研究生综合英语2(修订版)unit 7 课文与翻译对照

舞弊行为常伴奥运会 厄里奇·塞戈尔 每逢四年一度的奥运盛会,记者们似乎总会自然而然地对“过去的好时光”产生一些模糊的概念。他们称颂古希腊奥运会的纯洁性和非商业性。要是相信他们所写的文章,那么古代的每一个运动员都只是业余爱好者,都崇尚公平竞争。 Every four years, when the Olympics roll around again, journalists seem automatically to recycle those misty-eyed notions about “Good Old Days.” They eulogize the original Greek Games as being pure and uncommercial. If we believe what we read, every ancient competitor was an amateur, and all worshipped fair play. 这当然纯粹是一派胡言。诗人拜伦有一句妙语,“无论是哪个时代,只要过去了就会变得美好起来。”事实上,曾经有过完美的奥林匹克运动的神话只是现代的势利小人和一群自封为纯粹主义者的家伙的杜撰,通过体育文章撰稿人和转播期间闲得发慌的电视评论员流传下来。This is, of course, sheer nonsense. As Lord Byron quipped:”All times when old are good.” In fact, the mythology of a perfect Olympics is the modern invention of snobs and self-styled purists, perpetuated by sports writers and television commentators at a loss to fill air time. 真实情况并非如此美好。早在荷马所著的《伊利亚特》一书中就提到了?在公元前12世纪举行的运动会上?希腊运动员想当然地在比赛中作弊。他们所有的道德都是建立在取得胜利的基础上?无论手段是否光明正大。拳击手攻击规则不允许的部位,或收受贿赂故意输掉比赛。长短跑选手不等枪响(更确切地说,希腊人用的发令枪是喇叭),抢先冲出起跑线,并在弯道上恶意地用肘部相互推搡。 Here is the not-so-rosy truth. From as far back as Homer’s Iliad which portrays games of the 12th century B.C. Greek athletes cheated as a matter of course. Their entire ethic was based on winning by fair means or foul. Olympic boxers hit where they weren’t supposed to, and took bribes to take dives. Runners jumped the gun (to be precise, the Greeks used a trumpet),and they elbowed one another viciously on the curves. 参加马车比赛的选手甚至更为残忍,尤其是在罗马帝国时期举行的奥运会上。据记载,两辆马车在比赛中并驾齐驱时,车手竟然用刀刺戳对手。也许最令人感到震惊的是即使事后证实某位拳击手或摔跤手通过贿赂的手段不光彩地赢得了比赛?他们也不会因此而失去冠军头衔。 The chariot racers were even more brutal ,especially in the Games held under the Roman Empire. We have recorded cases of drivers stabbing rivals as their vehicles drove neck to neck. Perhaps most amazing of all, if it were later proved that, say, a boxer or a wrestler had dishonestly won through bribery he still didn’t lose his title. 你也许会问,裁判在哪里呢?希腊人通常为各项比赛设置裁判,但是这些比赛的主宰者往往经不起金钱以及盛宴的诱惑。而且即便在运动员必经的拐弯处安置一位人品正直的裁判,他也很难分辨是谁用肘部击打了谁的肋部,因为参赛选手没有编号,也不穿统一的比赛服装。事实上,古代运动会和现代运动会之间真正的区别在于古希腊的运动员必须一丝不挂地参加角逐。 Perhaps you are asking where the judges were. Oh, the Greeks had the usual referees, umpires, and so forth. But these arbiters were often susceptible to financial enticements and treats. And even if an honest judge was stationed at the turning post that the runners had to circle, he still had great difficulty in determining whose elbow was smashing into whose ribs, because the athletes didn’t wear numbers. For that matter, they didn’t wear uniforms either. Indeed, one real difference between the ancient and modern games was the fact that all the Greek athletes were obliged to compete in the nude. 你也许会认为由于运动员都是赤身裸体地参加比赛,因此古代奥运会不可能商业化。毕竟,体育明星无论穿谁的钉鞋或汗衫都是得不到任何报酬的。以上情况尽管属实,但如果我们就此认为运动员都是“业余的”,那就太过天真了。和现在的情况一样,当时的奥运会对冠军而言也意味着巨额美元(应该是巨额希腊币)。位于圣塔·巴巴拉市的加州大学的戴维·扬教授在其新著中称,短跑冠军实际上有望获得相当于数十万美元的奖金! You might think that this bareness would have made it impossible to commercialize the ancient Games. After all, the stars couldn’t be paid to wear anybody’s track shoes or sweat shirts. That much is true, but we would be naive to think that the athletes were therefore “amateurs.” Then, as now, the Olympics meant big bucks(sorry, drachmas)for the champions. According to a recent book by Professor David Young of the University of California at Santa Barbara, the winner of the sprint could, in fact, expect to earn the ancient equivalent of several hundred thousand dollars! 