Emotion kicks off China's Olympics
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小編： 269BEIJING, China (CNN) -- Fireworks, athletes and pageantry on a scalenever before seen in the Olympics opened the Summer Games in Beijing onFriday, as the Asian nation kicked off the biggest and most scrutinizedGames in history.
Fans celebrate the Opening Ceremony of the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China, on Friday.
Fans celebrate the Opening Ceremony of the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China, on Friday.
Chinese President Hu Jintao declared the the Olympics officially open,retired Chinese gymnastics champion Li Ning was carried through the airto light the Olympic cauldron and pyrotechnics exploded throughoutBeijing as the crowd of 91,000 at National Stadium cheered wildly.
It was a stunning display from the nation of 1.3 billion people. Somemedia observers believe the Opening Ceremony may be the single mostwatched television event in history.
IOC President Jacques Rogge spoke of China's long-held ambition to hostthe Olympics. "Tonight, that dream comes true," he said. Roggementioned the Sichuan earthquake, saying the world was moved "by thegreat courage and solidarity of the Chinese people."
Emotion was high as Friday's Opening Ceremony not only officiallystarted the Summer Games, but also was a symbolic expression of anation seeking its place as a global superpower.
The ceremony began at 8 p.m. local time (8 a.m. ET) on the eighth dayof the eighth month of 2008 -- that, in a country where eight is theluckiest number. The opening was an artistic mix of performance andlight depicting China's 5,000 years of history.
Fireworks shot off across the Chinese capital as thousands of drummers,acrobats, martial artists and dancers performed under a light displayat the National Stadium.
Children representing each of the 56 ethnic groups in China marched outinto the stadium, also called the "Bird's Nest" because of its uniqueappearance.
Dancers merged with objects that depicted China's ancient Silk Road,its Great Wall and ancient imperial past. Acrobats swirled around agiant sphere, depicting China's ambitions in space.
Delegations from Afghanistan, Taiwan, North Korea and the United Stateswere welcomed by huge cheers. But the loudest roars were saved for theChinese participants. Waves of emotion greeted China's delegation as itentered National Stadium, led by flag bearer and basketball superstarYao Ming.
U.S. President George W. Bush was joined by Russian Prime MinisterVladimir Putin and more than 100 heads of state, heads of governmentand sovereigns expected to attend, the International Olympic Committeesaid.
The joy in Beijing was countered by grave news in Europe. As theOpening Ceremony was under way, Georgia's president said that hiscountry was under attack by Russian tanks and warplanes. While inBeijing, Bush and Putin met to discuss the conflict in Georgia.
Earlier Friday, the anticipation over the Beijing Olympics wasunmistakable in China's capital city. Thousands were on hand early atBeijing's Tiananmen Square to witness the traditional flag-raisingceremony by soldiers of the Chinese People's Liberation Army. Blog:Anticipation at fever pitch
This version of the Olympics brings with it controversy, discord thatbegan in 2001 when the 2008 Games were awarded to Beijing. Criticismover China's policies on human rights for its citizens, its policies inTibet and the persistent pollution across the country have been thefocus of much international scrutiny and media attention. Video Watchprotests in Germany over China's Tibet policies »
For some world leaders, the decision to attend was a tough call. FrenchPresident Nicholas Sarkozy threatened to boycott the Games because ofhuman rights abuses in Tibet, but later changed his mind.
"It's inevitable that people from different countries may not see eyeto eye," President Hu said recently, "so we should try to expand ourcommon ground on the basis of mutual respect."
Political leaders do not attend Olympic opening ceremonies as a matterof protocol -- Bush is the first American president to attend themoutside the United States -- but China seemed determined to have asmany there as possible.
"They want those leaders to confirm the fact that China has returned togreat power, prominence in the world," said David Zweig, a politicalanalyst at Hong Kong University of Science and Technology.
"They really want to say to the people of China that we, the Communistparty of China, have done a great job." Video Watch why China hasinvested so much in the Olympics »
As for the Games, an estimated 10,000 athletes from 205 countries willcompete in 28 events for about 300 gold medals. The first medals willbe awarded on Saturday, and China hoped to claim the first gold of theGames. See a timeline of moments to watch for »
The Olympics will offer plenty of drama. China has put a priority onfinishing first in the overall medal standings. Government officialshave said they expect nothing less than a repeat gold medal from110-meter hurdler Liu Xiang.
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On Sunday, swimming competition begins, along with U.S. swimmer MichaelPhelps' quest to win eight gold medals -- more than any individual in asingle Games. Even if he fails, Phelps could become the all-time leaderin gold medals.
Also on Sunday, an early showdown in basketball, as the U.S. basketballteam led by stars Kobe Bryant and LeBron James faces host China and NBAall-star Yao Ming.
