德國(guó)巴伐利亞州首府慕尼黑舉辦了一場(chǎng)公投,詢問(wèn)市民們是否要申辦2022年冬奧會(huì)……
測(cè)試中可能遇到的詞匯和知識(shí):
referendum [,ref?'rend?m] 全民公決/公投
shambolic [?æm'b?l?k] 混亂的
An Olympic No (238 words)
FT Editorial: Munich's referendum on whether to host games was smart
Ever since the modern Olympic movement was founded more than a century ago, it has been widely assumed that the world's cities are desperate to host the games, given all the attention this brings.
Not so, Munich. Last weekend, the people of the Bavarian capital and three neighbouring districts were invited to vote in a referendum on whether the city should lodge a formal bid with the International Olympic Committee to host the 2022 winter games. They voted against by a clear margin.
Plenty of cities have gained a great deal from holding the Olympics. London, for example, looks back on the 2012 summer games as a great success. But Munich's decision to give the public a vote before making a bid is sensible.
Last summer, Brazil was hit by a wave of protests against plans to host next year's football World Cup. The protesters' main complaint was the contrast between shiny new stadiums and shambolic public services.
Meanwhile, Vladimir Putin is spending about $50bn on the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi. Given the dramatic slowdown in Russian economic growth, one might wonder how many of the president's people are thrilled at the thought of so much money being spent on the games.
Staging the Olympics is often the dream of governing elites. It is not always the dream of the people. Munich deserves a gold medal for consulting its residents before taking a bid to the IOC.
請(qǐng)根據(jù)你所讀到的文章內(nèi)容,完成以下自測(cè)題目:
1.According to the first paragraph, why cities around the world “are desperate to host the games”?
A.Olympic Games can bring economic gains.
B.Olympic Games can bring global attention.
C.Olympic Games are century-old.
D.Olympic Games are rare to see.
答案(1)
2.According to the article, what might be a reason for Munich to hold the referendum?
A.The success of 2012 London Olympics.
B.The protests in Brazil against the World Cup.
C.The dramatic slowdown of German economy.
答案(2)
3.Why Russian president Putin is spending so heavily in Sochi Winter Olympics, according to the article?
A.To boost Russian economy.
B.To improve infrastructure.
C.To satisfy the thrilled Russian people
D.To gild himself and his presidency.
答案(3)
* * *
(1)答案:B.Olympic Games can bring global attention.
(2)答案:B.The protests in Brazil against the World Cup.
解釋:A顯然不正確,C說(shuō)的是俄國(guó)而非德國(guó)。雖然慕尼黑不大可能出現(xiàn)巴西那樣的抗議,但舉辦大會(huì)多少影響居民日常生活和公共服務(wù)。這一點(diǎn)顯然是慕尼黑舉辦公投的原因。
(3)答案:D.To gild himself and his presidency.
解釋:AB客觀上是沒(méi)錯(cuò)的,但這顯然不是辦冬奧的主觀目的,普京需要的是政績(jī)和全世界的矚目。文章認(rèn)為B是很可疑的。