外刊高翻第33课
场馆空旷、气氛平淡：
东京奥运会在疫情阴影中开幕
Tokyo Olympics Open to a Sea of Empty Seats
MOTOKO RICH
第一段
TOKYO — The opening ceremony of the 32nd Summer Olympics unfolded in subdued fashion on Friday night inside a nearly empty Tokyo stadium, inaugurating a Games delayed by a year and diminished in atmosphere by a tenacious pandemic.
东京——周五晚上，第32届夏季奥运会的开幕式在东京几乎空无一人的体育场内低调进行，为这届因顽固疫情而被推迟一年、少了气氛的奥运会拉开了帷幕。
With attendance limited to fewer than 1,000 dignitaries, journalists and other invited guests in an Olympic Stadium built to seat 68,000, the ceremony’s centerpiece — the athletes’ procession — was staged entirely for television.
在可容纳6.8万观众的奥林匹克体育场里，政要、记者和其他受邀嘉宾等现场观众被限制在1000人内，开幕式的核心内容——运动员进场——完全是为了电视转播而安排。
Masked athletes, many in reduced contingents to preserve social distancing, waved at nonexistent fans as they marched in. Dancers in pastel costumes and hats provided the only live encouragement during what is normally an exuberant parade before a wildly cheering audience.
为了保持社交距离，许多入场运动员队伍缩水，他们戴着口罩向根本不存在的粉丝挥手。原本这应该是在观众的疯狂欢呼中进行的盛典，但现场唯一的助威者只有穿戴着色彩淡雅的衣帽的舞者。
Just as notable as the missing supporters were the prominent political and business leaders who decided not to attend, worried about being seen as endorsing an event that has lost much of its meaning among a Japanese public exhausted by the pandemic and widely opposed to the Games.
与消失的观众支持同样引人注目的，是那些决定不出席的知名政商界领袖，他们担心自己会被视为在支持一项在日本民众当中已经基本失去意义的赛事。因疫情的缘故，日本民众疲惫不堪，普遍反对奥运会。
Although some competitions started earlier this week, the ceremony on Friday represented the official start of the Olympics, with more than 11,000 athletes from 205 countries expected to participate in 33 sports over the next two weeks.
虽然一些比赛已于本周早些时候开始，但周五的开幕式象征着奥运会的正式揭幕，未来两周，来自205个国家的超过1.1万名运动员将参加33个项目的赛事。
1.a sea of … =形容数量多
2.subdued = 低调的，内敛的 = low key / keep a low profile
3.do something in a … fashion / in a … way/ in a … manner
4.inaugurate = 就职/ 就成/ = launch
5.be diminished in something by somebody =在…上有所削弱
6.with 放在句首，引出事实背景
7.to seat = have a seating capacity of = acommandence
8. centerpiece =核心内容/重头戏
9.athles’ procession = 运动员入场式 parade= 阅兵式
10. … as… 边怎么样边怎么样
11.unmasked =不戴口罩的 those who have been vaccinated.
12.contingent = 军事队伍 医疗队伍的队伍用group就可以了
13.deployment = （军事的）部署 普通的部署=plan
14.A is just as notable as B = A和B同样引人注目
15.worried about something = fearing doing something
第二段
Usually it is the Olympians who face considerable odds, but this time it was also the organizers who waged an uphill battle to get to this moment. What was meant to be a showcase of Japan’s gleaming efficiency, superior service culture and appeal as a tourist destination has instead been swamped by infection fears and host committee scandals.
通常情况下，面临巨大挑战的是奥运会选手，但这一次，组织方为了这一刻的到来也进行了艰苦斗争。这届奥运会本应是对日本优异的效率、卓越的服务文化，以及作为旅游目的地吸引力的展示，结果却被感染病毒的恐惧和东道主奥组委的丑闻所淹没。
The opening ceremony is often the host nation’s chance to show itself off — think of Beijing’s regimented drummers in 2008 or London’s dancing National Health Service nurses four years later. But the Tokyo organizers put on a simpler show.
开幕式往往是主办国大出风头的机会——想想2008年北京整齐划一的鼓手或是四年后在伦敦跳舞的国民保健署(National Health Service)的医护人员。但东京主办方的演出更为简单。
In a moment of silence, an announcer asked those watching around the world to remember those lost to Covid-19 and the athletes who had died in previous Olympics, including the Israeli athletes killed during a terrorist attack at the Munich Games in 1972.
在默哀时刻，一位报幕员请全世界的观众一起缅怀死于新冠的人，以及在往届奥运会上去世的运动员，包括在1972年慕尼黑奥运会的恐怖袭击中丧生的以色列运动员。
Although it was not explicitly mentioned until the organizers gave their speeches, the ceremony invoked the original framing of Tokyo’s Olympic bid — as a symbol of the country’s recovery from the devastating earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disaster in Fukushima in 2011. A sole figure dressed in white and in ghostly makeup danced on a platform in the middle of the field as waves of light coursed around the stadium.
