索契冬奥会的高科技 Technology at the Winter Olympics

Hello I’m Rob. Welcome to 6 Minute English. I’m joined today by Finn. Hello Finn.
大家好我是Rob，欢迎来到BBC6分钟英语。今天和我一起的是Finn。你好Finn。
Hi Rob.
嗨，Rob。
Today we’re talking about the biggest sporting event that’s taking place at the moment – the Winter Olympics at Sochi in Russia.
今天我们来讨论下当下正在举行的最大的体育赛事--在俄罗斯索契举行的冬奥会。
Yes, it’s the 22nd Winter Games to take place but these ones are the most expensive ever – they are reported to have cost around 32 billion pounds.
是的，这是第22届冬奥会，是有史以来花费最贵的一届，据报道花费大概有320亿英镑。
And it was quite a surprise when the Games were awarded to Sochi back in 2007 because the city is better known for palm trees than for ski slopes. But a lot of new technology has gone into making this competition possible.
当2007年索契获得冬奥会的举办权时是非常令人惊讶的，因为这个城市比滑雪更出名的是棕榈树。但是很多新技术的应用使这个竞争变得可能。
Yes and a lot of technology has been used to make this year’s sportsmen and sportswomen faster than ever – and that’s what we’ll be discussing today, as well as explaining some sports-related vocabulary.
是的，很多技术的应用使今天的男女运动员们比以前任何时候都要快--这也是我们接下来要讨论的，同时也学习一下跟运动相关的词汇。
But first Finn, let’s see if you can ’go for gold’ and get this question right. One winter sport event in this Olympics is the Biathlon. It involves competitors doing two things but what are they? Are they: a) Cross-country skiing and rifle shooting b) Downhill skiing and rifle shooting c) Cross-country skiing and swimming
但是Finn首先，让我们看一下你是否能够“得到金子（尽力得到最好的结果）”并正确回答问题。在本届奥运会中的一个冬季运动是冬季两项。 它包括两项运动但是这两项是什么呢？是：a）越野滑雪和步枪射击b）速降滑雪和步枪射击c）越野滑雪和游泳
I’m going to say cross-country skiing and rifle shooting, that’s a).
我选择越野滑雪和步枪射击，a）选项。
OK, we’ll find out if you are right or wrong later on. So Finn, are you a fan of the Winter Olympics?
OK，我们不久将揭晓答案来看你回答的正确与否。Finn，你是冬奥会的粉儿吗？
I must say I prefer the summer Olympics but I do enjoy watching the skiing. What about you?
我必须说我喜欢夏奥会但是我真的喜欢看滑雪。你呢？
I particularly enjoy watching the bobsleigh racing – the speed is incredible and it looks like a really fun thing to do.
我特别喜欢看雪橇比赛——速度非常快,看上去就像一件非常有趣的事。
And dangerous!
也很危险！
Yes. But of course, the athletes need a lot of skill to complete the course in the fastest time and, of course, win the race.
是的。但是当然。运动员们需要大量的技巧在最短的时间里完成，当然，还要赢得比赛。
Yes, they need to be very fit but technology can also give them a helping hand. Behind the scenes, computer modelling helps to design the best wind-resistant bobsleighs - and the best techniques for the athletes to use.
是的，他们要非常适合，但是技术也可以给他们伸来援助之手。在幕后，计算机模型帮助设计最佳抗风雪橇同时给运动员提供最佳技术。
This is true for another Olympic sport, speed skating. When there’s less than a second between gold and silver medal, clothing can make a big difference – a newly-designed speed-skating suit, introduced in 2002, helped many skaters beat their personal best.
对另一个奥林匹克项目速度滑冰来说是真的。当金牌和银牌之间的差距不超过一秒时，服装会造成很大的区别--在2002年引进的新设计的速度滑冰服装帮助了很多的滑雪者打破了自己的最佳成绩。
Yes, they improved their own fastest time. So materials used in the design of sportswear can give competitors an advantage – and another factor is the technology in the equipment they use.
是的，他们提高了他们个人的最快时间。所以设计运动服的材料可以给运动员们提供便利--另一个因素就是他们使用的装备上的技术。
Such as in skiing, where skis are manufactured – or made – with materials that increase durability – that’s staying in good condition for a long time despite constant use – and stability – keeping skis upright – and of course, speed.
