World News for Students of English

02-08-2021 07:00

The Olympic flame for Tokyo 2020 has been lit as this year’s Olympics starts. More than 11,300 athletes from 207 nations will compete over the next couple of weeks in 33 sports.

Olympic groups landed amid the threat of the infectious delta variant that has triggered case surges throughout Asia. With Tokyo in a state of emergency throughout the Olympics after a sharp increase in COVID-19 infections, the Games have come under huge criticism from the Japanese public. The majority of them said that they wanted the Olympics to be canceled or postponed again. However, safety is paramount for the organizers, and huge precautions are being taken.

For the first time in history, events will be held without spectators, and winners will place their own medals around their necks. Athletes social distance in the Olympic Village, they must wear a face mask at all times, and they eat between plastic barriers in the cafeteria. Unfortunately, the virus has affected the Games already, with 11 positive cases among athletes.

Difficult words: surge (a sudden increase), paramount (more important than anything else), precaution (an action to prevent something dangerous or unpleasant).

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