Clean break? The Winter Olympics
① Tonight sees the opening ceremony of the 23rd Winter Games in a purpose-built, 35,000-seat stadium in Pyeongchang, South Korea.
② Expect a cast of over 2,000 performers and an augmented-reality happening.
③ The theme is peace—apt in light of the host's recent rapprochement with North Korea.
④ The ceremony will usher in a fortnight of snow-swooshing competition, and organisers will be hoping that pre-games hitches—including a norovirus outbreak at some Olympic sites—don't augur ill.
⑤ The International Olympic Committee is desperate to move on from the disaster that was the last Winter Olympics, in Sochi in 2014, and the subsequent revelations about Russia's state-sponsored doping programme.
⑥ More controversy in Pyeongchang would do irreparable damage to the IOC's already trashed reputation.
⑦ A successful Games, on the other hand, could rekindle passion for an event often associated with corruption and cost overruns; at $13bn, Pyeongchang's price tag is less than one-third of graft-infested Sochi's, but twice the initial estimate.
▍生词好句
clean break: 彻底划清界线
purpose-built /ˌpəːpəsˈbɪlt/: adj. 特制的；为特定目的建造的（=purpose-made, built or made for a particular purpose）
cast /kɑːst/: n. 全部演员
augment /ɔːɡˈmɛnt/: vt. 增强
augmented reality: 增强现实
virtual reality: 虚拟现实
apt /apt/: adj. 合适的；聪明的
be apt to do sth.: 趋向于做某事
be apt at sth.：擅长做某事
in (the) light of: 考虑到
rapprochement /ræpˈrɒʃ.mɒ̃ŋ/: n.（两国间的）和解
reconciliation /ˌrɛk(ə)nsɪlɪˈeɪʃ(ə)n/: n. 和解
usher /ˈʌʃə/: vi. 引导；引入
usher in an era / a period of: 开启/带来……新时代/纪元
fortnight /ˈfɔːtnʌɪt/: n. 两周
swoosh /swuːʃ/: vi. 发出嗖嗖声
hitch /hɪtʃ/: n. 暂时的问题
norovirus /ˈnɔːrəvʌɪrəs/: n. 诺如病毒
augur /ˈɔːɡə/: vi. 是……的兆头；预示
augur well / badly / ill：预示未来的形势良好/不容乐观
dope /dəʊp/: vt. 给……使用兴奋剂 n. 兴奋剂
irreparable /ɪˈrɛp(ə)rəb(ə)l/: adj. 不可修复的；无可挽回的
rekindle /riːˈkɪnd(ə)l/: vt. 重新点燃；重新燃起
overrun /ˈəʊvərʌn/: n. 超支；超时
graft /ɡrɑːft/: n. 贪污受贿；以权谋私
be infested with:（动物害虫）大量出没