冬奥会才刚开始，有的奖牌已散架

米兰冬奥会开赛短短几天内，多国运动员的奖牌在颁奖后迅速出现断裂、脱落甚至碎裂，引发全球对奖牌工艺质量的集中质疑。

今天你练听力了吗？

🤔️小作业：

1. Which word best describes the author's tone throughout the article?

A. Celebratory  B. Mocking

C. Indignant  D. Mildly ironic

无注释原文：

The Olympics Have Just Begun. Olympic Medals Are Already Falling Apart.

From: The Wall Street Journal

American alpine skier Breezy Johnson had been an Olympic champion for all of 15 minutes before realizing she had a problem. Her newly awarded gold medal couldn't handle the intensity of her celebration.

In her excitement after winning Sunday's downhill event in the mountains of Cortina d'Ampezzo, Johnson couldn't help but jump for joy. Then the unthinkable happened: The gold disc hanging around her neck separated from the ribbon holding it in place, leaving the prize she had been dreaming about for her entire life in two pieces.

“I don't know that Italians are known for their engineering,” Johnson said in the home nation of Ferrari, Fiat and Enrico Fermi.

Just a few days into these Games, it has become clear that the medals here weren't crafted with quite the same care as a pair of Ferragamos. Johnson isn't the only athlete wondering why the people who spent nearly six centuries building the Duomo couldn't figure out a better way to attach a medal to a ribbon.

Now Olympic organizers are scrambling to figure out the source of the problem—and find a solution. Andrea Francisi, the chief games operations officer for Milan Cortina 2026, said that officials are investigating the issue “with maximum attention” after seeing images of Johnson and others.

“Obviously, this is something we want to be perfect,” Francisi said, “because when a medal is handed over, this is one of the most important moments for the athletes.”

Meanwhile, Olympic athletes from the streets of Milan to the far reaches of the Dolomites are all learning an important lesson: If you win a medal, treat it with kid gloves.

Not long after the U.S. won the team figure skating event on Sunday night, Alysa Liu posted a video on Instagram of herself holding her gold medal in one hand and the ribbon in the other. She included the caption, “My medal don't need the ribbon.”

The problem isn't limited to gold medals. Shortly after taking bronze in the parallel giant slalom Sunday, Bulgarian snowboarder Tervel Zamfirov was running when the medal detached from the lanyard. He managed to reattach it.

Ebba Andersson wasn't so lucky. Swedish media reported that her silver medal for skiathlon fell off its strap and disappeared under the snow, prompting a frantic search. The medal was recovered, but she gave up trying to find the clasp that had failed to keep it connected to the ribbon.

The German biathlon team posted a video on social media showing the exact moment disaster struck for Justus Strelow. He and his mixed relay teammates were dancing to “Funkytown” when his bronze medal detached from the ribbon and plummeted to the ground.

“Hey Olympics,” the team wrote in all-caps, “What's up with those medals?”

- ◆ -

注：完整题目见本文开头；中文文本为华尔街日报官方译文，仅供参考

含注释全文：

The Olympics Have Just Begun. Olympic Medals Are Already Falling Apart.

From: The Wall Street Journal

American alpine skier Breezy Johnson had been an Olympic champion for all of 15 minutes before realizing she had a problem. Her newly awarded gold medal couldn't handle the intensity of her celebration.

美国高山滑雪运动员布里茨·约翰逊（Breezy Johnson）的奥运冠军体验仅维持了短短15分钟，便察觉到了异样。她刚刚获颁的金牌，竟无法承受庆祝时刻的激烈动作。

alpine /ˈælpaɪn/ 表示“高山的；（尤指中欧）阿尔卑斯山的”，英文解释为“existing in or connected with high mountains, especially the Alps in Central Europe”

alpine skiing /ˌæl.paɪn ˈskiː.ɪŋ/ 表示“高山滑雪”，英文解释为“the activity of skiing down from high slopes wearing boots attached to long, wide skis”举个🌰：Alpine skiing began as a winter sport at the start of the 20th century. 高山滑雪起始于20世纪初，是一项冬季运动。

📍alpine skier 高山滑雪运动员

intensity /ɪnˈten.sə.ti/ 1）表示“强烈；剧烈”，英文解释为“the quality of being felt strongly or having a very strong effect”举个🌰：The explosion was of such intensity that it was heard five miles away. 爆炸的巨响5英里以外都能听见。

2）表示“（感情或看法的）强烈；认真；全情投入”，英文解释为“the quality of being very serious and having strong emotions or opinions”举个🌰：The intensity of their relationship was causing problems. 他们关系中所牵涉的感情强烈得引发了问题。

3）表示“（光、声等的）强度”，英文解释为“the strength of something that can be measured such as light, sound, etc.”如：measures of light intensity 光强度的测量。

In her excitement after winning Sunday's downhill event in the mountains of Cortina d'Ampezzo, Johnson couldn't help but jump for joy. Then the unthinkable happened: The gold disc hanging around her neck separated from the ribbon holding it in place, leaving the prize she had been dreaming about for her entire life in two pieces.

