伦敦奥运会在即：奥运小百科面面看

　　The Symbols of the Olympic Games

　　奥运会的标志

　　The Rings

　　奥运五环

　　The Olympic Rings are five interlocking rings that stand for the five original continents, (Africa, America, Asia, Australia, and Europe) and the athletes from around the world.

　　奥运五环是五个相连的圆环，它们分别代表了最初的五个大洲(非洲，美洲，亚洲，澳洲和欧洲)以及来自世界各地的运动员。

　　The colours of the rings are blue, yellow, black, green, and red respectively. They were chosen because at least one of these colours is found on the flag of every nation.

　　五环的颜色分别是蓝，黄，黑，绿和红色。之所以选择这些颜色是因为至少每个国家都能在这面旗帜上找到属于自己的颜色。

　　The Flag

　　会旗

　　On the Olympic flag, the rings appear on a white background.

　　在奥运会的会旗上，奥运五环被放在一个白色的背景上。

　　At the Olympic Games, the flag is brought into the stadium during the opening ceremony. After its arrival, the flag is hoisted up the flagpole. It must fly in the stadium during the whole of the Games. When the flag is lowered at the closing ceremony, it signals the end of the Games.

　　会旗在开幕仪式上被带进体育场。入场后，它被悬挂到旗杆顶端。在整个奥运会期间，它会一直在体育场上空飘扬。当闭幕式上人们降下会旗时，就标志着奥运会的结束。

　　Motto

　　格言

　　The motto of the Olympic Games is "Swifter, Higher, Stronger". These three words encourage the athlete to give his or her best during competition, and to view this effort as a victory in itself.

　　奥运会的格言是“更快，更高，更强”。这三个词鼓励运动员在比赛中展现出他或她的的一面，并表明努力本身就是一种胜利。

　　To better understand the motto, we can compare it with the following well-known phrase:

　　为了更好地理解这句话，我们可以拿它和下面这句名言相比较：

　　The most important thing is not to win but to take part!

　　重在参与!

　　The Flame

　　奥运圣火

　　The Olympic flame is one of the best-known features of the Games.

　　奥运圣火是奥运会最知名的特色之一。

　　From the moment the flame is lit to the moment it goes out, a very precise ritual is laid down :

　　从点燃圣火到熄灭圣火，都要经历一个庄严的仪式。

　　The lighting

　　点燃圣火

　　In memory of the Olympic Games’ origins, the flame is lit in Olympia, Greece, some months before the opening of the Games. The Olympic flame can only be lit by the sun’s rays.

　　在奥林匹克运动的起源中，圣火要在奥运会开幕前的几个月，在希腊的奥林匹亚被点燃。奥运圣火只能由太阳的光芒点燃。

　　The relay route

　　火炬接力路线

　　The torch is carried by relay from Olympia to the host city of the Games.

　　火炬会以接力的方式，从奥林匹亚传递到主办城市。

　　Arrival at the stadium

　　到达体育场

　　The day of the opening of the Games, the flame enters the stadium. With the lighting of the cauldron by the last relay runner the flame is transferred from the torch to the place where it will continue to burn for the entire length of the Games. The flame is extinguished on the final day of the Games at the closing ceremony.

　　奥运圣火会在奥运会开幕的那天进入体育场。随着一名火炬接力手举着火炬进入体育馆，奥运圣火将会持续燃烧直至比赛结束。在的闭幕式上，圣火才会被熄灭。