首先,当时确实存在奖金。至少从公元前6世纪起,希腊人就开始向奥运冠军公开授予现金奖励。此后新加冕的冠军还可索取巨额“出场费”。并不是我弄错了年代。当时,一些小型比赛的发起者?通常是为了给当地的产品做广告(!)?确实会向当红短跑明星支付大笔的酬金,请他们到场露露脸。此外,运动员的家乡通常给予他们免税的待遇,并终生免费提供一日三餐。 To beginning with, there was the actual prize money. From at least the sixth century B.C. the Greeks openly gave cash awards for first place in the Olympics. After that there were huge fees that these newly crowned champions could demand for “personal appearances.”No, I am not being anachronistic. Promoters of minor track meets-which were often held to advertise local products(!) would fork over plenty to have the hottest runners of the day merely show up. What’s more, the athletes were generally absolved by their home town from paying taxes and were given free meals for life. 因此,即使在古代,奥运会也是高度商业化、政治性的比赛。来自希腊本土和各领地的城邦为了争夺冠军头衔展开了激烈的竞争。 Thus, even in classical times, the Olympics were a highly commercial affair. And they were also highly political. There were ferocious rivalries among the various city-states, both from the mainland and the various Greek colonies, to have one of their own win a big title. 我可以指出一些具体的名字。古代最优秀的短跑选手是来自位于意大利境内的希腊小村克洛托纳的一个叫阿斯特洛斯的小伙子。在公元前488年举行的奥运会上,他在2项短跑比赛中技压群雄,一举成名。不久,位于西西里的一个新兴城市西拉库斯派人与他接洽,劝说他改变国籍代西拉库斯参加下一届奥运会。他们提出的优厚待遇使阿斯特洛斯难以拒绝。事实证明,阿斯特洛斯物有所值。在公元前484年和480年的两届奥运会上他两度蝉联双料冠军。然而,阿斯特洛斯是作为西拉库斯的运动员而载入史册的。这证明了金钱是无所不能的,甚至可以购买奥运冠军。 I am not afraid to name names. The greatest sprinter in antiquity was a certain Astylos, who hailed from Crotona, a tiny Greek village in Italy. At the Games of 488 B.C. he dazzled all by winning both sprint events. Afterwards, Astylos was approached by some boys from Syracuse, then a rich and growing city in Sicily, who made him an offer he couldn’t refuse. They suggested that he change citizenship so he could run for their city’s team in the next Olympics. The price was right. And the deal paid off. In the Games of both 484 and 480,he repeated his amazing double. But he entered the record books as Astylos of Syracuse. Which proves that money can buy anything, including Olympic champions. 请允许我赶紧声明我并不是说阿斯特洛斯欺骗了世人,以免有辱一代名将的一世英名。他只是接受了一笔钱,投靠了一个实力更强大的城市。这种情况在现代社会的公司管理人员中是司空见惯的。 Lest I besmirch the name of a great athlete, let me hasten to say that I do not imply that Astylos really cheated. He simply accepted a lot of cash to move to a bigger base of operations. It happens all the time today with corporate executives. 上文概述了古代体育比赛中的种种舞弊行为,这些记载有悖于传统观念,我想用2件异乎寻常的佚事对此做一小结。据伟大的历史学家普鲁塔赫的权威记载,庞帝斯国王米特里德斯(公元前1世纪)在一次马车比赛中落败后,下毒害死了胆敢战胜他的对手。公元67年,多才多艺的罗马皇帝尼罗让手下官员在奥林匹亚专门为他举办了一场运动会。他驾着马车行驶了20码后,从车上摔了下来。然而,皇帝仍被奉为比赛的胜者。当值裁判没有收受贿赂,而是摄于王威。 Let us conclude this iconoclastic survey of ancient misbehavior with two rather bizarre anecdotes. According to the authority of the great historian Plutarch, King Mithridates of Pontus(first century B.C.) poisoned the rival charioteer who dared to beat him in a race. And finally there was the multitalented emperor Nero. In A.D. 67,he had the officials hold a special Games at Olympia in his honor. He lasted about twenty yards and fell off his chariot. But he was nonetheless declared the winner. In this instance, the judges were not bribed. They were simply scared. 现代奥林匹克运动于1896年重燃战火,古代的种种骗术也随之死灰复燃,而且形式日益隐蔽。当希腊选手斯普里敦·洛伊斯获得马拉松比赛的冠军时,希腊人给予他们的同胞大量物质奖励。