周日，在科尔蒂纳丹佩佐（Cortina d'Ampezzo）山区赢得高山速降项目金牌后，约翰逊难掩激动，兴奋地跳了起来。紧接着，令人咋舌的一幕发生了：挂在她颈间的金牌从固定它的挂绳上脱离，导致她毕生梦寐以求的奖赏断成两截。

downhill /ˌdaʊnˈhɪl/ 表示“向山下，朝坡下；下山的，下坡的”，英文解释为“(moving) towards the bottom of a hill”举个🌰：It's so much easier running downhill! 跑下山去容易多了！

downhill skiing替表示“滑雪速降”，英文解释为“skiing down slopes, rather than along level ground”

disc /dɪsk/ 表示“圆盘，盘状物”，英文解释为“a circular flat object”举个🌰：The dog's name was engraved on a little metal disc attached to its collar. 狗的名字刻在项圈上吊着的一块金属小圆盘上。

gold disc字面意思是“金盘”或“金色圆盘”，但在体育颁奖语境中，常用来形象地描述圆形的金牌。

ribbon /ˈrɪb.ən/ 表示“（捆扎或装饰用的）带子，丝带，缎带”，英文解释为“a long, narrow strip of material used to tie things together or as a decoration”举个🌰：She often wears a ribbon in her hair. 她常在头发上扎条丝带。

“I don't know that Italians are known for their engineering,” Johnson said in the home nation of Ferrari, Fiat and Enrico Fermi.

“我不确定意大利人是否以工匠精神著称，”约翰逊在这个诞生了法拉利（Ferrari）、菲亚特（Fiat）和物理学家恩里科·费米（Enrico Fermi）的国家说道。

Just a few days into these Games, it has become clear that the medals here weren't crafted with quite the same care as a pair of Ferragamos. Johnson isn't the only athlete wondering why the people who spent nearly six centuries building the Duomo couldn't figure out a better way to attach a medal to a ribbon.

冬奥会开幕不过寥寥数日，现实已然显现：这里的奖牌制作工艺，似乎并未达到菲拉格慕（Ferragamo）皮鞋般的精细水准。约翰逊想知道，既然意大利人曾耗时近六个世纪建造了米兰大教堂（Duomo），为何却想不出一个更好的办法把奖牌固定在挂绳上？有这种疑惑的运动员不止她一个。

craft /krɑːft/ 结合我们常见的aircraft/spacecraft/hovercraft等词猜测，craft可以表示“船，艇；飞行器，航空器”，英文解释为“a vehicle for travelling on water or through the air”如：naval craft 军舰，civilian craft 民用船，patrol craft 巡逻艇，rescue craft 救生艇。

🎬电影《外星人保罗》（Paul）中的台词提到：Hey, imagine if we got buzzed by a craft. 想象一下如果一艘飞船从我们头上掠过。

📍补充：hovercraft 气垫船，military aircraft 军用飞机，a manned/unmanned spacecraft 载人/无人的宇宙飞船。

此外，craft作名词还可以指“工艺，手艺；技术”，英文解释为“skill and experience, especially in relation to making objects; a job or activity that needs skill and experience, or something produced using skill and experience”如：the craft of furniture making/sewing 家具制作/缝纫工艺，political/literary craft 政治手腕/文学手法，rural/ancient/traditional crafts 乡村的/古老的/传统的手艺，craft workers (= skilled workers) 熟练工人，工匠。

craft作为动词表示“精制，（手工）制作”，举个🌰：Each doll is crafted individually by specialists. 每个布娃娃都由专业人员手工制作。

Now Olympic organizers are scrambling to figure out the source of the problem—and find a solution. Andrea Francisi, the chief games operations officer for Milan Cortina 2026, said that officials are investigating the issue “with maximum attention” after seeing images of Johnson and others.

