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Why are the winners holding
stuffed animals instead of medals?
Shortly after the most triumphant moments of their lives, the winning Olympic athletes are holding not the medals they’ve dreamed of for years, if not decades, but stuffed animals encased in a plastic shell.
在人生中最辉煌的时刻过后不久，获胜的奥林匹克运动员们手持的不是他们多年（如果不是几十年）梦寐以求的奖牌，而是有一层塑料外壳的毛绒玩具。
A celebratory ceremony immediately follows the end of each medal-awarding event, but the athletes don’t receive their medals until a follow-up ceremony the next day. In the first ceremony, the glowing athletes ascend the familiar three-tier platform, where Summer Olympians would have a medal placed around their necks.
每个项目的决赛结束后都会马上举行一个颁奖仪式，但运动员们要在第二天举行的第二个颁奖仪式上才能拿到奖牌。在第一个颁奖仪式上，运动员们走上人们熟悉的冠亚季军领奖台。如果是在夏季奥运会上，颁奖者会把奖牌挂到获胜运动员的脖子上。
triumphant /traɪ’ʌmf(ə)nt/ (成功或获胜后)欢欣鼓舞的，狂喜的very successful in a way that causes great satisfaction，举个例子：They marched triumphantly into the capital.他们怀着胜利的喜悦列队进入首都。
encase /ɪn’keɪs/ v.把…包住; 把…围住:to cover or surround something completely，比如说：•His broken leg was encased in plaster.他骨折的腿上打着石膏。When nuclear fuel is manufactured it is encased in metal cans.核燃料生产出来后被装在金属罐中。
if not decades, but stuffed animals encased in a plastic shell.
【语法tips】：这里的encased…这部分是过去分词作后置定语修饰前面的stuffed animal
ascend /ə’send/ v.攀登；登上；If you ascend a hill or staircase, you go up it. 比如说：Mrs Clayton had to hold Lizzie’s hand as they ascended the steps.拾级而上的时候克莱顿夫人不得不抓着莉齐的手。
这个词汇现在也常常引申表示（使）〔职位〕上升，晋升:to move to a more important or powerful job，比如说：•The number of women decreases as you ascend the professional hierarchy.专业级别越高，女性越少。
Instead, the winners in the Beijing Olympics are handed something of a placeholder: A stuffed-animal version of Bing Dwen Dwen, the panda Olympic mascot, dressed in a shell of ice resembling a spacesuit and flanked by a golden fabric wreath of pine, bamboo and plum. All three winners, whether gold, silver or bronze, get the same souvenir, one that is barely distinguishable from those available in fan merchandise stores.
但在北京冬季奥运会上，奖牌获得者得到的却是某种替代物品：本届奥运会吉祥物熊猫“冰墩墩”的毛绒玩具版，它穿着类似宇航服的冰外套，周身环绕着一个金色织物花环，上面缝制着松竹梅的图案。不管运动员赢得的是金牌、银牌，还是铜牌，他们得到的都是同样的纪念品，与商店里卖给粉丝们的没有多大不同。
resemble /rɪ’zemb(ə)l/ v.像; 与…类似，与…相似:to look like or be similar to someone or something，比如说：He does not resemble his brother in any way.他和他兄弟一点儿都不一样。
flank v.两侧有…，位于…两侧:to be on both sides of someone or something，比如说：•Lewis entered flanked by two bodyguards.刘易斯在左右两名保镖的陪同下走了进来。The altar was flanked by two Christmas trees.圣坛两侧是两棵圣诞树。
distinguishable /dɪsˈtɪ ŋ g wɪʃəbl/ 能分辨出来的，区别得出的:easy to recognize as being different from something else，比如说：•The fake was barely distinguishable from the original painting.这幅赝品与原画几乎无法区别。
“We’ve collected quite a few things at the Olympics so far, so I have a kind of treasure of things to bring home to the family,” Isabelle Weidemann, a bronze medal winner in the women’s 3000-meter speedskating event, said of the placeholder.
“我们迄今已在这届奥运会上收集到不少的东西，所以我有一个把这些东西带回国给家人的藏宝袋，”女子3000米速滑铜牌得主伊莎贝尔·魏德曼在谈到奖牌替代物时说。
Getting to hold the actual medal on Sunday, a day after her event, felt “incredibly different” from holding the stuffed panda, she said.
她表示，在比赛结束一天后的周日拿到真正奖牌时的感觉，与手拿熊猫毛绒玩具的感觉“非常不同”。
“It’s a lot more emotional, too,” she said.
In the second ceremony, held in a venue dedicated solely to handing out medals, the winners are paraded across a stage, as a few hundred fans cheer near the Olympic cauldron. The athletes ascend another three-tier platform before members of the International Olympic Committee hand them their medals, which they put on themselves. They are allowed to remove their masks for a moment.
第二个颁奖仪式在一个专门用于颁发奖牌的场地举行，奖牌获得者被安排从舞台上列队通过，数百名观众在奥运圣火旁为他们欢呼。运动员们再次登上冠亚季军领奖台，然后，国际奥委会的官员把奖牌发给他们，由他们自己戴上。他们被允许摘下口罩片刻。
venue /’venjuː/ 举办地点，举行场所，会场:a place where an organized meeting, concert etc takes place，比如说：•The band will play (=perform at) as many venues as possible.那支乐队将在尽可能多的地方演出。
dedicated /ˈdedɪˌkeɪtɪd/专用于…的;专门为…而设计制造的；You use dedicated to describe something that is made, built, or designed for one particular purpose or thing. 比如说：Such areas should also be served by dedicated cycle routes.这些区域也应该设专门的自行车道。
这个词汇也可以用来修饰人，指满腔热忱的，有奉献精神的:someone who is dedicated works very hard at what they do because they care a lot about it，举个例子：•a dedicated and thoughtful teacher一位富有敬业精神、关心学生的教师
solely /’səʊllɪ/ adv.只;仅仅;完全；If something involves solely one thing, it involves only this thing and no others. 举个例子：Too often we make decisions based solely upon what we see in the magazines.太多的时候，我们仅仅根据在杂志上面所看到的东西就作出了决定。
Arianna Fontana, who won a silver medal as part of Italy’s mixed team short-track speedskating, said on Sunday after her medal ceremony that it was nice to receive her medal with more people watching, compared to the largely empty short track stadium.
赢得银牌的意大利短道速滑男女混合队队员阿里安娜·方塔纳在周日的奖牌颁发仪式结束后说，有更多的人观看她被授予奖牌是好事，她参加比赛的短道速滑体育馆里基本上没有观众。
“Now it’s real,” she said. “Yesterday there was a lot of adrenaline, a lot of emotion, and maybe it took a little bit to understand what really happened.”
“现在是真的了，”她说。“昨天有许多的热血沸腾，许多的感情，也许需要点时间才能搞清楚到底发生了什么。”
She continued: “Today we have this medal on our necks, and it feels amazing.”
她接下来说：“今天我们的脖子上挂上了奖牌，感觉棒极了。”
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