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Published 公布: 2008-08-05

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Olympics and Sports,

The China Daily had a great article about the 30 reasons why you should be excited about the Olympics.  Enjoy!  Here is 11-20.


11. Torch relay the longest, highest

The Beijing 2008 Olympic Torch Relay was scheduled to travel the longest distance and include the largest number of people over 130 days.

It reached the highest peak of Mount Qomolangma on May 8. Following the Sichuan earthquake, the torch relay route was curtailed in each city and special mourning sessions were added.

The leg in earthquake-hit Sichuan province has been rescheduled to August, just before the Games begins.

 

12. English, English

A 170-page Chinese Menu in English Version is seen as exemplary of one success of the English-speaking campaign throughout the city.

Pop stars teaching audiences correct English pronunciation and cab drivers toting language books all are part of Beijing's multilingual pre-Olympic effort.

"It's not just about the language, it's about how open and confident we are," said Li Yang, founder of Crazy English.

 

13. Babies named after Olympics

A total of 4,104 Chinese have been named Aoyun (Chinese for "the Olympics") in homage to the Beijing Olympic Games, according to the figures released by the National Citizen Identity Information Center under the Ministry of Public Security in June.

Nearly 700 of the names were registered in 1992, when Beijing first applied to host the Games and another 553 were registered in 2001, when the city officially won the bid.

About 92 percent of those named Aoyun are male.

 

14. Weddings during the year and on opening day

Aug 8, 2008, or 08-08-08, is more than just a date: it marks both the opening of the Beijing Olympic Games and is considered a lucky day for marriage with so many eights. It is estimated that 15,000 couples will marry in Beijing on the day and 130,000-140,000 this year.

 

15. Highest number of cultural festivals

Games organizers have held an annual Olympic cultural festival since 2003, with the sixth beginning two weeks ago and running for the next three months.

China's ancient culture and civilization are now being showcased to promote the Olympic spirit and publicize a green, hi-tech and people's Olympics.

 

16. Massive Olympic education campaign

Educating young people through sports is one of the primary goals of the Olympic Movement.

About 400 million young people in more than 500,000 schools across the country have received Olympic lessons ahead of the Beijing Games. More than 500 model schools have been named and a series of Olympic readers compiled and presented to students.

 

17. Highest number of doping tests

The anti-doping effort at the Beijing Games will be more extensive than ever, with as many as 4,500 doping tests, 25 percent more than in Athens four years ago and 90 percent more than in Sydney in 2000.

Tests will be carried out from July 27 at 41 test stations at the Olympic Village and all Olympic match venues.

 

18. Highest spending

The cost of the Beijing Games will dwarf the previous Olympics in Greece with total investment likely to reach $43 billion.

Venues, estimated to have cost about $1.8 billion to build, will be utilized as public sport and entertainment complexes afterwards.

Beijing also spent $16 billion in the past decade reducing smog, while additional infrastructure, such as the world's largest airport terminal, T3, an advanced railway station and new subway systems required vast expenditure.

 

19. Largest transport expansion

Beijing's first subway linking Fuxingmen and Beijing Railway Station was initially built for military use, but today, 1.5 million passengers ride the 2-yuan subway each day.

The existing subway network spans 155 km and has 93 stations. Three new lines will open shortly before the Games, to transport visitors to and from the new airport terminal and between the Bird's Nest and downtown, and construction of more lines will continue following them.

At least six others are already under construction, with an aim to stretch the network to more than 561 km and 420 stations.

 

20. Highest number of mascots - five

Multiple Olympic mascots are not uncommon, but for the first time more than three figures will share Summer Olympic mascot duty when the five Fuwa take center stage. 

Featuring four of China's most popular animals - the fish, the panda, the Tibetan antelope and the swallow - and the Olympic flame, the mascots' names are "Beibei," "Jingjing," "Huanhuan," "Yingying" and "Nini," which together reads in Chinese as "Beijing welcomes you".



Comments

Kaka, Wednesday 2008-08-13 14:42
China is the greatest country. As a chinese ,i pride of my country.
Guest1145, Monday 2008-08-11 23:45
I had seen the opening of the Olympic Games.
As a chinese,I pride of my country~~~~~~
Guest1145, Monday 2008-08-11 23:45
I had seen the opening of the Olympic Games.
As a chinese,I pride of my country~~~~~~
ALAN, Friday 2008-08-08 13:27
I hope can translate articals into English
pp, Thursday 2008-08-07 22:17
some words about olympic games i didn't get .help me out ..thank you..
jenny, Thursday 2008-08-07 17:03
So grateful!
Guest0219, Thursday 2008-08-07 14:19
It's cool!
Shelly, Tuesday 2008-08-05 10:59
We are sure that our great country will host a successfull and grand Olympic Games!!
Cheer for every athletes!!
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