Unit 3

T1

Blowing the whistle on soccer

1 A French friend of mine got a big laugh at a dinner party recently with his account of the game of baseball: "Seven guys stand around in a field doing nothing while two of their teammates throw the ball, back and forth."

2 I understand – it's hard to get excited about a foreign sport if you didn't grow up with it. Now I'm colliding with this same cultural barrier. The World Cup soccer tournament begins on June 9 and I will have no clue what's going on out there on the "pitch". It seems a good time to blow the whistle on the so-called beautiful game.

3 I have been watching soccer for years and all I can see on the field is 22 grown men in shorts running around madly trying to kick the ball and tripping over each other. I guess the object is to get the ball into the net (also known as the goal), but if it ever gets close it looks like an accident.

4 What we have here, it would seem, is a game of chance.

5 For an hour and a half, the field is a scene of sheer chaos as the ball sails back and forth and the fans hum some mournful tune reminiscent of The Slaves' Chorus from Nabucco. Neither team seems to be in control.

6 The scoring system says it all. Most finals are 0-0, 1-0 or 2-1, indicating that games tend to be stand-offs and it's a matter of luck to be ahead when time runs out. To put a good face on it, they call this tension or suspense.

7 Newcomers to soccer – mostly Americans – might wonder how many ways points can be scored. Besides kicking the ball it is permitted to whack it in mid-air with your head, which is not the best use of the cranium, as doctors will tell you.

8 To be honest, though, many goals are scored by the ball accidentally bouncing off random players who get in the way. The crowd loves these, especially when a defender's leg sends the ball – by chance, of course – into his own net.

9 Goals are the best illustration of the chance nature of this game. Ninety per cent of goal shots (known as "chances" or, in hopeless cases, "half chances", or in France, opportunités) are either blocked or are so far off course that they soar deep into the stands.

10 If the ball happens to be aimed about right and slips through the forest of hairy legs, it's sheer luck. The shooter, or "striker", then takes full credit for this accident, peels off his shirt and sprints around in circles as four or five fellow players jump on his back to try to stop him and get his shirt back on.

11 The chaos resumes, the humming in the stands starts up again, and the clock slowly ticks away toward 90 long minutes.

12 Unlike baseball or basketball, precision ball-handling is not a top priority in soccer except perhaps for Thierry Henry and a couple of Brazilians. Let's face it, God never meant for most of us to control a ball with the feet while running at top speed.

13 Periodically a player gets an elbow in the face and goes down writhing. The clock stops while little men with black bags rush over and massage his phony-baloney injury, after which he jumps up good as new. The player who elbowed him gets something called a "yellow card", a mild reprimand.

14 How can you have a sport in which strategies and regulations are so obscure? Besides the mystery of "injury time", there is something called the "offside rule", which deems, roughly, that the striker cannot receive the ball unless at least two opposing players are ahead of him. Why not? This leaves everyone perplexed.

15 Not to worry – even professional commentators are at a loss for words. The BBC's voice of soccer, John Motson, notes that there is no "universal interpretation" of the offside rule. Imagine real football with no agreement on what " touchdown " means.

16 Why does your typical soccer match seem so out of control? Simple. Only one referee is on the field, and he is responsible for keeping 22 hopped-up athletes in line. He allows no backtalk (for this, you get a "red card" and a shower) but most of the infractions – pushing, punching, tripping, kneeing, handballing – are committed when he isn't looking. But the fans see them, setting off more moans in the stands.

17 The mystery remains why so many people flock to see this game. I must be missing something.

揭足球的短

1 我的一位法國朋友在最近的一次晚宴上說起棒球時(shí)哈哈大笑：“當(dāng)兩個(gè)隊(duì)友在場上來回投球時(shí)，另外七個(gè)小伙子在邊上站著無事可做?！?/p>

2 我知道，如果一個(gè)人不是從小就接觸某項(xiàng)外來的運(yùn)動，他就很難對它感興趣?，F(xiàn)在我正遭遇同樣的文化壁壘。6月9號世界杯足球賽就要開始了，而我對球員在“球場”上干些什么卻一無所知?？雌饋磉@是給這個(gè)所謂的精彩賽事揭短的一次大好機(jī)會。

3 我看足球也有好幾年了，我所看到的就是22個(gè)穿著短褲的成年人在場上瘋狂地奔跑，力爭踢到球，互相絆倒對方。我猜想他們的目的是要把球踢進(jìn)網(wǎng)里（也叫球門），可是，如果不是碰巧的話，球是很難靠近球門的。

