经典英语美文 （97）奥运会的另一面
The Olympics represents the noble ideal of sports overcoming the barriers of politics with champion athletes of all nations gathering in the spirit of sportsmanship. However, the stakes go beyond who wins the gold medal. Shortly after each competition, nations begin to vie afresh for the bid to host the next game. Winning the vote to host is not merely an honor, it is a political conquest in global recognition. It also spins revenue from the influx of tourists, participants and Olympic related paraphernalia.
However, all that glitters is not gold. For some residents of Beijing, the site of Olympic 2008, the impact of winning the bid cuts deep and far into their personal lives. The capital is expecting to pour billions of dollars into sports facilities and related upgrades such as roads, public transport, landscaping and sanitation. For the bustling city of bicycles and traffic jams tucked among imperial relics, the Olympics is an opportunity for urban renewal.
Yet for those within the areas, something must give way to make room for the model Olympic Village.
Decades of family homes will be uprooted and dispersed among apartments on the outskirts of the city. Although modern plumbing and sanitation will replace chamber pots, the move is an upheaval of a community and its way of life and social dynamics. It will be interesting to follow up on those and study the effects ofthe transplant.
The Olympics upgrades are not disposable stage props that can be easily discarded after the show. Experts are afraid that without the heartbeat of ordinary people dwelling in the ancient city, the high tech Olympic City would become culturally dry. Careful urban planning and stringent regulations such as building restrictions can preserve the impression of an intact neighborhood. Nevertheless, without the residents, aesthetic is lost and only the facade remains, waiting to be filled by tourists and businesses.
Nonetheless who can begrudge anyone a more comfortable living environment? Even without the Olympics, can the drumbeat of modernization be stopped? And whether the changes are for better or worse, who should presume to judge such things other than those whose lives bear the brunt of the impact?
奥运会所代表的崇高理想，就是各国的运动选手用运动员精神超越政治障碍聚集在一起。可是，其利害关系不仅在于谁获得金牌。每一届奥运会后不久，各国又重新开始争夺下一届奥运会的主办权。获得主办权不仅仅是一种荣誉，也代表着在政治上被全球认同的胜利。此外，还可以通过接踵而来的游客、参赛者和和奥运会有关的设备迅速增加税收。
然而，我们不能只看其表面（该句亦可直译为"闪闪发光的未必都是金子”）。对于北京2008年奥运会场地的那些居民来说，获得主办权对他们生活的影响是深远的。首都预计要在运动设施及其相关的改进，如道路、公共交通、环境景观和公共卫生等方面投入数十亿美元。对于其皇家遗址中到处存放自行车、交通拥堵的繁忙城市，奥运会是一次都市翻新的机会。可是对于那些住在规划用地的人而言，他们必须放弃一些东西来为—个现代化的奥运村腾地儿。
几十年的家园被连根拔起，而被分散到城市郊区的公寓。虽然现代化的管道和卫生设备将取代便盆，但是迁移对一个社区及其生活方式和社会变迁过程仍然是一个大变动。追踪这些人并研究迁移给他们带来的影响将是很有意义的。
为奥运会所做的改进工程，并非是戏剧演出结束后轻易就可以丢弃的舞台小道具。专家们担心在这座古城中缺乏了普通 居民的声迹，高科技的奥运城会在文化上几近枯竭。即使细心的城市规划和严厉的法规,例如建筑管制可以保留原封不动的社区外观，然而没有了居民，美感仍会失落,而只留下空壳，等待游客和商业的填充。
不过，谁能妒忌一些人有较舒适的居住环境呢？即使没有奥运会，现代化的鼓点声是否能被阻挡？而且社会变迁的好与坏，除了那些深受其影响的人以外，还有谁能擅自判断呢？
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