比如滑雪中的滑雪板制造使用的材料，增加耐用性-尽管经常使用但在很长时间内仍能保持很好的状态，稳定性使滑雪板笔直，当然还有速度。
Yes, and there are different designs for different types of skiing: some skis are narrow and light to use for cross-country skiing while others are short with curved edges, to allow skiers to tackle sharp turns in a slalom race.
是的，针对不同类型的滑雪有不同的设计。有的滑雪板窄窄的很轻用于越野滑雪；然而短短的边缘弯曲的滑雪板让滑雪者解决急转弯障碍滑雪比赛。
A slalom involves lots of tight turns. I tried that when I went skiing once and it was quite tricky, especially at speed, which is why I took my time, doing a snow-plough around every pole.
障碍滑雪有大量的转弯。我试过一次，当我去滑雪，这相当棘手,特别是速度，我就像扫雪车一样，慢慢的滑每一杆。
OK, so no gold medal for you! Ski design is constantly evolving – or improving – which makes ski events some of the most varied and exciting of the Winter Games.
好吧，所以你没得金牌！滑雪板一直在不断发展或改进使滑雪某种程度上成为最多样和最令人激动的冬季运动会项目。
There are other types of skiing in the Winter Olympics such as, ski jumping, freestyle skiing, skiing moguls and Nordic skiing. All these need one crucial – or essential thing:
在冬奥会上还有其他类型的滑雪比如跳台滑雪、自由式滑雪、滑雪大亨和北欧滑雪。所有这些项目需要一件监管的或基本的东西：
Skis?
滑雪板吗？
I was thinking more of snow! But as Sochi is known for its subtropical climate, using natural snow is a little bit unreliable. That’s why loads of artificial – or fake snow is being made.
我在想更多的雪呢！但众所周知索契为亚热带气候，使用自然雪是有点不现实。 这就是为何有大量的人工降雪或假雪。
Yes, and snow guns are being used to do this. They eject cooled water and compressed air to make man-made snow.
是的，造雪机就是这个用途。他们喷出冷却的水和压缩空气来进行人工降雪。
But the problem with this is it uses large quantities of water so it depletes – or uses up – local resources. It’s believed the snowmaking system at Sochi could empty an Olympic-sized swimming pool in less than one hour.
但这样的问题是的使用大量的水，耗尽或用尽当地的资源。据说在索契奥运会上使用的制雪系统在不到一小时的时间内就可以将一个奥林匹克规模的游泳池挖空。
Of course ice is another essential ingredient for many of the winter games. Sports such as: curling, figure skating, ice hockey, luge and skeleton – that’s where competitors, known as sliders, hurtle head first down the 1.5km course on a sled not much bigger than a tea-tray!
当然了，冰是很多冬季项目的另一个基本因素。运动如:冰壶、花样滑冰、冰球、雪橇和骨架——竞争对手也就是滑雪者用雪橇猛烈冲击头1.5公里赛程，而雪橇并不比一个茶盘大多少!
That really does sound dangerous! And what about the biathlon Finn? I asked you earlier which two sports that competition involves.
那真的听起来很危险！那Finn冬季两项运动怎么样？我之前问你包括那两项运动。
I really had no idea but I said a) cross-country skiing and rifle shooting.
我真的不知道但我说的是a）越野滑雪和步枪射击。
Well, you’re quite knowledgeable actually, because the answer is a). It’s cross-country skiing and rifle shooting. Did you know, the biathlon is also the sweatiest sport at the Winter Olympics? Male athletes typically produce 2.3 litres (or 4 pints) of perspiration in the 20km race.
好吧，你学识真丰富，因为答案是a）。是越野滑雪和步枪射击。你知道吗，冬季两项运动也是冬奥会中挥汗最多的项目吗？在20km的比赛中，男运动员通常产生2.3L（或4品脱）的汗水。
Four pints? Wow! Well, it makes me sweat just thinking about doing something like that.
4品脱？wow！只是让我想想像那样的事情我就流汗了。
That’s it for today, we hope you’ve enjoyed listening. Please join us again soon for another 6 Minute English from BBC Learning English. Bye.
这就是今天的内容了，希望大家能够喜欢。欢迎继续加入BBC6分钟英语。拜！
Bye.
拜~