Olympic Athletes in Tokyo to Sleep on Environment-Friendly Cardboard Beds
2020-01-15
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1In an effort to be more environment friendly, organizers of this summer's Tokyo Olympics have built cardboard beds for the athletes to sleep on.
2Some observers have questioned whether such beds will be strong enough to hold some of the heavier Olympic competitors.
3But Takashi Kitajima, who is in charge of the athletes' housing for the event, told The Associated Press he is not worried about any beds breaking.
4"Those beds can stand up to 200 kilograms," he said.
5Kitajima added that the cardboard beds were made to be even stronger than wooden beds.
6However, he did say there could be a problem if some athletes get too excited celebrating their gold-medal success.
7"Of course, wood and cardboard would each break if you jumped on them," Kitajima said.
8The Athletes Village housing center is expected to be completed in June.
9The Olympics are set to open in Tokyo on July 24.
10Japanese officials say the cardboard bed parts will be recycled into paper products after the games.
11The mattresses are not made of cardboard.
12But, they can be recycled into plastic products.
13The mattresses are made up of three separate parts.
14This will permit the athletes to change positions to create the best sleep experience possible.
15Kitajima said, "The organizing committee was thinking about recyclable items, and the bed was one of the ideas."
16Organizers said it is the first time for Olympic bedding to be made out of renewable materials.
17The Athletes Village is set along Tokyo Bay.
18It will include 18,000 beds for the Olympics in 21 separate buildings.
19Local advertising has suggested that the units will be sold off after the Olympics.
20Starting prices for the housing were listed at about $500,000.
21Some locals fear the apartments will flood the market and reduce their property values.
22The listings suggested that many of the units will be a bit larger than a usual living space in Tokyo, which is about 60 to 70 square meters.
23I'm Bryan Lynn.
1In an effort to be more environment friendly, organizers of this summer's Tokyo Olympics have built cardboard beds for the athletes to sleep on. 2Some observers have questioned whether such beds will be strong enough to hold some of the heavier Olympic competitors. 3But Takashi Kitajima, who is in charge of the athletes' housing for the event, told The Associated Press he is not worried about any beds breaking. 4"Those beds can stand up to 200 kilograms," he said. Kitajima added that the cardboard beds were made to be even stronger than wooden beds. 5However, he did say there could be a problem if some athletes get too excited celebrating their gold-medal success. "Of course, wood and cardboard would each break if you jumped on them," Kitajima said. 6The Athletes Village housing center is expected to be completed in June. The Olympics are set to open in Tokyo on July 24. 7Japanese officials say the cardboard bed parts will be recycled into paper products after the games. The mattresses are not made of cardboard. But, they can be recycled into plastic products. 8The mattresses are made up of three separate parts. This will permit the athletes to change positions to create the best sleep experience possible. 9Kitajima said, "The organizing committee was thinking about recyclable items, and the bed was one of the ideas." 10Organizers said it is the first time for Olympic bedding to be made out of renewable materials. 11The Athletes Village is set along Tokyo Bay. It will include 18,000 beds for the Olympics in 21 separate buildings. 12Local advertising has suggested that the units will be sold off after the Olympics. Starting prices for the housing were listed at about $500,000. Some locals fear the apartments will flood the market and reduce their property values. 13The listings suggested that many of the units will be a bit larger than a usual living space in Tokyo, which is about 60 to 70 square meters. 14I'm Bryan Lynn. 15The Associated Press reported on this story. Bryan Lynn adapted the report for VOA Learning English. Ashley Thompson was the editor. 16We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments section, and visit our Facebook page. 17________________________________________________________________ 18Words in This Story 19athlete - n. a person who is trained in or good at sports, games, or exercises that require physical skill and strength 20mattress - n. the soft, comfortable part of a bed to sleep on 21renewable - adj. not completely depleted when used 22unit - n. a single apartment in a larger building