20090907 -- The Summer Deaflympics (2)

The Summer Deaflympics

A history of excellence
Originally known as the International Silent Games, the Deaflympics have been around since 1924. When they began, deaf people were broadly view as being intellectually inferior and were often treated as social outcast. Almost from the outset, the Games became a means of comparing the ways in which different countries treated their deaf citizens. In this role, the Deaflympics have promoted human rights for deaf people and shown that hearing has little bearing on intelligence or potential.

Jast as importantly, the Games have been a means of inspiration for the deaf community. While other competitions for athletes with disabilities employ nondisabled officials and organizers, the Deaflympics are organized and run exclusively by deaf people. This practice allows deaf people from all walks of life to be integral parts of the competition as athletes, officials volunteers and spectators. Running from September 5 to 15, the Taipei Games will feature 20 exciting sports. And with approximately 4,000 athletes representing 81 different countries, this year's Deaflympics are sure to be the focus of a lot of attention.



outcast n. 被驅逐的人/被歧視的人/被遺忘的人
eg: Through an outcast in high school, Marco became very popular at his university.
eg: After Frank lost his job, he became an outcast among his family.
eg: Janet spent her whole life trying to help the homeless and other social outcasts.

organizer n.　組織者/組織幹部
eg: Sylvia is one of this company's most talented organizers.

integral adj. 主要的/不可或缺的
=> necessary to make it complete
integral to
eg: Mrs. Jackson has been an integral part of our school from more than 20 years.
eg: The marketing department plays an integral role in our company.
eg: Brenda is one of our top sales associates; she's integral to the store's good business.

spectator n. 觀眾之一/旁觀者/目擊者
=> the people who is in the seat, watching the game being played
eg: Emilio won't be playing on Saturday but will be a spectator.

bearing n. 關係/關聯
=> relation with
=> connection with/to
bearing on
eg: His personal life should have no bearing on his qualification for this job.
eg: What she said at the meeting didn't have much bearing on our discussion.

superior adj. (在職位,地位等方面)較高的/上級的
inferior adj. 次的/較差的/次於...的


means n. 手段/方法/工具
exclusively adv. 專門地/專有地
eg: She writes exclusively for New York Times.

all walks of life
=> no matter where you come from
eg: people from all walks of life 各行各業的人

//== Chat room ==//

negative prefixes

不知道用in,un,non時，用not來否定，比較不會出錯
non後面通常不需要連字符號，只有在專有名詞時才會用到連字符號
eg: non-American

double negatives
=> 使用negative prefixes時，最好避免雙重否定

//== Grammer on the go ==//

Originally known as the International Silent Games, the Deaflympics have been around since 1924.

been around (本課課文的意思如下)
=> be present and active and growing in experience or reputation during that time

been around
=>point out how something is brand-new or has been existed for quite some time
eg: The guitar has been around for many centuries.
eg: Although that song is on the singer's most recent album, it is actually an old song that has been around for several decades.



been around
=> be near a certain location

eg: The boys have been around the park a lot recently.