【譯文】
中國奧運(yùn)在激情中開幕
本周五，奧運(yùn)史上盛況空前的焰火，運(yùn)動(dòng)員入場式和華麗的露天表演揭開了北京夏季奧運(yùn)會(huì)的開幕式，同時(shí)也標(biāo)志著這個(gè)亞洲國家所主辦的歷史上最大也是最受矚目的奧運(yùn)會(huì)的開始。
中國國家主席胡錦濤宣布奧運(yùn)會(huì)正式開始，中國退役體操冠軍李寧在空中點(diǎn)燃奧運(yùn)火炬。伴隨著國家體育館內(nèi)91，000名觀眾的歡呼聲，北京城內(nèi)焰火四起。
對于這個(gè)擁有13億人口的國家來說，（奧運(yùn)開幕式）是一次令人驚嘆的展示。有些媒體觀察家相信，這次開幕式是歷史上觀眾最多的電視節(jié)目。
國際奧委會(huì)主席亞克?羅杰（在致辭中）提及中國主辦奧運(yùn)的長期夢想?！敖裢恚@個(gè)夢想成為了現(xiàn)實(shí)，”他說。羅杰還提到了四川地震，并說世界為“中國人民的極大的勇氣和團(tuán)結(jié)的精神”所感動(dòng)。
周五的開幕式上群情激揚(yáng)，因?yàn)殚_幕式不僅標(biāo)志著奧運(yùn)會(huì)的正式開幕，同時(shí)也是這個(gè)國家追求其環(huán)球超級(jí)大國地位的一個(gè)象征。
開幕式在2008年8月8日晚上8時(shí)開始 - 在中國，8是最幸運(yùn)的數(shù)字。開幕式用表演和燈光藝術(shù)地展示了中國五千年的歷史。
體育館外，焰火在中國的首都燃起；體育館內(nèi)，數(shù)千鼓手，雜技演員，武術(shù)演員和舞蹈演員在燈光展示下表演。
代表中國56個(gè)民族的兒童們走入被稱為“鳥巢”的體育館，因?yàn)轶w育館的獨(dú)特外表看起來像一個(gè)鳥巢。
舞蹈者和體現(xiàn)中國古老的絲綢之路，長城以及其古老帝國歷史的道具融為一體。雜記表演者圍繞著一個(gè)巨大的球體旋轉(zhuǎn)，描述著中國外空探索的雄心。
來自阿富汗，臺(tái)灣，朝鮮和美國的代表團(tuán)得到了觀眾的巨大歡呼。但是最大的歡呼聲還是留給了中國代表團(tuán)。當(dāng)旗手和籃球運(yùn)動(dòng)員姚明帶領(lǐng)著中國代表團(tuán)走入國家體育館時(shí)，迎接他們的是觀眾激動(dòng)的歡呼浪潮。
美國總統(tǒng)布什和俄羅斯總統(tǒng)普京參加了開幕式，據(jù)國際奧委會(huì)透露，同時(shí)參加開幕式的還有一百多個(gè)國家或政府元首。
北京的歡樂氣氛和歐洲的暗淡的消息形成了鮮明的對比。在開幕式正在進(jìn)行時(shí)，格魯吉亞總統(tǒng)說他的國家遭到了俄羅斯坦克和飛機(jī)的攻擊。在北京，布什和普京也就格魯吉亞沖突舉行了會(huì)談。
周五早些時(shí)候，對北京奧運(yùn)的熱切期待情緒毫無疑問地充滿著中國的首都。數(shù)千群眾很早就聚集在天安門廣場上，觀看傳統(tǒng)的中國人民解放軍升旗儀式。
本屆奧運(yùn)會(huì)一直是與爭議相伴，這種爭議從2001年北京獲得2008奧運(yùn)舉辦權(quán)時(shí)就開始了。針對中國人權(quán)政策，西藏政策，和全國持續(xù)的污染問題的批評(píng)之聲一直是國際社會(huì)和媒體關(guān)注的焦點(diǎn)。
對于某些國家領(lǐng)導(dǎo)人，是否參加開幕式是一個(gè)非常棘手的決定。法國總統(tǒng)尼古拉斯?薩科齊因?yàn)橹袊谖鞑氐娜藱?quán)問題而以不出席開幕式相威脅，但是后來還是改變了注意。
胡錦濤主席最近提到，“來自不同國家的人們不可避免地會(huì)有一些分歧，所以我們應(yīng)該在共同尊重的基礎(chǔ)上擴(kuò)大共識(shí)。”
按照國際慣例，政治領(lǐng)導(dǎo)人不參加奧運(yùn)開幕式 -- 布什是第一個(gè)參加美國本土外奧運(yùn)開幕式的美國總統(tǒng) -- 但是中國似乎努力爭取盡可能多的領(lǐng)導(dǎo)人參加開幕式。
“他們希望通過這些領(lǐng)導(dǎo)人來證實(shí)中國又重歸世界主要大國行列?！毕愀劭萍即髮W(xué)的政治分析家大衛(wèi)?維格說。
“他們非常想對中國人說我們，中國共產(chǎn)黨干的不錯(cuò)?！?/p>
在比賽項(xiàng)目上，據(jù)估計(jì)有來自205個(gè)國家的10，000多名運(yùn)動(dòng)員將角逐28個(gè)項(xiàng)目的300枚金牌。第一枚金牌將在周六決出，中國希望能斬獲首金。
奧運(yùn)將是非常戲劇性的。中國代表隊(duì)的重點(diǎn)就是拿到獎(jiǎng)牌總數(shù)的第一。政府官員表示他們非?？春靡话僖皇讬诠谲妱⑾枘茉佾@金牌。
游泳比賽在星期天舉行。美國游泳選手Michael Phelps希望奪得八枚金牌，這將是單項(xiàng)比賽中個(gè)人獲得的最多金牌數(shù)。即使他不成功，他仍會(huì)是單人獲得金牌最多的運(yùn)動(dòng)員。
星期天還將舉行籃球賽，以科比?布蘭特和勒布朗?詹姆斯為首的美國籃球隊(duì)將對戰(zhàn)東道主中國隊(duì)和NBA全明星姚明。
