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Heading For The Finish Line 环法自行车赛

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Every summer, crowds of people gather along the winding roads of the French countryside to witness something special. ___1___

每年夏天，群众沿着蜿蜒的法国乡间道路上集结，为的是见证一项特别的事件。这些粉丝往往会等上好几个小时，只为了一睹世界上最伟大的自行车手呼啸而过，去赢得所有自行车赛事中的最高荣耀──环法自行车赛。

Interestingly enough, this prestigious event, which originated in 1903, began as a publicity stunt to save a newspaper. ___2___ The gamble worked, as the epic event captured the interest of sports enthusiasts and the Tour became a major annual race.

有趣的是，这项盛事源于1903年，一开始是作为抢救一家报纸的宣传噱头。该报的自行车版记者秘密筹划举办一次为期六天环绕法国的自行车赛，希望此举可以提高报纸的销量。这赌博性的计划奏效了且成为壮举，吸引了体育爱好者的兴趣并且变成每年主要的赛事。

Although the terrain changes from year to year, the course generally stretches over 3,600 kilometers and takes approximately three weeks to complete. ___3___ The times taken to complete each stage are aggregated to determine who the leader is. Past winners include France’s Jacques Anquetil, Belgium’s Eddy Merckx, and America’s Lance Armstrong, who won the Tour a record seven times.

虽然每年赛道地形都会改变，但一般来说该路线绵延3,600多公里，大约需要三个星期才能骑完全程。赛事被分成好几阶段，每阶段赛程会持续一整天。最后，将完成所需的每段赛程的时间加总以决定谁是领先者。历届赢家包括了法国的贾克．安奎地，比利时的艾迪．墨克斯及来自美国，赢了七次环法冠军的兰斯．阿姆斯特朗。

___4___ Highlights include 6 mountain stages and 4 summit finishes. ___5___ And as usual, the race will conclude at the famous Champs-Elysees in Paris. So, be sure to tune in as the stars of cycling put the pedal to the “medal” in hopes of taking home the first place trophy.

今年，第98届环法自行车赛开始于7月2日，结束于7月24日。本届比赛焦点包括6站山地站和4个登顶终点。另外，车手必须骑上Col du Galibier险峭的山路坡段两次，而非一次。而本届赛事与往年一样，最后皆结束于巴黎著名的香榭丽舍大道。所以，一定要记得收看这些骑得飞快的自行车明星夺冠军奖杯的精采赛事。

－by Jamie Blackler

(A)   These fans will often wait for hours just to catch a glimpse of the world’s greatest cyclists zooming past on their quest to win the pinnacle of all cycling events, the Tour de France.

(B)   This year, the 98th Tour began on July 2nd and will conclude on July 24th.

(C)   The paper’s cycling journalist hatched the idea of holding a six-day race around France, hoping to boost his newspaper’s sales.

(D)  Plus, riders must climb the dangerous Col du Galibier mountain pass not once, but twice.

(E)   The race is broken down into stages, each of which lasts for a day.

Vocabulary

单词发音

prestigious [prɛsˋtɪdʒɪəs] adj. 有威望[声望﹐威信]的

publicity [pʌbˋlɪsətɪ] n. 宣传

stunt [stʌnt] n. 引人注目的花招，噱头

terrain [ˋtɛren] n. 地形

aggregate [ˋægrɪ͵get] v. 聚集；总计

summit [ˋsʌmɪt] n. 峰顶

finish [ˋfɪnɪʃ] n.（比赛等的）n. 最后阶段; 终点

trophy [ˋtrofɪ] n. 奖杯; 奖牌

More Information

单词发音

quest [kwɛst] n. 探索; 追求;  v. 寻求，探求

pinnacle [ˋpɪnək!] n.〔某事物最成功﹑最强大﹑最激动人心的〕部分; 顶点; 顶峯

hatch [hætʃ] v. 策划

boost [bust] v. 推动

Idiom

片语发音

zoom past 非常快速地经过  to run or move past someone or something very rapidly

break down into 把…分解成 to divide something into smaller parts

put the pedal to the “medal”  加快速度, 骑非常快。原为 put the pedal to the metal: to press a car's accelerator to the floor; to drive very fast

Tour de France Col du Galibier

Best of Tour de France 2012

Answer