英文阅读：你知道残奥会吗？
第29届夏季运动会正在中国首都北京如火如荼地进行着，来自各国的奥运健儿同台竞技，为国争光，数万名观众为本国运动员加油助威。可是还有很多特殊的运动员在为9月份举行的另一场奥林匹克运动会紧张地训练着。你知道这另外的运动会是什么运动会吗?今天就让我们来了解一下。While many of the world’s most famous athletes are gearing up for the
Beijing Olympics in August, there are other athletes training every bit as hard
for a second Olympic games in September.
The 14th Paralympic Games will see disabled athletes from around the world
compete in 20 events ranging from wheelchair fencing to powerlifting.
The Paralympic movement began at a British hospital in the aftermath of the
Second World War, when sport was introduced as a therapeutic treatment for
returning servicemen with spinal injuries.
The first games took place in 1948 in London with two British teams
competing in an archery competition. By 1960 the games had grown to include
international athletes and were held in the same city as the Olympic Games.
It is unclear where the name Paralympics came from but it was probably
first coined as a pun or ‘portmanteau’ word combining the words paraplegic and
Olympic. These days, however, the term ‘para’ is seen to signify a parallel
competition that sits side by side with the main Olympic Games.
As well as athletes who have suffered spinal injuries, the modern
Paralympics invites competitors with visual impairment, athletes with cerebral
palsy (脑瘫), and amputees (接受切断手术的人) to participate in the games.
Although most of the Paralympic sports are also included in the Olympic
Games, there are some sports that are unique to the Paralympics.
Boccia (室外地滚球戏) is a game similar to bowls in which the competitor attempts
to throw a number of leather balls as closely as possible to a target ball; the
wheelchair dance event sees athletes perform dance routines with each other or
with able-bodied partners.
So if you are a sports fan, remember that when the Olympic Games have
finished, the Paralympics are just about to begin.
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