来源:http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/language/wordsinthenews/2012/08/120821_witn_alternative_games.shtml
Let the Alternative Games begin
Report
The events at the London Olympic Games might have kept millions of
viewers glued to their screens, but to the inhabitants of Llanwrtyd
Wells in Wales they seemed a little mundane.
The town is hosting its own version of the Games, which challenge
competitors just that little bit extra. The sprinters have to race in
three-inch high heels, the long distance runners have to go
backwards and the hockey teams have to play underwater.
Thousands of competitors from around the world will participate in
35 events over a two-week period.
The town has been organising quirky sporting events for over 30
years. It all started with the man versus horse marathon – a
gruelling race that pits 600 runners and 50 horses and their riders
against each other over 22 miles of rugged, Welsh mountain terrain.
The horses are generally quicker, but human runners have won on
two occasions in the race's history.
In true Olympic spirit, this year the organisers are welcoming other
quirky sports from around the world, including wife carrying and
Russian egg roulette – where competitors take it in turns to smash a
batch of six boiled eggs against their foreheads; the loser is the
unlucky one who gets the raw egg in the batch.
Vocabulary
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glued to their screens
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unable to take their eyes away from the television
mundane
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dull, ordinary
high
heels
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very tall shoes
backwards
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in reverse
quirky
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strange, eccentric
versus
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against, in competition with
gruelling
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difficult
pits
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sets as rivals
rugged
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rocky, rough
raw
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uncooked