How Green is the Paris Olympic Games?

The organizers of the Paris Olympic Games have promised to make the Games the most sustainable in the decades since climate change became a concern. But how did it work?

On the plus side, organizers have been serious in their efforts to educe carbon emissions. They measured the expected carbon footprint of the Games, reduced emissions through energy efficiencies and limited new construction by using existing facilities.

But, the sustainability efforts in Paris have not all been smooth sailing. The Seine is scheduled to host marathon swimming. But despite spending 1.4 billion euros trying to clean the river, French authorities have achieved inconsistent results: Water tests in June still showed high levels of pollutants.

The Paris organizers had also hoped to rely on a cooling system that pump cold water beneath the village’s floors. That technology was expected to reduce the carbon impact by 45 percent. Bur, eventually, they gave up their ambition to avoid using conventional air-conditioning in the Olympic Village, installing some 2, 500 temporary air-conditioning units.

For years, the organizers all promised the Games would be “climate positive.” But, whatever efforts were taken, none of them could really achieve sustainability as long as millions of tourists flew into the host city. Organizers of the Rio Olympics in 2016 estimated that more than 40% of the carbon emissions came from international spectators. This year, with tickets available on a central platform globally, the number of international visitors was beyond control.

For all the efforts in Paris to reduce the carbon impact of the games, some of which have been considerable, the scale of future Games must be rethought. Jules Boykoff, who has written extensively about the Olympic Games, rightly argues that “the Games need to reduce their size”. It wouldn’t solve everything, but it would make these events more sustainable.

参考范文：

The Paris Olympic Games fell short of its sustainability goals. Efforts to reduce carbon emissions faced setbacks, including pollution in the Seine, the need for temporary air-conditioning units in the Olympic Village and the uncontrolled number of international visitors. Scaling down future Games for greater sustainability might be a possible solution.

本文是一篇说明文。文章介绍说，巴黎奥运会未能实现其可持续发展目标。减少碳排放的努力遇到了挫折，包括塞纳河的污染、奥运村对临时空调设备的需求以及无法控制的国际游客数量。缩小未来奥运会的规模以获得更大的可持续性可能是一种解决方案。

(详解)

1. 要点摘录

①But, the sustainability efforts in Paris have not all been smooth sailing.

②But despite spending 1.4 billion euros trying to clean the river, French authorities have achieved inconsistent results: Water tests in June still showed high levels of pollutants.

③Bur, eventually, they gave up their ambition to avoid using conventional air-conditioning in the Olympic Village, installing some 2, 500 temporary air-conditioning units.

④But, whatever efforts were taken, none of them could really achieve sustainability as long as millions of tourists flew into the host city.

⑤For all the efforts in Paris to reduce the carbon impact of the games, some of which have been considerable, the scale of future Games must be rethought.

⑥Jules Boykoff, who has written extensively about the Olympic Games, rightly argues that “the Games need to reduce their size”.

2. 缜密构思

将第1个要点进行重组，将第2、3、4和5、6几个要点进行整合。

3. 遣词造句

The Paris Olympics failed to meet its sustainable development goals.

Efforts to reduce carbon emissions have run into setbacks, including pollution of the Seine River, the need for temporary air conditioning units in the Olympic village and uncontrollable numbers of international visitors.

Downsizing future Olympics for greater sustainability could be one solution.

(点睛)

(高分句型1) “Efforts to reduce carbon emissions faced setbacks, including pollution in the Seine, the need for temporary air-conditioning units in the Olympic Village and the uncontrolled number of international visitors.” (对原文二、三、四段进行了概括，运用了不定式作名词Efforts的后置定语。)

(高分句型2) “Scaling down future Games for greater sustainability might be a possible solution.” (对原文最后一段进行了概括，运用了动名词作主语。)