2004年6月8日,奥林匹克圣火首次登陆中华大地。2004年6月9日,从天安门广场到颐和园,奥运圣火在北京古城风貌、现代风采和浪漫气息的一一衬托下,发出更加炫目的光彩。

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　　 NBA star Yao Ming is expected to join and finish the Beijing leg of 2004 Athens Olympic Games torch relay which starts on June 9th in the Chinese capital, Beijing.

　　 The Houston Rockets centre will be the last of the 148 torch bearers to run in the more than 55-kilometre Beijing section.

　　 Yu Zaiqing, an International Olympic Committee (IOC) member and a top Chinese sports official , will be the first bearer.

　　 The 148-member list contains people from all walks of life, including many sporting and entertainment celebrities. Besides Yao, Chinese table tennis legend Deng Yaping; Luo Xuejuan, triple women’s breaststroke(蛙泳) world title holder; Yang Ling, two-time Olympic shooting champion; and Tian Liang, the Olympic and world diving champion, are other noted sporting names.

　　 Sang Lan, the former Chinese gymnast who was paralyzed after a fall from the vault(撑手跳跃) warm-up during the 1998 Goodwill Games in New York, will be a representative of disabled people in the relay. “It is a kind of thrill to join in such an important moment,” said Sang who is a TV hostess now. “I am very excited. ”

　　 The eternal flame will arrive in Beijing early morning on June 8th. It will be carried to the Great Wall after a brief hand-off ceremony in the Capital Airport. The relay takes off the next day, starting from the Tian’anmen Square and ending at the Summer Palace.

　　Help:

　　1.leg: n. a part of a long process

　　2.paralyze: v. to make a person or animal lose the ability to move part or all of their body

　　3.eternal: adj. lasting forever, and having no end

(责任编辑：汪春)