From VOA Learning English, this is In The News.
这里是美国之音慢速英语新闻报道。
Millions of sports lovers are thinking about just one thing right now -- the Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia. Close to 2,900 men and women are set to compete in the 2014 Winter Games. The opening ceremonies were held Friday night. The games continue through Sunday, February 23.
成千上万的体育爱好者现在都在想着一件事--俄罗斯索契冬季奥运会。将近2900位男女运动员将在2014年冬季奥运会展开竞争。开幕式已于周五晚上举行，这届奥运会将持续到2月23日星期天。
The Olympics are bringing a lot of attention to Sochi, a city on the Black Sea. Sochi is a popular area for vacation travelers. The area is known for its mild winters, with warm to hot weather in the summer.
奥运会给索契这座黑海城市带来了很多关注。索契是一个度假游客的热点地区。该地区以其暖和的冬季，及温暖到炎热的夏天而闻名。
At least $50 billion are being spent on the 2014 Winter Games, making it the costliest Olympics in history. Seven billion dollars was spent on the 2010 Winter Games in Vancouver, Canada. Olympic officials chose Sochi to host the 2014 games almost seven years ago.
这届2014年冬奥会至少花费了500亿美元，这使得它成为史上最昂贵的奥运会。2010年加拿大温哥华冬奥会只花了70亿美元。奥运官员在将近7年前选择了索契举办2014年冬奥会。
At the time, Russian President Vladimir Putin said the games would cost about $13 billion. Yet the real cost is four times his estimate. So where did all the money go? Many Russians say people involved in the project have taken some of it. One research group found that 38 percent of Russians it spoke with said the Olympics increased the likelihood of corruption.
当时，俄罗斯总统普京表示，这届冬奥会将花费130亿美元左右。然而真正的成本是他估计的四倍。那么钱到哪里去了？许多俄罗斯人表示，项目参与者拿走了一些钱。一个研究小组发现，38%与他们交谈过的俄罗斯人表示，奥运会增加了腐败的可能性。
Other observers say the high cost is partly the result of security measures. Brian Jenkins is a terrorism expert from the RAND Corporation.
其他观察人士表示，成本高的部分原因是由于安保措施。布赖恩·詹金斯（Brian Jenkins）是兰德公司的一位反恐专家。
"There are anywhere between 70,000 and 100,000 policemen and military troops deployed around the city. In addition, we hear reports that Russian authorities are going door to door in Sochi looking for suspects."
詹金斯说，“有7万到10万名警察和军队部署在城市附近。此外，我们听到报道说，俄罗斯当局正在索契挨家挨户搜查嫌疑人。”
The main threat comes from separatist and Islamist groups from the North Caucasus, especially from Chechnya and Dagestan. One group claimed responsibility for two suicide bombings in Volgograd last December. The attacks killed more than 30 people. The city is only about 600 kilometers away from Sochi.
这届冬奥会的主要的威胁来自北高加索的分离主义分子和伊斯兰组织，特别是车臣和达吉斯坦。一个组织声称对去年12月伏尔加格勒发生的两起爆炸案负责。这两次袭击造成30多人死亡。该城市距离索契只有大约600公里。
Bruce Hoffman is a terrorism expert from Georgetown University in Washington, DC. He says the increased security makes Sochi a difficult target for terrorists. He says they probably know they cannot get close to those attending the games.
布鲁斯·霍夫曼（Bruce Hoffman）是来自华盛顿特区乔治城大学的一位反恐专家。他说，提高安保使得索契很难成为恐怖分子的目标。他说，恐怖分子可能知道他们无法接近冬奥会参赛者。
"....But they can, and I believe their intention is to, make life difficult for the Russians and to create some sort of incident that takes away from the enjoyment and the sporting spectacular that is the Winter Olympics."
霍夫曼说，“但他们能让俄罗斯人生活遇到困难，并制造某些事件，带走冬季奥运会的乐趣和壮观，我相信这是他们的意图。”
The last time Olympians from around the world competed on Russian soil was in 1980. That was a year after Soviet troops invaded Afghanistan. Sixty countries boycotted the Moscow Summer Games. Thomas de Waal, a British journalist, says President Putin has a lot invested in the Sochi Olympics.
上次世界各地的奥运选手在俄罗斯境内比赛是在1980年，那是苏联军队入侵阿富汗一年之后。60个国家抵制了莫斯科夏季奥运会。英国记者托马斯·德瓦尔（Thomas de Waal）说，普京总统在索契奥运会有很大投入。
"He is a man who, as we know, has made his whole brand about being this man who has put Russia back on the map. He has made Russia strong again, respected again, a place of prestige."
德尔瓦说，“正如我们所知，普京让俄罗斯重回世界版图。他使得俄罗斯再次强大，再次获得尊重及地区声望。”
As the games began, protesters were criticizing Russia's treatment of homosexuals. Critics of a Russian law recently demonstrated in 20 cities around the world. They said the law bars nearly all public discussion of homosexuality. President Barack Obama is not sending any top officials to the Sochi Olympics. Instead, the US delegation includes tennis great Billie Jean King and two other openly gay athletes.
随着冬奥会的开始，示威者一直批评俄罗斯同性恋者的待遇。俄罗斯一部法律的批评者最近在世界各地20个城市示威。他们说，该法律禁止对同性恋几乎所有的公开讨论。奥巴马总统未派遣任何高级官员到索契。与此相反，美国代表团包括了网球名将比利·简·金（Billie Jean King）和另外两位公开的同性恋运动员。(51VOA.COM对本文翻译保留全部权利，未经授权请勿转载，违者必究！)