports that few Greeks play, stirred a rush of national pride but incurred debts that helped fuel an economic meltdown with ripple effects across Europe.
雅典在2004年为了举办一些没有多少希腊人参加的体育赛事而大肆挥霍，建造了很多华而不实的场馆，这激发了一阵民族自豪感，但也造成了巨额债务，促使经济崩溃，并在整个欧洲引发了连锁反应。
So dubious have the outcomes been for host cities that some experts argue New York actually won the competition to host the 2012 Summer Games because it lost out to London.
奥运会给主办城市带来的结果如此可疑，以至于一些专家认为，纽约实际赢得了2012年夏季奥运会主办权的竞争，因为它输给了伦敦。
In preparing the city's bid, a team headed by a New York deputy mayor mapped sites that could be converted into parks, housing and office towers after the Olympics.
在筹备纽约市申奥工作时，由纽约副市长牵头的一个团队绘制了一些地点的地图，这些地点在奥运会结束后可以改造成公园、住房和办公大楼。
When London won the Games, New York more or less went ahead with its plans anyway, rejuvenating large swaths of waterfront without having to divert billions of dollars toward a short-lived sporting event in the teeth of what turned out to be a global recession.
伦敦赢得奥运会主办权后，纽约或多或少还是继续推行了这个计划，无需顶着经济压力，把数十亿美元投入一场短暂的体育赛事，就让大片滨水区重焕活力，后来证明当时的经济压力就是全球经济衰退。
During a different era - before the costs of staging the Olympics rose to the G.D.P. of certain medium-size nations and the dream of promoting world harmony through athletics was shattered by a string of terrorist attacks, doping scandals, boycotts and bombings - postwar cities like Rome (1960) and Tokyo (1964) used the event as coming-out parties for their new economies and societies.
在一个不同的时代——在举办奥运会的成本还没有达到一些中等规模国家GDP的水平，以及通过体育促进世界和谐的梦想还没有被一系列恐怖袭击（1972年慕尼黑）、兴奋剂丑闻（各届奥运会任君挑选）、抵制（1980年莫斯科、1984年洛杉矶）和爆炸事件（1996年亚特兰大）所粉碎时——战后的城市，如罗马（1960年）和东京（1964年），将奥运会作为其新经济和新社会的亮相派对。
词汇预习
economic [高考]
美[ˌiːkəˈnɑːmɪk] | 英[ˌiːkəˈnɒmɪk]
adj. 经济的，经济学的；有利可图的；节约的
site [高考]
美[saɪt] | 英[saɪt]
n. 地点；位置；现场 vt. 使 ... 位于
mayor [高考]
美[ˈmeɪər] | 英[meə(r)]
n. 市长；镇长
infrastructure [高考]
美[ˈɪnfrəstrʌktʃər] | 英[ˈɪnfrəstrʌktʃə(r)]
n. 基础；基础设施
reverse [高考]
美[rɪˈvɜːrs] | 英[rɪˈvɜːs]
v. 逆转；倒退；互换；改变 adj. 相反的；反面的；颠倒的 n. 相反；背面；失败；倒档
complex [高考]
美[kəmˈpleks , ˈkɑːmpleks] | 英[ˈkɒmpleks]
adj. 复杂的；合成的；复合的 n. 综合体；复合体；[医]综合症状；[心]情结
evidence [高考]
美[ˈevɪdəns] | 英[ˈevɪdəns]
n. 证据；证词；根据；迹象 v. 证明；证实
former [高考]
美[ˈfɔːrmər] | 英[ˈfɔːmə(r)]
adj. 前者的；前任的；以前的 n. 创造者；[英]学校某一年级的学生
construction [高考]
美[kənˈstrʌkʃn] | 英[kənˈstrʌkʃn]
n. 建设；结构；建筑物；建造；构造；解释
urban [高考]
美[ˈɜːrbən] | 英[ˈɜːbən]
adj. 城市的；都市的
harmony [高考]
美[ˈhɑːrməni] | 英[ˈhɑːməni]
n. 和谐；协调；调和；和声
civil [高考]
美[ˈsɪvl] | 英[ˈsɪvl]
adj. 公民的；文明的；国内的；民用的；民事的；【建】土木的
bid [高考]
美[bɪd] | 英[bɪd]
v. （买方）出价；投标；吩咐；叫牌 n. 出价；努力；叫牌
housing [高考]
美[ˈhaʊzɪŋ] | 英[ˈhaʊzɪŋ]
n. 房屋；外壳；外套；外罩；住宅；卡箍；遮盖物；(芯片的)封装
era [高考]
美[ˈɪrə] | 英[ˈɪərə]
n. 纪元；时代；年代
athletics [高考]
美[æθˈletɪks] | 英[æθˈletɪks]
n. 体育运动；田径
surprisingly [四级]
美[sərˈpraɪzɪŋli] | 英[sə(r)ˈpraɪzɪŋli]
