英国开始着手准备下届奥运会

英国在北京奥运会上夺得了100年以来历届奥运会最多的奖牌。凯旋归来后，英国的运动员和政府官员开始把注意力转向四年以后在伦敦举行的下一届夏季奥运会上。在北京向2008年奥运会告别之后，英国开始举行庆祝活动，着手准备伦敦主办下届奥运会的活动。

While the world ponders the legacy of the Beijing games, the Olympic flag has been handed over to London where the hard work is underway in preparation for the 2012 summer games.

当世界仍然沉浸在对北京奥运会的无穷回味中时，奥运会的会旗已经转交给伦敦。伦敦目前正在紧锣密鼓地为2012年夏季奥运会作准备。

London has been here before. It hosted the games in 1908 and in 1948, but London today is a very different city than the one that last hosted the Olympics in the austere years right after the end of World War two.

伦敦历史上曾经主办过两次奥运会，一次是在1908年，另外一次是在1948年。但今天的伦敦同二战刚刚结束后在那个艰难岁月中举办奥运会相比，已发生了翻天覆地的变化。

In Beijing, Britain produced its best results in a century, finishing four overall on the table with 47 medals, including 19 golds.

在北京，英国取得了一个世纪以来最辉煌的成绩，总共夺得47块奖牌，其中包括19枚金牌，奖牌总数排名第四。

Flying into London's Heathrow Airport, Team Great Britain was greeted with cheers. Prime Minister Gordon Brown was among those welcoming home the country's olympic stars.

英国队在飞抵伦敦希斯罗机场时受到热烈的欢迎。英国首相布朗也欢迎英国的奥林匹克健儿们凯旋归来。

Among those on the special flight was the chairman of the London organizing committee and a former 1,500-meter Olympic gold winner, Sebastian Coe. He says Beijing as a venue and the performance of the British team there provides a great springboard for the upcoming London games.

一同乘坐专机抵达伦敦的还有英国奥组委会主席、前1500米奥运金牌得主塞巴斯蒂安.科。他说，北京作为英国队比赛和表现的场地为即将在伦敦举行的奥运会搭建了一个巨大的跳板。

"Fantastic. Team G.B. [Great Britain] have just provided us with the most extraordinary platform," he said. "It is one we could not have possibly imagined when we came here and it is just the opportunity just to drive the project for us but take nothing away from those guys who just performed way beyond what I think any of us really expected."

他说：“简直是太棒了。英国队正好为我们提供了最非同寻常的舞台。这在我们刚来这儿时连想都没有想过。而正是这个机会将推动我们伦敦的工程建设。我们这些队员们在赛场上表现得非常出色，远远超过我们的任何期望。”

Greeting her fellow British athletes homes was Nicole Cooke who captured the country's first gold medal in Beijing in the Women's cycling road race. She is also excited about the London games.

迎接英国队凯旋的还有尼科尔.库克。库克在北京奥运会的女子自行车追逐赛中为英国队摘下第一枚金牌。她也为即将举行的伦敦奥运会感到高兴。

"Now it is not just a case of the athletes and the sporting part, but it is we are going to host it," she said. "So, there is so much more to do and I think it is something, we have got the momentum now and I think the public really is behind it now, so, let us go forward. I think, 'Yeah, we have got a perfect opportunity."

她说：“现在情况不光涉及运动员和比赛，而且我们将主办下届奥运会。因此，有很多工作要做。我们现在的气势正旺，而且我认为公众的确在支持我们，所以让我们全力以赴。我认为，我们现在的确得到了一个千载难逢的机会。”

On Sunday, more than 400 flags were raised across Britain to mark the countdown to the 2012 games. Street parties as well broke out. The biggest party was staged just outside of Buckingham Palace, where 40,000 showed up for a pop concert.

星期天，伦敦升起了400多面旗子，开始为2012年奥运会倒计时。伦敦的街头四处洋溢着欢庆的场面。在英国的白金汉宫外举行了最大的庆祝活动，4万多人观赏了流行音乐的演出。

London Mayor Boris Johnson promises a great games in four years that he says will draw on the wit, flair, imagination and ingenuity of the British people.

伦敦市长鲍里斯-约翰逊承诺，四年后将呈现出一个蔚为壮观的奥运会。他说，伦敦奥运会将展现英国人的智慧、才华、想象力和创造力。