(有人描述当时有些女观众甚至向场内的英雄抛掷珠宝首饰。) When the Games were revived in 1896,all the ancient shenanigans were revived with them. And as time progressed, refinements were added. It almost goes without saying that the Greeks overwhelmed their countryman Spiridon Loues, the winner of the marathon ,with numerous tangible rewards.(some accounts say female spectators threw their jewels down to him on the track.) 我们必须赶紧声明洛伊斯还是光明正大地赢得了比赛。尽管在冲过终点线时,他显得与其说是兴奋还不如说有点“醉醺醺”的 因为他在途中大量饮用掺了糖的葡萄酒以保持体力。But let us quickly say he won fair and square. And yet when he crossed the finish line, he was a little “high” on more than joy-having fortified himself along the road with swigs of sugared wine. 相比之下,1904年圣·路易斯奥运会的马拉松比赛中,率先进入体育场的是美国人弗雷德·洛兹。正当特迪·罗斯福总统的女儿给他颁奖之际,洛兹被发现没有独立跑完全程。他在九英里处腿部抽筋,便搭乘了一辆路过的汽车,但不久汽车抛锚了,洛兹跳下汽车继续比赛,远远领先于其他选手到达体育场。这一不光彩的“胜利”只是历史悠久的奥运骗术中的一次小作弊。 By contrast, the first marathoner to reach the stadium in the St.Louis Olympics in 1904 was one Fred Lorz of the United States. Just before President Teddy Roosevelt’s daughter was to give him his medal, it was discovered that Lorz had not, after all, gone the entire distance under his own steam. Having cramped up at about nine miles, he accepted a ride from a passing car. But the auto also cramped up a little later, and Lorz jumped out and jogged the rest of the way to the stadium, arriving well before the other racers. This “victory” is one of the lighter moments in the history of Olympic cheating. 后果更为严重的是长跑运动员不久便开始使用兴奋剂。马钱子碱是最早使用的兴奋剂之一。 在那届比赛中,洛兹被取消比赛资格后,金牌被授予T.J.希克斯。尽管他的医生透露在比赛过程中,希克斯是靠大量的白兰地和小剂量的马钱子碱跑完全程的,他还是保住了金牌。More ominous is the fact that distance runners very quickly began taking stimulants. Strychnine was one of the earliest drugs used for this purpose. Indeed, T.J Hicks, the athlete who actually got the marathon gold medal after Lorz was disqualified, had sustained himself en route with large quantities of brandy and small doses of strychnie. Though his physician was not secretive about it, Hicks got to keep his medal. 当然,在本世纪早期的奥运会上,对参赛选手不设兴奋剂检测。1908年的伦敦奥运会上,长跑选手再次使用了马钱子碱 在著名的马拉松比赛中,意大利选手多兰多·皮埃特里率先进入体育场,但未及冲过终点线就瘫软在地。此时,一位队医冲进场地,迅速为他注射了一针,帮助他完成比赛。但这一针差点要了多兰多的命,他因未能跑完全程而被取消比赛资格,随即被送往医院。 Of course there were no drug tests for Olympic athletes in the early years of our century. Strychnine was again used by the runners in the 1908 London games during the famous marathon in which the Italian Dorando Pietri reached the stadium first and collapsed before he got to the tape. This time one of the official doctors rushed over to give him a quick injection to help him finish. But the shot nearly finished Dorando, and he had to be taken to the hospital after being disqualified for not completing the race on his own. 自那时起,医学人员就开始致力于研制开发有助于提高比赛成绩同时又能不被察觉的药物。这项医学研究也许能提高运动员的成绩,但通常会对他们的身体造成伤害。1960年的罗马奥运会上,丹麦自行车手克奴德·简森因服用多种兴奋剂而晕倒并最终死亡。此类悲剧促使国际奥委会决定设置兴奋剂检测。 Since then, doctors have been hard at work trying to invent substances that would improve performance while escaping detection. This medical research may have helped performances but it has often harmed athletes. Tragic cases like that of Knud Jensen, a Danish cyclist in the 1960 Rome Games who collapsed and died from a combination of stimulants, spurred the international Olympic Committee to initiate drug testing. 1976年,奥运会上的骗术进入电子时代。在五项全能的击剑比赛中,前苏联选手伯利斯·奥涅琴科的佩剑上的灯亮了,这意味着他击中对手得分了。然而很不幸,灯亮时伯利斯的剑连对手英国选手吉姆·福克斯的衣角都没沾上。经过调查,裁判发现狡猾的伯利斯重新了其佩剑中的电路,因而灯何时会亮完全操纵在他本人手中。结果,伯利斯和整个苏联代表队立即被取消比赛资格。此人也就此从人们的视线中消失了,也许被囚禁在西伯利亚,也许在某个更好的学校中学习电子技术。 