4 看起來，我們現(xiàn)在談?wù)摰氖且豁?xiàng)靠運(yùn)氣取勝的運(yùn)動。

5 整整一個(gè)半小時(shí)，球場上一片混亂：球飛來飛去，球迷們在哼著一首悲傷的曲子，讓人想起《納布卡》里的“奴隸合唱團(tuán)”。雙方隊(duì)員好像都失控了。

6 記分法說明了一切：多數(shù)球賽都是以 0-0、1-0或2-1結(jié)束，這意味著球賽結(jié)果傾向于平局，如果比賽結(jié)束時(shí)一方勝出了，那只是因?yàn)樗麄冞\(yùn)氣好。為了粉飾這種現(xiàn)象，他們稱這樣的比賽為“激烈”或“有懸念”。

7 足球新人——大多是美國人——或許不知道有多少種得分法。除了用腳踢球之外，在空中用頭頂球也是允許的?？舍t(yī)生會告訴你，這可不是腦袋的最大用途。

8 老實(shí)說，很多進(jìn)球是從某個(gè)無意中擋住球的球員身上反彈進(jìn)球門的。觀眾喜歡這種進(jìn)球，尤其是防守隊(duì)員——當(dāng)然是偶然地——把球送進(jìn)了自家的網(wǎng)內(nèi)。

9 射門最好地說明了這種比賽的碰運(yùn)氣性質(zhì)：90%的射門（被稱為“機(jī)會”，或在無望的情況下，稱為“半個(gè)機(jī)會”；在法國稱為opportunités）或被擋住，或因?yàn)樯涞锰蛑苯语w上了看臺。

10 萬一球碰巧瞄準(zhǔn)了，穿過長滿毛的隊(duì)員的腿滑進(jìn)球門，那純粹是運(yùn)氣。射門的人，亦稱“前鋒”，會因?yàn)榧儗倥既坏倪M(jìn)球而獨(dú)攬所有的贊譽(yù)，他會脫掉球衣，繞著圈猛跑，四、五個(gè)隊(duì)友會撲到他的背上阻止他，讓他穿上球衣。

11 接著又恢復(fù)了混亂，看臺上的觀眾又開始哼歌曲，而計(jì)時(shí)器則在滴答聲中慢悠悠地走向漫長的90分鐘的盡頭。

12 足球與棒球或籃球不一樣，對足球來說準(zhǔn)確的控球并不是最重要的，蒂埃里?亨利和幾個(gè)巴西球員例外。讓我們面對事實(shí)吧：上帝從未想讓我們大多數(shù)人在全速跑動時(shí)用腳來控制球。

13 時(shí)不時(shí)地會有球員臉上挨了一肘，躺在草地上痛苦地翻騰。這時(shí)會暫停計(jì)時(shí)，幾個(gè)提著黑包的小個(gè)子男人會跑過來為假裝受傷的球員按摩，然后他又活蹦亂跳地站起來。那位肘擊他的球員會得到一張叫“黃牌”的東西：一種溫和的懲戒。

14 怎么會有戰(zhàn)術(shù)和規(guī)則都如此模糊不清的運(yùn)動呢？除了“傷停時(shí)間”之謎，還有那個(gè)被稱為“越位”的規(guī)則，大概是指除非有兩位對方球員在他的前頭，否則前鋒不能接隊(duì)友的傳球。為什么不能呢？這讓所有的人都迷惑不解。

15 不必?fù)?dān)心——即便是職業(yè)解說員也往往對此感到語塞。英國廣播公司的足球名嘴約翰?莫特森認(rèn)為對越位規(guī)則“不存在國際通用的解釋”。想想真正的足球（即美國人的橄欖球——譯注）對“持球觸地”沒有一致的解釋會有什么后果吧。

16 為何你們典型的足球比賽看上去如此失控呢？很簡單，因?yàn)榍驁錾现挥幸幻门?，他要?fù)責(zé)管束22名極度興奮的運(yùn)動員。他不允許球員提出異議（否則就給球員一張“紅牌”，讓他沖個(gè)澡走人）。但是，大多數(shù)的犯規(guī)，如推人、出拳打人、使絆、用膝蓋頂人、手球都是在他看不到的情況下進(jìn)行的?？墒乔蛎远伎匆娏?，于是引發(fā)了觀眾席上更多的抱怨。

17 有一個(gè)謎一直解不開：為什么會有這么多人蜂擁前去觀看這項(xiàng)比賽呢？我一定是漏掉了什么關(guān)鍵的東西。

T2

My dream comes true

1 The rain had started to fall gently through the evening air as darkness descended over Sydney. Hundreds of lights illuminated Stadium Australia, and the noise was deafening. As I walked towards the track I glanced around me at the sea of faces in the stands, but my mind was focused. The Olympic gold medal was just minutes away, hanging tantalisingly in the distance.