虽然在主办方发言之前没有明确提及，但开幕式重现了东京申奥的最初设想——将奥运会作为2011年日本遭遇大地震、海啸和福岛核事故等灾难后复苏的象征。在环绕体育场的光晕里，一位穿着白色衣服、画着幽灵般妆容的演员在场地中央的舞台上独舞。
And with lighted drones above the stadium forming a giant rotating globe, a rendition of “Imagine” sung on the Jumbotrons by performers like Angélique Kidjo, John Legend and Keith Urban, and confetti doves falling from the sky, the organizers were clearly trying to divert the message of the Games away from the pandemic and scandals and toward the more anodyne themes of peace and global harmony.
体育场上空，发光的无人机组成了一个巨大的旋转地球，安吉丽克·基德霍(Angelique Kidjo)、约翰·传奇(John Legend)和基思·厄本(Keith Urban)等表演者在大屏幕上合唱了《想象》(Imagine)，彩纸鸽从天而降，主办方显然试图将奥运会的信息从疫情和丑闻转移到更温情的主题，即世界大同。
But that messaging may have little resonance with the Japanese public, as coronavirus infections in Tokyo have risen to a six-month high and the domestic vaccine rollout has proceeded slowly.
但这一信息恐怕并没有在日本公众中引来多少共鸣，因为东京的新冠感染已经上升到六个月来的最高水平，而国内疫苗的推广却进展缓慢。
In quieter moments throughout the ceremony, protesters outside the stadium could be heard yelling “Stop the Olympics” through bullhorns.
在开幕式较为安静的时刻，可以听到体育场外的抗议者用扩音喇叭高喊“停止奥运会”的口号。
While the pandemic has presented an unprecedented challenge to the Games’ organizers, it has been far from the only one.
虽然疫情给了奥运主办方前所未有的挑战，但它远非唯一的困难。
1.Olympians =奥运选手
2.face considerable odds 👉 odds =挑战 （odds要视情况而定）
3.have an uphill battle to fight =要打一场硬仗 wage a war on somebody = 对…宣战
4.What was meant to be a showcase of Japan’s gleaming efficiency, 这里showcase是名转动，动词优先
5.drummer =鼓手
6. In a moment of silence 👉 silence = 默哀 hold a 3min silence =默哀3分钟
7.lose somebody to something 注意介词 to 输给了什么，因什么而丧命
8.of前后有讲究，翻译的时候关注of后面的词，前面的词可以忽略 the original framing of Tokyo’s Olympic bid 👉 framing = vision =愿景
9.with A, B and C…, 英文中一般不超过3个
10.move something away from A toward B =将什么东西从A转移到B
11.anodyne themes =温情主题 anodyne=温情、不得罪人
12.harmony=大同
13.have resonance with somebody = resonant with somebody = relate well to somebody =产生共鸣
14.infections =感染人数 hospitalizations =住院人数 injures =受伤人数
15.vaccine rollout =疫苗接种
第三段
Still, now that the Games have finally arrived, the sheer spectacle of the world’s largest sporting event started to push those issues aside.
不管怎样，奥运会还是终于到来，这一世界上最大的体育赛事仅凭其蔚为壮观就足以将这些问题搁置一旁。
Even if the Olympics avoid becoming a superspreader event, it will be difficult for it to escape the shadow of the pandemic as the Delta variant spreads and daily tallies of new cases in the Olympic Village magnify anxiety.
即使奥运不会成为超级传播事件，它也难以摆脱疫情的阴影，因为Delta变种毒株正在扩散，奥运村每日统计的新病例也加剧了人们的焦虑。
“I really feel like the pandemic, no matter what, leaves the impression of prioritizing money over public health,” said Jessamyn R. Abel, associate professor of Asian studies at Pennsylvania State University.
“我真觉得这场疫情无论如何都会给人留下政府把利益置于公众健康之上的印象，”宾夕法尼亚州立大学(Pennsylvania State University)的亚洲问题研究副教授杰萨明·R·阿贝尔(Jessamyn R. Abel)说。
While the decision to push ahead with the Games amid a pandemic has focused attention on the billions of dollars at stake for the International Olympic Committee, the scrutiny of the international spotlight has also been harsh for Japan at times.
虽然疫情期间继续举办奥运会的决定重点在于国际奥委会可能面临的数十亿美元损失，但国际目光对日本的审视有时可能相当严苛。
1，now that 既然 A started to push B aside
2，The sheer number/spectacle , sheer+名词，体现程度
3，Superspreader 超级传播事件
4，Daily tallies of new cases= daily infections
5，Prioritize A over B 把A放在B之上
6，While引出句子
7，Push/press ahead with sth. 继续往前推进
8，Amid a pandemic 在疫情期间 amid引出事实背景 amid ongoing pandemic
9，Sth. at stake=sth. at risk 面临风险
10，The scrutiny 严密的审查
11，Harsh 严苛
