SPORTS

Feb.1st 2006

Beijing Olympic Volunteer Team

Thousands of hosts are needed to welcome the world to Beijing’s 2008 Games

Planning on checking out Beijing’s 2008 Olympic Games? If so, keep your eyes open for one special team. The members of this team won’t be rowing, wrestling or canoeing. Instead, they might be found greeting fans at the airport, directing pedestrian traffic in Tiananmen Square, or perhaps even selling Beijing duck at a concession near the Olympic Stadium. Who are they? They’re the team of Olympic volunteers.

Let the recruiting begin

For Beijing’s 2008 Olympic Games, a staggering number of volunteers are needed to help make the Games a success. Never before has such a large volunteer drive been conducted in China. Recruiting and coordinating all those volunteers presents a big challenge for GOCOG (Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games of the 29th Olympiad), the administrative body in charge of planning China’s Games.

The good news is that BOCOG has already developed objectives for its volunteer drive. After the summer Olympics in Athens concluded, Advanced magazine tapped sources close to BOCOG, getting an early insight into the recruitment process.

Help wanted

Fist, BOCOG needs an astounding 100,000 volunteers for Beijing alone. Smaller volunteer teams are also needed for Chain’s other Olympic venue cities: Qingdao, Shanghai, Tianjin, Shenyang and Qinhuangdao have room for another 17,000 volunteers in total.

What kind of jobs will the Olympic volunteers do? They will handle security, traffic control, computer support, fist aid, and just about every imaginable task in between. Volunteers with specific skills can apply to the professional category, taking positions such as IT specialists, nurses, engineers or translators. Volunteers without special training can apply to the common category, where ticket takers, greeters, guards and other support staff are needed.

Vocabulary focus

Pedestrian (n) 行人 a person who is walking, especially in an area where vehicles go

Staggering (adj) 巨大的；惊人的 stunning, overwhelming

Astounding (adj) 令人惊奇的；令人震惊的 very surprising or shocking

Specialized Terms

Concession (n) 附属于大建筑物内的零售或食品摊位 a branch of a business set up and operating in a place belonging to another commercial enterprise