2 My heart was beating loudly, my mouth was dry and the adrenaline was pumping. I was so close to the realisation of my childhood dream and the feeling was fantastic; it was completely exhilarating, but also terrifying. I knew I would have to push myself beyond my known limits to ensure that my dream came true.

3 I tried to keep composed, telling myself not to panic, to stick to the plan and run my own race. I knew the Russian girls would set off quickly – and I had to finish this race fewer than ten seconds behind the Russian athlete Yelena Prokhorova. If I could do that, the title would be mine.

4 I looked out along the first stretch of the 400m track and caught my breath. The 800m race had punished me so much over the years – in the World, Commonwealth and European Championships – and now it stood between me and the Olympic title.

5 The British supporters were cheering so loudly it seemed as if they were the only fans there. I could hear my name being called. I could hear the shouts of encouragement and the cries of hope. Union Jacks fluttered all around the vast, beautiful stadium. I felt unified with the crowd – we all had the same vision and the same dream.

6 My ankle was bandaged against an injury I had incurred in the long jump just a couple of hours earlier, but I shut out all thoughts of pain. I tried to concentrate on the crowd. They were so vocal. My spirits lifted and I felt composed.

7 I knew I would do my best, that I would run my heart out and finish the race. I felt the performer in me move in and take over. I had just two laps to run, that was all. Just two laps until the emotional and physical strain of the past two days and the last 28 years would be eclipsed by victory or failure. This race was all about survival. It's only two minutes, I kept telling myself, anyone can run for two minutes.

8 The starting gun was fired, and the race began. The first lap was good, I managed to keep up with the group, but I was feeling much more tired than I usually did, and much more than I'd anticipated. Both the long, hard weeks of training that had led up to this championship, and the exhaustion from two days of gruelling competition were showing in my performance. Mental and physical fatigue were starting to crush me, and I had to fight back.

9 Prokhorova had set the pace from the start. It was important that I didn't let her get too far in front. I had to stay with her. At the bell I was 2.3 seconds behind her. Just one lap to go. One lap. I could do it. I had to keep going. In the final 150 metres I could hear the roar of the crowd, giving me a boost at exactly the moment I needed it the most – just when my legs were burning and I could see the gap opening between me and the Russian. Thankfully, my foot was holding out, so now it was all down to mental stamina.

10 Prokhorova was pulling away. I couldn't let her get too far; I had to stay with her. I began counting down the metres I had left to run: 60m, 50m, 40m, 20m. I could see the clock. I could do it, but it would be close. Then finally the line appeared. I crossed it, exhausted. I had finished.

11 As I crossed the line my initial thought was how much harder the race had been than expected, bearing in mind how, only eight weeks before, I had set a new personal best of 2 minutes 12.2 seconds. Then my mind turned to the result. Had I done it? I thought I had. I was aware of where the other athletes were, and was sure that I'd just made it. But, until I saw it on the scoreboard, I wouldn't let myself believe it. As I stood there, staring up and waiting for confirmation, I tried hard to keep negative thoughts from my mind – but I couldn't help thinking, what if I have just missed out? What if I've been through all this, and missed out?

12 In the distance I could hear the commentary team talking about two days of tough competition, then I could almost hear someone say, "I think she's done enough." The next thing I knew, Sabine Braun of Germany came over and told me I'd won. They had heard before me, and she asked what it felt like to be the Olympic champion. I smiled, still not sure.

13 Then, the moment that will stay with me for the rest of my life – my name in lights. That was when it all hit me. Relief, a moment of calm, and a thank you to my inner self for taking me through these two days. I felt a tingle through the whole of my body. This was how it is meant to be – arms aloft and fists clenched.

14 I looked out at the fans, who were waving flags, clapping and shouting with delight. I was the Olympic champion. The Olympic champion.

夢想成真

1 當(dāng)夜幕降臨悉尼時(shí)，雨也開始悄悄地從夜空中飄落。幾百盞燈把澳大利亞體育場照得燈火通明，場內(nèi)的聲音震耳欲聾。走向跑道時(shí)我看了一眼四周看臺上無數(shù)的臉，但我的注意力還是很集中。再過幾分鐘奧運(yùn)金牌的歸屬就要見分曉了，它懸掛在遠(yuǎn)處，很誘人。

2 我的心在劇烈地跳動，口干舌燥，腎上腺素猛增。童年的夢想就要實(shí)現(xiàn)了，這種感覺真是太奇妙了：令人非常興奮，又膽戰(zhàn)心驚。我知道，為了確保能夢想成真我必須強(qiáng)迫自己超越已知的極限。

