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