Comprehension: Sochi Aims to Improve Disabled Access for Olympics

Five months ahead of the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics and Paralympics, a major effort is underway to end Russia's image as a country unfriendly to people with limited mobility. 

Watch the video and answer the questions below.  Decide if the statements are True or False.

1. Sochi is making around 2,000 facilities suitable for disabled people.
a. True
b. False

2. The aim is to have all facilities for the winter Paralympics ready by December.
a. True
b. False

3. According to the authorities, the work is nearly finished.
a. True
b. False

For transcript and answers see below.

Transcript and Answers:

This is a big moment for Yevgeny.  Since falling from the 4th floor of a building, he has been wheelchair-bound and this is the first time he's visited the beach since his accident.

"After the accident I couldn't swim in the sea for 4 years. This year, thanks to this wheelchair, I'm able to swim like everyone else"

Ahead of the Winter Olympics and Paralympics which will take place in Sochi, Russia is keen to appear more disabled-friendly than it has been in the past.  Around 2,000 facilities - including hospitals, hotels and ATM's should be adapted by December to accommodate people with disabilities.  But 4 months ahead of the deadline and 6 months before the opening of the games, the Sochi authorities admit that only half of the work has been done and frustrations remain.

"Getting around the city is no different for me. Maybe it'll be fixed for the Olympics, but there's no barrier free environment here yet"

13 million disabled people live in Russia and many are largely confined to their homes as a result of inaccessible buildings and a lack of wheelchairs ramps.
After Russia’s ratification of the 2012 UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities some NGOs hope the situation will improve throughout the country.

"When they say that everything's great in Sochi now, I say I agree, but it's only good for now, and it's not over yet and it must be better. And not only in Sochi, it should happen in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Ivanovo, Arkhangelsk, Vladivostok - all over Russia. There should be no "oasis’" where everything's good"

While strides have been made by the Sochi authorities to make the city hospitable for disabled people, there's still a long way to go before all the necessary changes are in place - and remain in place -long after the Winter Olympic crowds have gone home.

Answers:
1. a
2. a
3. b

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