现在，奥运会组织者正紧急排查问题根源并寻找解决方案。米兰-科尔蒂纳2026冬奥会首席赛事运营官安德烈亚·弗朗西西（Andrea Francisi）表示，在看到约翰逊等运动员遭遇类似情况的照片后，官员们正“全力以赴”调查此事。

scramble /ˈskræm.bəl/ 作名词，表示“争抢；抢占；争夺”，英文解释为“a situation in which people push, fight or compete with each other in order to get or do sth”举个🌰：There was a mad scramble for the best seats. 人们不顾一切地抢占最好的座位。

作动词：1）表示“艰难地（或仓促地）完成”，英文解释为“to manage to achieve sth with difficulty, or in a hurry, without much control”

2）表示“仓促行动”，英文解释为“If you scramble to a different place or position, you move there in a hurried, awkward way.”举个🌰：He threw back the covers and scrambled out of bed. 他掀开被子，急忙下了床。

3）表示“争夺”，英文解释为“If a number of people scramble for something, they compete energetically with each other for it.”举个🌰：More than three million fans are expected to scramble for tickets. 预计会有三百万以上的歌迷抢购门票。

4）表示“扰乱（思维）”，英文解释为“to confuse sb's thoughts, ideas, etc. so that they have no order”举个🌰：Alcohol seemed to have scrambled his brain. 酒精似乎扰乱了他的脑子。

“Obviously, this is something we want to be perfect,” Francisi said, “because when a medal is handed over, this is one of the most important moments for the athletes.”

“显然，我们希望在这件事上做到尽善尽美，”弗朗西西说。“因为颁发奖牌是运动员最重要的时刻之一。”

Meanwhile, Olympic athletes from the streets of Milan to the far reaches of the Dolomites are all learning an important lesson: If you win a medal, treat it with kid gloves.

与此同时，从米兰街头到遥远的多洛米蒂山脉（Dolomites），奥运健儿们都在吸取一个重要的教训：如果你赢得了一枚奖牌，请务必小心呵护。

handle/treat sb/sth with kid gloves 表示“极有礼貌地对待；小心应付”，这个短语本身是既可以用于人，也可以用于物的。

kid gloves：指用小山羊皮制成的非常柔软精致的手套，在历史上是上流社会人士的穿戴，象征着轻柔、谨慎和精心的对待。整个短语表示以极度温柔、小心翼翼、避免任何粗暴或伤害的方式对待（某人或某物）。如：The superstar is very temperamental, so the manager has to handle him with kid gloves. 这位巨星脾气很大，所以经纪人必须小心伺候。This vintage camera is over 100 years old. You need to handle it with kid gloves.（这台老式相机有100多年历史了，你必须轻拿轻放。

Not long after the U.S. won the team figure skating event on Sunday night, Alysa Liu posted a video on Instagram of herself holding her gold medal in one hand and the ribbon in the other. She included the caption, “My medal don't need the ribbon.”

周日晚间，美国队赢得花样滑冰团体赛冠军后不久，刘美贤（Alysa Liu）在Instagram上发布了一段视频，视频中她一手拿着金牌，一手拿着挂绳。她配文写道：“我的奖牌不需要挂绳。”

figure skating /ˈfɪɡ.ə ˌskeɪ.tɪŋ/ 表示“花样滑冰”，英文解释为“a type of skating that involves circular patterns and often includes jumps”，figure skater表示“花样滑冰运动员”。

caption /ˈkæp.ʃən/ 可以作动词，也可以作名词，表示“（图片或卡通的）说明文字”，英文解释为“A caption is the words printed underneath a picture or cartoon which explain what it is about.”如：a captioned photograph 一幅带有文字说明的照片，举个🌰：The local paper featured me standing on a stepladder with a caption, "He climbs the ladder to success." 当地的报纸刊登了一幅我站在梯子上的特写，下面写着：“他登上了成功之梯。”

The problem isn't limited to gold medals. Shortly after taking bronze in the parallel giant slalom Sunday, Bulgarian snowboarder Tervel Zamfirov was running when the medal detached from the lanyard. He managed to reattach it.

这个问题并非金牌独有。周日，在摘得平行大回转项目铜牌后不久，保加利亚单板滑雪运动员特维尔·扎姆菲罗夫（Tervel Zamfirov）在奔跑时发现奖牌与挂绳分离。所幸他成功将其重新组装。

parallel giant slalom是滑雪运动中的一个竞赛项目，译为“平行大回转”，是一种单板滑雪或双板滑雪的比赛形式，属于高山滑雪的一个分支，极具观赏性。

detach /dɪˈtætʃ/ 表示“使分离，使分开；拆掉”，英文解释为“to separate or remove something from something else that it is connected to”举个🌰：You can detach the hood if you prefer the coat without it. 大衣上的帽兜如果不想要可以拆掉。

