书城外语课外英语——奥运实用英语(双语版)
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第12章 奥运短文阅读(6)

After the men’s game debuted on turf football fields at the 1936Games in Berlin,the European based sport next appeared in its present indoor form in 1972at Munich.A women’s division opened in 1976and it has become one of the most highly attended Olympic sports.

在1936年柏林奥运会的男子足球比赛场地上进行了手球比赛,在1972年慕尼黑奥运会中出现了在室内比赛的形式,1976年增设了女子手球项目,该项运动已成为奥运会上的主要比赛项目。

About Gymnastics 体操概述

Olympic sport since 1896。

1896年成为奥运会正式比赛项。

The Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique (FIG)was formed on 23July 1881when representatives of the gymnastics associations of Belgium,France and the Netherlands met in Liège.As a governing body it is held in high esteem by both its member federations and gymnastics clubs throughout five continents.In 1897,seventeen national associations joined together to form the basis of the European Gymnastics Federation.However,when the USA was admitted in 1921,the Committee changed its name to the Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique or FIG,as it is known today.

国际体操联合会(FIG)成立于1881年7月23日,是由比利时、法国、荷兰体操联合会的代表在列日共同成立的。作为体操运动的权威机构,它深受五大洲各成员联合会和体操俱乐部的重视。起初在1897年时,17个国家体操联合会组成了欧洲体操联合会。1921年,随着美国的加入,联合会更名为国际体操联合会,简写为FIG。

FIG comprises three Olympic disciplines:artistic,rhythmic and trampoline.

国际体操联合会下设三类奥运比赛项目:竞技体操、艺术体操和蹦床。

Each discipline is controlled by a Technical Committee made up of a Technical President and six members.The Technical Committees are responsible for the coordination and control of their specific discipline in terms of the technical requirements for competition as they relate to each specific discipline.

每一类比赛都由一个技术委员会进行管理,技术委员会由1名主席和6名委员组成,负责协调、控制各项比赛的技术要求。

Aquatics 水上运动

The founding of the Fédération Internationale de Natation (FINA)in 1908was a pragmatic response to an increase in international sporting events,crowned by the Olympic Games.At the first modern Olympics in 1896,three swimming contests were held.However,no universally accepted rules,regulations or definitions governed the swimming events.

20世纪初,国际性的体育运动会日渐增多,而奥运会的出现则使这一趋势达到顶峰。正是在这个时期,国际游泳联合会(简称“国际泳联”)于1908成立。在1896年首届现代奥运会上设置了3个游泳比赛项目。但当时游泳比赛尚没有统一的竞赛规则及标准。为有效应对这种情况,国际游泳联合会(简称“国际泳联”,英文为FINA)于1908正式成立。

The Olympic Games competitions prior to FINA had included a variety of unusual events such as underwater swimming (1900),200m obstacle swimming (1900)and plunge for distance (1904).Prior to the London Olympics,where a 100m pool was used,the ocean (1896),the River Seine (1900),and a little lake in St.Louis,USA (1904),had been used as Olympic sites.

在国际泳联成立以前,奥运会游泳比赛曾包括一些非常规项目,如1900年奥运会上的潜泳、200米障碍泳以及1904年奥运会上的水上跳远等。奥运会游泳赛场也是五花八门:1896年奥运会游泳比赛是在海中进行的,1900年奥运会游泳比赛在塞纳河中进行,1904年奥运会的游泳比赛则选在美国圣路易斯的一个小湖中举行。直到伦敦奥运会才开始使用100米泳池。

In order to unify the rules and create a forum for international meetings,the leaders of the eight attending countries (Germany,Belgium,Denmark,Finland,France,Great Britain,Hungary and Sweden)met on 19July 1908at the Manchester Hotel,London,on the occasion of the Games of the IV Olympiad,and resolved to form a world wide swimming association.Priority decisions or goals were clear:to standardise the rules for swimming,diving and water polo;to obtain control of world records and to maintain an up to date list of these records;and finally,to ensure the direction of Olympic Games competitions for swimming,diving and water polo.

为了统一游泳竞赛规则,建立一个国际泳坛的交流场所,在第四届奥运会期间,来自德国、比利时、丹麦、芬兰、法国、英国、匈牙利和瑞典等8个国家的领导人于1908年7月19日在伦敦的曼彻斯特酒店开会,决定成立一个世界范围的游泳协会。这个协会的首要目标是非常明确的:规范统一游泳、跳水和水球比赛规则;负责审核、确认及更新世界纪录;指导奥运会游泳、跳水和水球比赛。

Outstanding accomplishments in the last 40years have included the introduction of the World Championships (1973),the first World Cups (1979),the Olympic debut of synchronised swimming (1984),the Short Course World Swimming Championships (1993),the Diving Grand Prix (1994),advances in the use of technology,specifically of electronic timing equipment;and the rapid development of the swimming programme to include new events such as Masters and Open Water Swimming.

在过去的40多年中,游泳运动取得了一系列突出成就,发起了世界游泳锦标赛(1973年)、世界杯赛(1979年)、世界短池游泳锦标赛(1993年)、跳水系列大奖赛(1994年),花样游泳项目成为奥运会正式比赛项目(1984年)。与此同时,高科技设备在游泳比赛中的应用,特别是在电子计时设备取得了长足发展。游泳比赛的项目迅速扩展,产生了大师赛及公开水域赛等多种新项目。

About Canoe /Kayak

皮划艇概述

The history of the canoe and kayak has been traced back thousands of years to when natives used these craft to hunt,fish and travel.Canoes were used mainly by the native North and South American Indians along with the Polynesian islanders of the Pacific.They were propelled through the water by single.bladed paddles usually made from wood.

划艇和皮艇的历史可以追溯到几千年以前,它们是古代的当地居民用来打猎、捕鱼和旅行的工具。划艇的前身为独木舟,其使用者主要是南美和北美洲的印第安人以及太平洋波利尼西亚岛上的居民,他们使用单面桨在水中划行,桨的材质通常为木质。

The earliest known archaeological evidence of a canoe was unearthed at the tomb of a Sumerian king near the Euphrates River.This relic is estimated to be around 6000years old.The counterpart of the American Indian canoe is the kayak which was introduced by Eskimos many years ago.These people inhabited the land to the far north of the American continent and Greenland.

最早有关划艇的考古发现是在位于幼法拉底河附近的一个闪族国王的坟墓中被发掘的,该遗迹已有6000年左右的历史。而很久以前居住在美洲大陆和格林兰岛最北部的爱斯基摩人所使用的兽皮船,也是与美洲印第安人的独木舟相类似的交通工具。

About Archery 射箭概述

Anyone familiar with the legend of Robin Hood knows archery competitions date back at least to mediaeval times.Indeed,today’s archers still honour the fabled outlaw.The term “Robin Hood”now refers to splitting the shaft of an arrow already in the target with another arrow.

熟悉罗宾汉传奇故事的人们都知道,射箭比赛的历史至少可以追溯到中世纪。事实上,今天的射箭运动员们仍然尊敬那些传说中的绿林好汉。“罗宾汉”一词在现代英语中的意思是:射出一支箭,将已经插在靶子上的另一支箭的箭杆剖为两半。

The equipment has crept forward in its technology since Robin and his merry men had the run of Sherwood Forest,but the sport of archery remains essentially unchanged.A recurve bow coated in fibreglass has become standard,and arrows made of aluminium and carbon graphite can travel more than 240km/h,but the most important requirements are straightforward:steady hands,strong shoulders,flexible muscles,sharp eyes and nerves of steel.