adv. 惊人地；意外地
midst [四级]
美[mɪdst] | 英[mɪdst]
n. 中间；当中 prep. 在 ... 当中(=amidst)
recession [四级]
美[rɪˈseʃn] | 英[rɪˈseʃn]
n. 后退；（经济）不景气
short-lived [四级]
美[ˈʃɔrtˈlaɪvd, -ˈlɪvd] | 英[ˈʃɔ:tˈlaɪvd, -ˈlɪvd]
adj. 短命的；短暂的；短期的；无常的
gut [四级]
美[ɡʌt] | 英[ɡʌt]
n. 内脏；肠子；勇气，胆量；直觉，本能；(用于制网球拍、琴弦等的) 肠线 vt. 取出内脏；摧毁（内部） adj. 本能的；（问题等）根本的
dubious [四级]
美[ˈduːbiəs] | 英[ˈdjuːbiəs]
adj. 怀疑的；可疑的；不确定的
mid [四级]
美[mɪd] | 英[mɪd]
adj. 中间的； [语]央元音的 prep. 在 ... 的中间 abbr. 移动互联网设备 (=Mobile Internet Device)
meltdown [四级]
美[ˈmeltdaʊn] | 英[ˈmeltdaʊn]
n. 熔毁；灾难；崩溃
more or less [四级]
美[mɔːr ɔːr les] | 英[mɔː ɔː les]
或多或少
deputy [四级]
美[ˈdepjuti] | 英[ˈdepjuti]
n. 代表；副手；议员
divert [六级]
美[daɪˈvɜːrt] | 英[daɪˈvɜːt]
v. 转移；娱乐
ripple [六级]
美[ ˈrɪpl] | 英[ˈrɪpl]
n. 涟漪；波纹；潺潺声；粗钢梳 v. 使起涟漪；使起波纹；使发出潺潺声；起伏；轻轻荡漾
economies [专四]
美[ɪ'kɒnəmɪz] | 英[iˈkɔnəmiz]
节约；经济（名词economy的复数形式）
redevelopment [专八]
美[ˌriːdɪˈveləpmənt] | 英[ˌriːdɪˈveləpmənt]
n. 再发展
waterfront [专八]
美[ˈwɔtərfrʌnt] | 英[ˈwɔ:təfrʌnt]
n. 水边地；滨水区
postwar [考研]
美[ˈpostˈwɔr] | 英['pəʊst'wɔ:]
adj. 战后的
重点讲解
It was a sunny morning in mid-June and the athletes’ village for the Summer Olympics, in Seine-Saint-Denis, just outside Paris, was still nominally under construction.
那是六月中旬的一个晴朗早晨，位于巴黎郊外塞纳-圣但尼的夏季奥运会奥运村据说是仍在建设中。
nominally adv. 名义上地；有名无实地
【例】He is nominally in charge, but the real decisions are made by his father.
他名义上是负责人，但真正做决定的是他父亲。
【近义词】in name only 只在名义上
【拓展】nominate v. 提名
watch over 看管；照看
【例】The lifeguard's job is to watch over the swimmers at the pool.
救生员的工作是照看游泳池里游泳的人。
【拓展】watch out for 小心；留意
Workers sweated in hard hats and yellow vests, watching over the empty site.
工人们热得冒汗，戴着安全帽，穿着黄色背心，看管着这个空旷的工地。
nominally adv. 名义上地；有名无实地
【例】He is nominally in charge, but the real decisions are made by his father.
他名义上是负责人，但真正做决定的是他父亲。
【近义词】in name only 只在名义上
【拓展】nominate v. 提名
watch over 看管；照看
【例】The lifeguard's job is to watch over the swimmers at the pool.
救生员的工作是照看游泳池里游泳的人。
【拓展】watch out for 小心；留意
Built in the midst of various housing developments, the village sprawls across 128 riverine acres. Luc Besson’s former film studio complex, in a converted power plant, has been partly turned into the athletes’ mess hall.
奥运村建于众多住宅开发区之中，横跨128英亩河边土地。吕克·贝松之前的电影工作室大楼位于一座经过改造的发电厂内，现在部分已被改造成运动员食堂。
convert v. 转换；改造
【例】to convert the document to a PDF format
把文档转换成PDF格式
to convert defeat into victory 转败为胜
【拓展】conversion n. 转换；改造
【近义词】transform v. 改变
renovate v. 修复；翻新
【例】to renovate the old library 翻新旧图书馆
【拓展】novel adj. 新奇的
innovate v. 创新
【近义词】restore v. 修复（文物、油画、家具等）
refurbish v. 重新装修
Next door, another power plant, gut renovated and whitewashed, which now houses a gym, will become office space for 2,500 civil servants in France’s Ministry of the Interior after the Games are done.