3 我極力保持鎮(zhèn)靜，告誡自己不要緊張，要堅(jiān)持按原計(jì)劃做，按自己的節(jié)奏跑。我知道那些俄羅斯姑娘起跑很快——這場比賽我落后俄羅斯運(yùn)動員葉蓮娜?普羅科霍洛娃不能超過十秒。如果我做到這一點(diǎn)，冠軍就是我的了。

4 我望著四百米跑道的起跑點(diǎn)，屏住了呼吸。這些年來，在世錦賽、英聯(lián)邦錦標(biāo)賽以及歐洲錦標(biāo)賽的八百米賽跑中我屢戰(zhàn)屢敗，飽受挫折?，F(xiàn)在，它再次橫在我與奧運(yùn)冠軍頭銜之間。

5 我的英國支持者在為我歡呼，聲音特別大，就好像看臺上的觀賽者只有他們一樣。我聽到他們喊我的名字，為我鼓勁加油，聽到他們充滿希望的吶喊。寬闊美麗的體育場上到處飄揚(yáng)著大不列顛聯(lián)合王國的國旗，我感覺自己和觀眾融為了一體：我們有著同樣的期盼，同樣的夢想。

6 幾個(gè)小時(shí)前，我的腳踝在跳遠(yuǎn)時(shí)受了傷，纏上了繃帶，但是我忘掉傷痛，盡量把注意力集中在觀眾身上。他們的叫喊聲勢浩大，使我精神振奮，我感到鎮(zhèn)定自若。

7 我知道自己會全力以赴，拼盡全力跑完全程。我感覺自己已經(jīng)進(jìn)入最佳狀態(tài)。我只要跑兩圈就行了，就兩圈。跑完這兩圈，過去兩天以及28年來所有情感和身體上的辛苦付出就將被勝利或者失敗所淹沒。這一跑真是生死攸關(guān)。我不斷地告訴自己：也就是跑兩分鐘，誰都能跑兩分鐘。

8 發(fā)令槍響了，比賽正式開始。第一圈還好，我跟其他人跑得一樣快，但我覺得比平時(shí)要累得多，比我預(yù)想的要累得多。這次賽前長達(dá)數(shù)周的艱苦訓(xùn)練以及這兩天激烈的比賽所帶來的疲勞在我的賽跑過程中顯現(xiàn)出來。精神和肉體的疲倦開始向我襲來，我不得不反擊。

9 普羅科霍洛娃一開始就領(lǐng)先。最重要的是我不能被她甩得太遠(yuǎn)，我得緊緊地跟著她。最后一圈的鈴聲響起時(shí)，我比她落后2.3秒。只剩一圈了，就一圈，我能贏，我必須堅(jiān)持跑下去。到最150米的時(shí)候我聽見觀眾高聲叫喊，在我最需要的時(shí)候?yàn)槲壹佑椭@時(shí)我的腿疼得要命，我看見我和那個(gè)俄羅斯運(yùn)動員之間距離正在拉大。令人欣慰的是，我的腳還在繼續(xù)向前邁步，這時(shí)候就全靠精神毅力來支撐了。

10 普羅科霍洛娃正在向前沖，我不能讓她甩開了，我必須跟上她。我開始倒數(shù)剩下的距離：60米、50米、 40米、 20米。我看得見計(jì)時(shí)器了，我能贏，但成績會很接近。最后終點(diǎn)線出現(xiàn)了，我沖了過去，累得精疲力竭。我跑完了。

11 沖過終點(diǎn)線時(shí)我最初的念頭是這次賽跑比預(yù)期的要艱苦得多，記得八周前我以2分12.2秒的成績打破了個(gè)人最好成績。然后，我的心思轉(zhuǎn)向了比賽成績：我贏了嗎？我想我是贏了，過終點(diǎn)線時(shí)，我知道其他運(yùn)動員的位置，我肯定我贏了。但是，如果我不是親眼看見記分牌上的成績，我就無法讓自己相信這是真的。當(dāng)我站在那里，抬頭望著記分牌等待確認(rèn)成績時(shí)，我竭力打消腦子里消極的念頭，但是我還是禁不住想：如果我再次與冠軍失之交臂怎么辦？如果我經(jīng)歷了這些磨難卻又一次失敗了，那該怎么辦？

12 我聽見遠(yuǎn)處轉(zhuǎn)播比賽的解說員在談?wù)搩商靵淼钠D難賽事，我好像聽見有人說：“我覺得她做得夠好了?！苯酉聛?，來自德國的薩拜因?布勞恩走過來告訴我我贏了，他們在我之前打聽到了消息，她問我當(dāng)奧運(yùn)冠軍是什么滋味。我笑了，但還是不敢肯定。