detached /dɪˈtætʃt/ 1）表示“分离的，分开的；拆下的”，英文解释为“separated”举个🌰：The label became detached from your parcel. 标签已经从你的包裹上掉下来了。 2）表示“认为与己无关的；毫不关心的，心不在焉的”，英文解释为“A detached person does not show any emotional involvement or interest in a situation.”举个🌰：She seemed a bit detached, as if her mind were on other things. 她似乎有些心不在焉，好像心思在别的事情上。

lanyard /ˈlæn.jəd/ 表示“（脖子上的）挂绳，挂链”，英文解释为“a long piece of cord (= thick string), etc. worn around the neck, on which a security pass, ID card, key, etc. is hung”

Ebba Andersson wasn't so lucky. Swedish media reported that her silver medal for skiathlon fell off its strap and disappeared under the snow, prompting a frantic search. The medal was recovered, but she gave up trying to find the clasp that had failed to keep it connected to the ribbon.

埃巴·安德松（Ebba Andersson）就没那么幸运了。据瑞典媒体报道，她在滑雪两项比赛中获得的银牌从挂绳上脱落，没入雪地不见了，引发了一场慌乱的搜寻。奖牌失而复得，但那个失灵的连接锁扣却已无处寻觅，她最终放弃了寻找。

strap /stræp/ 作名词，表示“皮带；带子”，英文解释为“a narrow piece of leather or other strong material used for fastening something or giving support”举个🌰：Could you help me fasten this strap around my suitcase? 你能帮我用这条带子把手提箱系紧吗？

2）作动词，表示“用带子系（或捆、绑）”，英文解释为“to fasten something in position by fastening a narrow piece of leather or other strong material around it”举个🌰：Are the kids strapped into their car seats? 给孩子们系好坐椅安全带了吗？

frantic /ˈfræntɪk/ 1）表示“（因恐惧或忧虑而）发狂似的，情绪失控的”，英文解释为“If you are frantic, you are behaving in a wild and uncontrolled way because you are frightened or worried.”举个🌰：A bird had been locked in and was by now quite frantic. 一只鸟被关了起来，到现在它都非常狂躁。

2）表示“紧张忙乱的”，英文解释为“If an activity is frantic, things are done quickly and in an energetic but disorganized way, because there is very little time.”举个🌰：A busy night in the restaurant can be frantic in the kitchen. 晚上餐馆生意繁忙，厨房可能就会忙作一团了。

clasp /klɑːsp/ 表示“（皮带、包或首饰的）钩子，搭扣，扣环”，英文解释为“a small metal device that is used to fasten a belt, bag, or a piece of jewellery”

The German biathlon team posted a video on social media showing the exact moment disaster struck for Justus Strelow. He and his mixed relay teammates were dancing to “Funkytown” when his bronze medal detached from the ribbon and plummeted to the ground.

德国冬季两项队在社交媒体上发布了一段视频，记录了尤斯图斯·施特雷洛（Justus Strelow）遭遇“灾难”的确切时刻。当他和混合接力队的队友们随着“Funkytown”的音乐起舞时，他的铜牌从挂绳上脱落，掉到了地上。

plummet /ˈplʌmɪt/ 此前在《纽约时报》这头版，“爆表”了...文中提到过，表示“（数量、比率、价格）暴跌”，英文解释为“If an amount, rate, or price plummets, it decreases quickly by a large amount.”举个🌰：In Tokyo share prices have plummeted for the sixth successive day. 在东京，股价已经是连续第6天暴跌了。

瑞幸咖啡怎么了？文中也出现过，CNBC的标题Shares of China's Luckin Coffee plummet 80% after investigation finds COO fabricated sales就用到了plummet这个词。

📍类似的表达「暴跌」的词有：tank，sink，plunge, slump，欢迎补充。

plummet在这里表示“掉落”，强调快速、沉重、笔直地坠落，常带有“突然”和“从高处落下”的意味，可以理解为“骤然坠落”、“直线跌落”。

“Hey Olympics,” the team wrote in all-caps, “What's up with those medals?”

“嘿，冬奥会，”该队用全大写字母写道。“这些奖牌到底是怎么回事？”

all caps /ˌɔːlˈkæps/ 表示“全部大写，全为大写字母”，英文解释为“capital letters (= letters of the alphabet in the form and larger size that is used at the beginning of sentences and names), used especially in order to emphasize something or show that you are angry”举个🌰：Using all caps is considered yelling online. 在网络上，全部使用大写字母表示大喊的意思。

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