In 1976, Olympic cheating entered the Electronic Age. During the fencing event of the modern pentathlon, the light on the epee of the USSR’s Boris Onischenko flashed to indicate that he had scored a hit against his adversary. Unfortunately, at the time it went off, the weapon was nowhere near his opponent, Britain’s Jim Fox. Upon rather naughty boy., having rewired his sword to light at any moment he would deem appropriate. Boris and the entire Soviet team were immediately disqualified. The athlete himself has not been heard from since. Perhaps he has been sent to Siberia. Or to a better electronic school. 此外,还有在“性别”上做手脚。女选手为了提高比赛成绩服用大剂量的男性荷尔蒙,以至于几乎完全丧失了女性特征,甚至应被禁止进入女厕所。(在某些情况中,判断运动员的性别靠的是猜测)。然而,德国运动员朵拉·拉特金的性别是不容置疑的。在臭名昭著的1936年奥运会上错失了女子跳高金牌后,“她”随后在这个项目中屡屡改写世界纪录。直到多年 以后,人们才发现这个“朵拉”是个男人,真名叫赫尔曼·拉特金,此人水平一般,但男扮女装的演技的确非常高超。 Then there is the matter of “sex cheating.” This can involve women taking such large doses of male hormones to improve their performance that they lose nearly all female characteristics and should really not be allowed to use the ladies room. (In some cases the sex of the athlete is a matter of conjecture.) there is no need to conjecture about Dora Ratjen, the German athlete who just missed a gold medal in the women’s high jump in the notorious Olympics of 1936. “She”subsequently set world records in this event that remained on the books until years later, when it was discovered that “Dora”was, in fact, Hermann Ratjen, a mediocre male athlete, but an women excellent female impersonator. 读罢我写下的这些文字,我感到自己把这项具有辉煌历史的体育盛会描绘的过于黑暗。尽管文中所述的舞弊行为是可悲的,但我从内心深处仍不赞同那位因一部名著而对“1984”这个数字几乎享有特权的作家所持的悲观态度。乔治·奥维尔认为,奥运会“交织着仇恨、妒忌、夸耀、对规则的藐视,以及从观看暴力行为中获得的变态的快感。换句话说,这是一场没有硝烟的战争。” As I look over what I have written, I feel that I have presented an excessively bleak picture of an inherently glorious event. Though the misbehavior described is tragic but true, I still do not share the pessimism of the writer whose most famous work has given him a near-franchise on the digit “1984.”George Orwell viewed the Olympics as “bound up with hatred, jealousy, boastfulness, disregard of all rules and sadistic pleasure in witnessing violence; in other words, it is a war without the shooting.” 他的话过于偏激了。奥运会反映的只是人性中一切美好和丑陋的方面。对古希腊体育运动中的欺诈行为的记载证明了奥运会总是不断地受到所谓的“人性的弱点”的影响。 This is going much too far. The Olympics are nothing more or less than a reflection of everything that is good as well as bad in human nature. The anecdotes of ancient Greek skulduggery prove that the Games have always suffered from what we might benevolently call “human frailty.” 也许有人会提出,现代人在道德水准上要略高于古希腊人。我想,很少有人会赞同一位欧洲教练近来发表的观点,“只要你还活着为胜利而庆贺,就应该得到报酬。体育比赛中没有伦理道德的位置。” And one might argue that our own age can actually claim a tiny bit of moral superiority over classical Greece. Very few of us, I think, would subscribe to the view of a European coach, who was recently quoted as saying:”as long as you are still alive for the victory ceremony, you should get your reward. There is no room for ethics in sports anymore.” 这只是一种极端的愤世嫉俗的态度。我坚信当今绝大多数的观众观看奥运比赛是为了看到一种“纯洁”的胜利,如马克·斯比兹获得的7枚金牌,美国曲棍球队在1980年奥运会上的处子演出中大爆冷门,以及本届比赛中人们期待已久的卡尔·刘易斯的表现。 这才是真正的奥林匹克运动。 This is cynical in the extreme. I firmly believe that the majority of spectators today watch the Olympics to see “pure” excellence. Like Mark Spitz’s seven gold medals. Or the upset victory of the fresh-faced American hockey team in 1980. Or the eagerly awaited performance of Carl Lewis this time. That is what the Olympics are really about. (黄莺译)