隔壁的另一座发电厂从内到外彻底翻新和粉刷，现在里面有一个健身房，奥运会结束后，它将成为法国内政部2500名公务员的办公楼。
convert v. 转换；改造
【例】to convert the document to a PDF format
把文档转换成PDF格式
to convert defeat into victory 转败为胜
【拓展】conversion n. 转换；改造
【近义词】transform v. 改变
renovate v. 修复；翻新
【例】to renovate the old library 翻新旧图书馆
【拓展】novel adj. 新奇的
innovate v. 创新
【近义词】restore v. 修复（文物、油画、家具等）
refurbish v. 重新装修
Every couple of years, when another Olympics rolls around, a familiar story is recycled: The Games are a way for host cities to fast-track infrastructure and urban-redevelopment projects.
每隔几年，当新一届奥运会来临时，一个熟悉的故事就会重新被讲述：奥运会是主办城市快速推进基础设施建设和城市再开发项目的一种方式。
recycle v. 回收利用；再次使用
【例】to recycle plastic bottles 回收塑料瓶
The talk show is not creative. It is just recycling the old jokes.
这个脱口秀没什么创意，只是把之前的笑话又说了一遍。
fast-track v. 加速进程；快速做某事
【例】The company decided to fast-track the development of the new software to stay ahead of the competition.
公司决定加快新软件的开发，从而在竞争中保持领先。
【近义词】speed up 加快速度
galore adj. 大量的
【例】There are fish galore in the lake.
湖里有很多鱼。
【近义词】abound v. 大量存在
【例】Fish abound in the lake.
湖里有很多鱼。
But there is surprisingly little evidence to back this story up and examples galore suggesting the reverse.
但令人惊讶的是，几乎没有证据能证明这个故事，反而有大量的例子表明情况恰恰相反。
recycle v. 回收利用；再次使用
【例】to recycle plastic bottles 回收塑料瓶
The talk show is not creative. It is just recycling the old jokes.
这个脱口秀没什么创意，只是把之前的笑话又说了一遍。
fast-track v. 加速进程；快速做某事
【例】The company decided to fast-track the development of the new software to stay ahead of the competition.
公司决定加快新软件的开发，从而在竞争中保持领先。
【近义词】speed up 加快速度
galore adj. 大量的
【例】There are fish galore in the lake.
湖里有很多鱼。
【近义词】abound v. 大量存在
【例】Fish abound in the lake.
湖里有很多鱼。
Athens, which splurged on white elephant arenas in 2004 for sports that few Greeks play, stirred a rush of national pride but incurred debts that helped fuel an economic meltdown with ripple effects across Europe.
雅典在2004年为了举办一些没有多少希腊人参加的体育赛事而大肆挥霍，建造了很多华而不实的场馆，这激发了一阵民族自豪感，但也造成了巨额债务，促使经济崩溃，并在整个欧洲引发了连锁反应。
white elephant 昂贵而无用之物
【例】She inherited a grand old house that quickly became a white elephant due to the high upkeep costs.
她继承了一所气派的老房子，但很快就发现这房子华而不实，因为维护费用太高了。
【拓展】the elephant in the room 众所周知但避而不谈的事
pink elephant 醉酒后的幻觉；离奇的事
dubious adj. 可疑的；不一定的
【例】dubious benefits 不一定有好处
The authenticity of the painting was dubious.
这幅画的真实性存疑。
They consider the plan to be of dubious benefit to most families.
他们认为这项计划对大多数家庭不一定有好处。
【近义词】suspicious adj. 可疑的
So dubious have the outcomes been for host cities that some experts argue New York actually won the competition to host the 2012 Summer Games because it lost out to London.
奥运会给主办城市带来的结果如此可疑，以至于一些专家认为，纽约实际赢得了2012年夏季奥运会主办权的竞争，因为它输给了伦敦。
white elephant 昂贵而无用之物
【例】She inherited a grand old house that quickly became a white elephant due to the high upkeep costs.
她继承了一所气派的老房子，但很快就发现这房子华而不实，因为维护费用太高了。
【拓展】the elephant in the room 众所周知但避而不谈的事
pink elephant 醉酒后的幻觉；离奇的事
dubious adj. 可疑的；不一定的
【例】dubious benefits 不一定有好处
The authenticity of the painting was dubious.
