Good Bye Beijing, Hello London 伦敦奥运再见

The Beijing Games are over. China has completed its stint as host with a superstar-studded closing ceremony.

Just as the Games had begun, fireworks and pageantry filled Beijing's National Stadium at the end of 16 days of competition.

Only this time, the massive Olympic torch which had burnt constantly over the stadium throughout slowly faded out.

The closing ceremonies for the Summer Games included the same dramatic flare at the opening ceremonies, with an army of dancers, acrobats and drummers and the parade of the athletes filling the field, but also included a show within the show by London, host of the 2012 Games. There was a red double-decker bus. Performance of " Whole Lotta Love "by Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page, and a soccer boot by David Beckham. Capping the festivities, another massive display of fireworks which rocked the city and as Summer Olympic attention now turns to London, the English city held a party of its own on Sunday. Hundreds gathered in front of Buckingham Palace to wave 2012 flags.

Oh, we've just had a wonderful time in watching the handover, getting excited, 'cause my son's gonna be in the 2012 Olympics, the Para Olympics. He is a swimmer, I'm really excited.

Joining the festivities there, US swimmer Michael Phelps, he says he is looking forward to competitions ahead. He's going to mix things up a bit.

Bob is my coach, he’s trying to, he said to me that he is going to put everything that he's done coaching me, throw it out the door, and try something completely different.

Phelps won 8 gold medals in Beijing, in one of the most riveting and lasting performances in Olympic history.

Sandy Kozel, the Associated Press.

WORDS IN THE NEWS

1. pageantry : n-uncount

People use pageantry to refer to the colorful and formal things that are done for special official or royal occasions, for example the wearing of special clothes and the playing of special music.

2. cap : verb

If someone says that a good or bad event caps a series of events, they mean it is the final event in the series, and the other events were also good or bad. (JOURNALISM)

3. riveting : adj

If you describe something as riveting, you mean that it is extremely interesting and exciting, and that it holds your attention completely.

参考中文翻译：

北京奥运会结束了。中国以明星云集的闭幕式结束了奥运会东道国的使命。

同开幕式一样，北京国家体育馆里烟花和壮丽的气氛弥漫，结束了为期16天的奥运会。

就在此时，在北京体育馆熊熊燃烧了16天的巨大的奥运火炬缓缓熄灭。

夏季奥运会的闭幕式与开幕式一样耀眼夺目，也有一大批舞蹈演员，杂技演员，鼓手和奥运会的运动员。同时还包括了2012年奥运会的举办城市伦敦的展示。表演包括一个红色的双层巴士，Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page在巴士上演唱Whole Lotta Love，还有贝克汉姆以“贝氏弧线”踢出的足球。这一盛大的赛事即将结束，另外一场声势浩大烟花表演震撼了这座城市，夏季奥运会的目光转向伦敦。伦敦也将于周日举行自己的晚会。几百人聚集在白金汉宫前挥舞这2012面旗帜。

我们在交接仪式上度过了精彩愉快的时光，非常激动，因为我饿日子将要参加2012年的奥运会。他是游泳运动员，我非常激动。

美国游泳运动员菲尔普斯也参加了这项盛事，他说期待着面前的竞争。他会稍微改变一下。

Bob是我的教练，他努力试着把他教给我的东西全都抛开，尝试一些完全不同的东西。

菲尔普斯在北京奥运会上赢得了8枚金牌，这是奥运会历史上最辉煌的记录。