特別推薦：世界杯雙語大觀

為迎接2012倫敦奧運會、鼓勵市民多運動，本月將會有100張乒乓球桌出現在倫敦街頭，游客和市民可以隨時進行一場露天的乒乓球比賽。這個街頭推廣活動名為“乒”，是由非營利組織“唱響倫敦”聯手英國乒乓球協會共同推出的，同時由英格蘭體育委員和雅虎分別提供資金支持和贊助。“乒”活動的內容主要為：在倫敦地標性建筑內擺放總計100張乒乓球桌、在英國圖書館舉辦“乒乓文學小測試”，以及在巴比肯藝術中心舉辦“奇幻乒乓”展覽等。該活動的啟動儀式將在倫敦圣潘克勒斯國際火車站舉行。屆時，英國奧運軍團以及前乒乓球世界冠軍蓋亭都將出席，同時還會有跑酷、街舞以及乒乓歌曲表演。此次活動在倫敦將持續四周的時間，范圍將覆蓋特拉法加廣場、攝政公園以及西斯羅機場三號航站樓等地標性建筑。倫敦活動結束后，“乒”活動將前往其它四個城市巡回開展，并將于2012年回到倫敦。

Londoners and tourists will get the chance to play open-air table tennis at city landmarks this month in a campaign to get a million more people playing sports in the run up to the 2012 London Olympics.

Londoners and tourists will get the chance to play open-air table tennis at city landmarks this month in a campaign to get a million more people playing sports in the run up to the 2012 London Olympics.

The street project, entitled Ping, will see 100 tables around the capital. It has been created by non-profit organization Sing London in association with the English Table Tennis Association, funded by Sport England and sponsored by Yahoo.

"Table tennis has wide appeal, and I hope thousands of people will take advantage of these outdoor tables," said Sport England's Chief Executive Jennie Price.

London mayor Boris Johnson is helping to promote the campaign after claiming at Beijing's 2008 Olympics that ping-pong was invented in Victorian Britain, originally called "whiff whaff".

"The French looked at a dining table and saw an opportunity to have dinner," he said at the time.

"We looked at a dining table and saw an opportunity to play whiff-whaff."

The launch, at London's St Pancras International where trains arrive from Paris and Brussels, will feature both the UK Olympic team and ex world champion Jean-Philippe Gatien as well as Parkour, a "ping-popping dance" and a "ping-pong song".

Ping! will also appear in other London landmarks including Trafalgar Square, Regent's Park, the Tate Britain and Heathrow's Terminal 3.

Ping-pong fever will also be aimed at different areas of the public, with a "Literary Ping Pong Quiz" at the British Library and surreal ping-pong in the Barbican arts center.

Three thousand table tennis bats have been bought for Ping!, which is planned to last four weeks before moving on to four other cities and then returning to London in 2012.

"Ping-pong is a game that is inclusive, withstands age barriers and cultural divides and makes people smile," said Colette Hiller, Sing London's creative director.

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(Agencies)

Vocabulary:

Parkour: 跑酷，是一項街頭疾走極限運動，有點Free-running的意思，再配合猿猴一樣的靈活攀越。該運功把整個城市當作一個大訓練場，一切圍墻、屋頂都成為可以攀爬、穿越的對象，特別是廢棄的房屋。

（中國日報網英語點津 Helen 編輯）