这幅画的真实性存疑。
They consider the plan to be of dubious benefit to most families.
他们认为这项计划对大多数家庭不一定有好处。
【近义词】suspicious adj. 可疑的
In preparing the city’s bid, a team headed by a New York deputy mayor mapped sites that could be converted into parks, housing and office towers after the Olympics.
在筹备纽约市申奥工作时，由纽约副市长牵头的一个团队绘制了一些地点的地图，这些地点在奥运会结束后可以改造成公园、住房和办公大楼。
map v. 绘制地图
【例】The scientists are working to map the ocean floor.
科学家们正在制作海底的地图。
【近义词】chart v. 绘制地图
【搭配】map sth out 精心规划
【例】to map out your career 精心规划职业发展
divert sth toward 把某物转变方向
【例】She tried to divert his attention toward the positive aspects of the situation.
她试图把他的注意力转移到情况的积极方面。
The money that might be spent on cities has been diverted toward other projects.
原可用于城市建设的钱已被转移到其他项目上去了。
in the teeth of 顶着，迎着（困难、反对等）
【例】They continued their journey in the teeth of a severe storm.
他们顶着猛烈的暴风雨，继续前行。
She managed to succeed in the teeth of significant obstacles.
她想办法获得了成功，尽管有许多困难。
When London won the Games, New York more or less went ahead with its plans anyway, rejuvenating large swaths of waterfront without having to divert billions of dollars toward a short-lived sporting event in the teeth of what turned out to be a global recession.
伦敦赢得奥运会主办权后，纽约或多或少还是继续推行了这个计划，无需顶着经济压力，把数十亿美元投入一场短暂的体育赛事，就让大片滨水区重焕活力，后来证明当时的经济压力就是全球经济衰退。
map v. 绘制地图
【例】The scientists are working to map the ocean floor.
科学家们正在制作海底的地图。
【近义词】chart v. 绘制地图
【搭配】map sth out 精心规划
【例】to map out your career 精心规划职业发展
divert sth toward 把某物转变方向
【例】She tried to divert his attention toward the positive aspects of the situation.
她试图把他的注意力转移到情况的积极方面。
The money that might be spent on cities has been diverted toward other projects.
原可用于城市建设的钱已被转移到其他项目上去了。
in the teeth of 顶着，迎着（困难、反对等）
【例】They continued their journey in the teeth of a severe storm.
他们顶着猛烈的暴风雨，继续前行。
She managed to succeed in the teeth of significant obstacles.
她想办法获得了成功，尽管有许多困难。
During a different era — before the costs of staging the Olympics rose to the G.D.P. of certain medium-size nations and the dream of promoting world harmony through athletics was shattered by a string of terrorist attacks, doping scandals, boycotts and bombings — postwar cities like Rome (1960) and Tokyo (1964) used the event as coming-out parties for their new economies and societies.
在一个不同的时代——在举办奥运会的成本还没有达到一些中等规模国家GDP的水平，以及通过体育促进世界和谐的梦想还没有被一系列恐怖袭击（1972年慕尼黑）、兴奋剂丑闻（各届奥运会任君挑选）、抵制（1980年莫斯科、1984年洛杉矶）和爆炸事件（1996年亚特兰大）所粉碎时——战后的城市，如罗马（1960年）和东京（1964年），将奥运会作为其新经济和新社会的亮相派对。
shatter v. 破裂；破碎
【例】to shatter a mirror 打碎一面镜子
to shatter his confidence 粉碎他的自信心
【近义词】break/smash v. 打碎；粉碎
课后练习
What will happen to the buildings in the athletes' village after the Summer Olympics?
A. They will be demolished to make way for new houses.
B. They will remain the arenas for local athletes.
C. They will serve as office space or other uses.
D. They will be converted back into a film studio.
What was the impact of hosting the Olympics on Athens?
A. It damaged Greece’s reputation across Europe.
B. It boosted the economy and left a surplus of funds.
C. It fast-tracked infrastructure projects and urban development.
D. It led to national pride but also contributed to economic failures.
What is the paradoxical view regarding New York and the 2012 Summer Games?
A. New York was fortunate to host the Games because it led to successful urban development.
B. New York benefited by losing the bid to host the Games and avoided the costs of the event.
C. New York's bid to host the Games was a strategic move to ensure London's victory.
D. New York's loss in the bid was a missed opportunity for urban improvement.
What can be learned about the Olympics hosted by Rome and Tokyo in the 1960s?
A. They were plagued by terrorist attacks and doping scandals.
B. They showcased the new image of the two countries.
C. They faced significant boycotts from other countries.
D. They failed to leave a lasting impact on their host cities.