Beijing Closes 2022 Winter Olympics

February 22, 2022, Daily News | Advanced

Exercise 1

Vocabulary

credit/ ˈkrɛdɪt/ Verb

to believe or say that a particular person or thing is responsible for
something

Example:
The team credited the coach with the victory.

isolate/ ˈaɪsəleɪt/ Verb

to cause a person or thing to be alone or apart from others

Example:
North Korea has long been one of the world's most isolated countries.

denounce/ dɪˈnaʊns/ Verb

to publicly criticize someone or something for being wrong, illegal, etc.

Example:
Several prominent lawmakers denounced the government's handling of
the crisis.

violation/ vaɪəˈleɪʃən/ Noun

the act of breaking or not following a rule, law, etc.

Example:
Saudi Arabia has been repeatedly condemned for human
rights violations.

boycott/ ˈbɔɪkɑːt/ Verb

to stop buying from, dealing with, etc. as a form of protest

Example:
Activists say that everyone who cares about animals should boycott the
company.
Exercise 2

Article

Beijing Closes 2022 Winter Olympics

The 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing came to an end on Sunday, February
20.
On Sunday night, China's President Xi Jinping and International Olympic
Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach stood together as Beijing
handed off to Milan-Cortina, Italy, the site of the 2026 Winter Games.
Unlike the first pandemic Olympics in Tokyo in 2021, which had empty
seats at the opening and closing ceremonies, the seats of Beijing's "Bird's
Nest" stadium had a modest crowd.
"We welcome China as a winter sport country," Bach said, closing the
Games. He called their organization "extraordinary" an d credited the
Chinese and their organizing committee for delivering them "in such an
excellent way and a safe way."
In many ways, the Games were a success. TV ratings were down, but
streaming viewership was up — by February 19, NBC had streamed 3.5
billion minutes from Beijing, compared to 2.2 billion in South Korea in
2018.
There were no unexpected logistical problems, only the ones created on
purpose to prevent the spread of COVID -19.
And it seems to have been successful. As of February 19, the system that
effectively turned Beijing into two cities — one isolated, one continuing
very much as normal — had produced only 463 positive tests among
thousands of visitors entering the Games since January 23.

However, the Games weren't without their problems. Internationally,

many denounced the IOC for holding them with a government accused
of human rights violations against ethnic Uyghurs and Tibetans and strict
policies against Hong Kong democracy activists. Several Western
governments boycotted the Games by not sending any official
delegations, though they sent athletes.
For its part, China denied such accusations, and included a Uyghur as
one of its Olympic torch-carriers for the opening ceremony on February
4.
At the end of the Games, Norway led the medal count with 37 in
total. The Russian Olympic Committee was second with 32, followed by
Germany, 27, Canada, 26, and the US, 25. Sweden, Austria and Japan
tied for sixth with 18 medals each.
Exercise 3

Discussion
1. Did you watch the 2022 Winter Olympics closing ceremony?

2. Do you find it surprising that Norway won the most medals? Why? Why
not?

3. Are you happy with how your country performed at the Winter
Games? Why? Why not?

4. What are your favorite Winter Olympic events? Did you watch them
this year?

5. What Olympic events would you most like to see in person? Why?
Exercise 4
Further Discussion

1. Would you rather take a winter vacation in Norway, Russia, Germany,

Canada, or the US? Why?

2. What winter sports have you tried?

3. What sports would you most like to be good at ?

4. What do you think would be the hardest thing about being a

professional athlete?

5. What sports do you follow? Do you stream or watch them on TV?

Source
An article by The Associated Press. All rights reserved.