13 接下來的那一刻將讓我銘記一生：計(jì)分牌上我的名字亮了。那一刻我驚呆了。如釋重負(fù)，平靜了一會兒，感謝內(nèi)在的自我?guī)臀叶冗^了這兩天。我感到全身一陣振顫，這時(shí)候該做的事是：高舉雙手，緊握雙拳。

14 我向我的支持者望去，他們正興高采烈地?fù)]舞旗幟，鼓掌吶喊。我是奧運(yùn)冠軍，奧運(yùn)會的冠軍。

T3

Games people play in the US

1 In America, different sports attract different people. Not everyone likes the same sports, and most people would agree that there isn't a single national sport, but three: baseball, football, and basketball.

2 Baseball as a spectator sport is a truly relaxed and leisurely activity. It's not an intense game full of action, but one which was born in a slower, more peaceful age. For a few hours, it can seem that the most important thing in a fan's life is to watch the players discuss their tactics, spring to life with sudden bursts of activity, and then return to a state of play which uses less energy.

3 Football has a more contemporary appeal. As a more violent game, it appears closer to real life today. It involves strategies like war games, and the fans become generals planning the movements of their troops. It's contained physically on a relatively small pitch, and is ideal to watch on television as it gives the impression of being busy and active on a lazy Sunday afternoon.

4 Other popular sports have smaller audiences. Golf and tennis are country club sports, more expensive to play and with their own social structures; horse racing is attractive for people who like to bet; and auto racing appeals to the large numbers of Middle Americans who adore the noise, the violence and the danger of the machines.

5 But basketball belongs to the cities. It's more than a sport, it's part of a way of life. Kids in smaller towns in Middle America often become great basketball players by learning to shoot with great skill and accuracy. But in the cities, the kids develop the "moves", as if the game was an expression of manhood and identity, and almost part of a gang culture. Other young athletes learn to play basketball, but city kids live it.

美國人參加的運(yùn)動

1 在美國，不同的運(yùn)動吸引著不同的人群，并不是所有的人都喜愛同一種運(yùn)動，但大多數(shù)人會同意，美國全國性的運(yùn)動不是一個(gè)而是三個(gè)：棒球、橄欖球和籃球。

2 作為一種觀賞運(yùn)動，棒球真的是一種放松、悠閑的活動。它并不是動感十足的劇烈運(yùn)動，而是誕生在生活節(jié)奏比較緩慢、比較太平的年代的一項(xiàng)運(yùn)動。在幾個(gè)小時(shí)里，球迷生活中最重要的事情似乎是看球員如何商量戰(zhàn)術(shù)，如何突然發(fā)力，輪番攻防，然后又回到不太費(fèi)力的玩耍狀態(tài)。

3 橄欖球?qū)ΜF(xiàn)代人更有吸引力。這項(xiàng)運(yùn)動比較劇烈，好像更接近當(dāng)今的現(xiàn)實(shí)生活。它像戰(zhàn)爭游戲那樣涉及多種戰(zhàn)術(shù)，球迷們則變成了將軍，籌劃部隊(duì)的調(diào)動。這項(xiàng)運(yùn)動的場地相對來說比較窄小，適合在電視上觀看，因?yàn)樵诹钊藨醒笱蟮男瞧谔煜挛缬^看這項(xiàng)運(yùn)動，給人一種有事可做和愛好運(yùn)動的印象。

4 其他流行運(yùn)動的觀眾要少一些。高爾夫球和網(wǎng)球是一種鄉(xiāng)村俱樂部運(yùn)動，玩起來比較費(fèi)錢，而且擁有自己的社交結(jié)構(gòu)；賽馬對那些喜歡賭博的人有吸引力；而賽車則吸引了大批喜歡汽車噪音、威猛及其危險(xiǎn)性的中部美國人。

5 不過，籃球是城市的運(yùn)動。它不僅僅是一項(xiàng)運(yùn)動，它是生活方式的一部分。美國中部小城鎮(zhèn)的孩子常常是靠學(xué)會以熟練的技巧精準(zhǔn)投籃最終成為優(yōu)秀球員的；但是在大城市里，孩子們開發(fā)的是“行動”，仿佛籃球是表現(xiàn)男子漢氣概和個(gè)性的方式，也幾乎成了年輕人幫派文化的一部分。如果說其他年輕運(yùn)動員是在學(xué)打籃球的話，那么城市里的孩子則是生活在籃球之中。