Summary
30 September 2013
The longest ever Olympic torch relay for the Winter Games in Sochi has begun. The flame was lit in Greece using the sun's rays. It will travel 65,000 kilometres, including a visit to the International Space Station in November.
Reporter:
Jonathan Josephs
Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics will take place between 7th to 23rd February 2014
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Report
Dressed in cream-coloured, shoulderless, pleated dresses, 21 high priestesses perform an elaborate dance routine. The actresses were surrounded by the ruins of the Temple of Hera in Olympia - the site of the ancient Olympics.
As they moved in carefully choreographed routines, the torch for the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi was lit.
Tall construction cranes still hang over Sochi's Olympic stadium. There are concerns over whether the venues will be ready for February. Despite recent backing from a leading IOC official, locals are split.
By the time the Olympic flame arrives at Sochi's opening ceremony, it will have taken its first ever trip to space and visited nearly 3,000 different places in Russia. But questions remain as to whether it can truly inspire equality for all.
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Vocabulary
- cream-coloured
a white/ yellow colour
- shoulderless
without shoulders
- pleated
piece of cloth folded and sewed together
- high priestesses (plural)
senior female priests
- elaborate
very complex
- routine
a series of movements that form part of a performance
- Temple of Hera
an ancient Greek temple at Olympia, Greece
- choreographed
designed dance movements
- cranes (plural)
tall machines with a long arm to lift and move heavy things
- venues (plural)
places where events take place
- backing
support which someone gives to a plan
- locals (plural)
people that live in the area you are talking about
- split
divided by different opinions
- equality
the right of all people to have a similar social position and receive same treatment
