12-28-07

北京稱奧運比賽場所均完工僅一例外 (Beijing Says All Olympic Venues But One Completed)

奧運會的組織者說，明年北京奧運會的所有比賽場所，除能夠容納9萬1千人的國家體育場“鳥巢”之外，都已經完工。北京奧組委執行副主席蔣效愚星期五說，37個比賽場館中的36個將在12月31號之前完工。因外部斜條格結構而被稱為“鳥巢”的國家體育場應該在明年3月完工。

蔣效愚說，游泳館明年1月進行一次試用比賽。北京奧運會組織者為了趕在明年8月8號奧運會開幕之前完成所有的比賽場館，讓建築工人每天輪班24小時工作。

北京為這次奧運會花費了大約400億美元。但是準備工作並不是沒有爭議。大赦國際和其他人權組織都抗議在奧運會之前強迫居民拆遷，並把抗議人士關進監獄。

Olympic organizers say all the venues for next year's Games in Beijing have been finished except for the massive, 91-thousand seat National Stadium known as "the Bird's Nest." Beijing Games executive vice president Jiang Xiaoyu said Friday that 36 of the 37 venues will be complete by December 31st. The National Stadium, nicknamed the Bird's Nest because of its exterior lattice work, should be finished by March.

Jiang said the aquatics venue is ready for a test event in January. Chinese Olympic organizers have had crews working 24 hours a day to complete the venues in time for the start of the Games on August 8th of next year.

Beijing has spent an estimated 40-billion dollars getting ready for the Games. The preparations have not been without controversy. Amnesty International and other human rights groups have protested the forced eviction of residents and imprisonment of protesters ahead of the Games.

布希家德州舊居被人為縱火毀壞(Texas Home of Bush Family Damaged by Arson)

美國西南部德克薩斯州當局表示，布希總統童年舊居失火是被人有意縱火。這所住房位於布希總統的父親、前總統喬治.H.W.布希建立的博物館和圖書館的庭院裏。當局表示，房子的前廊在星期四早上的大火中受到的損失比較大。

目前還沒有確定縱火的嫌疑人。布希一家在1948年9月搬入這個有兩間臥室的小房子裏，一直住到1949年4月。。當時現任總統布希只有2歲。2004年，這所房屋被數以百計的志願者修復，並且在同一年從原來的地點被搬到博物館的庭院裏。

Authorities in the southwestern U.S. state of Texas say a fire that damaged the former childhood home of President Bush was deliberately set. The home is located on the grounds of the museum and library established by Mr. Bush's father, former President George H.W. Bush. Authorities say the home's front porch sustained much of the damage from the early Thursday morning fire.

No suspects have been identified in the arson. The Bush family moved into the small, two bedroom home September 1948，when the current President Bush was two years old and lived there until April 1949. The house was restored in 2004 by hundreds of volunteers. It was moved from its original location to the museum grounds that same year.