Sports and Body Building 体育运动与强身健体
What fun it is to jump into a pool or go swimming in a river in summer！How joyful and relaxing it is to have a game of table tennis after a day of study at school！And how exciting it is to play or watch a close game of basketball or volleyball！All over the world millions of people take part in different kinds of sports.Sports are perhaps the most popular from of relaxation that almost all can enjoy，whether boys or girls，men or women，young or old.
在夏天的时候跳进游泳池或河里游泳是多么有趣啊！完成一天的学习工作后打一场乒乓球赛是多么轻松愉快啊！参加或者观看一场势均力敌的篮球赛或排球赛是多么令人兴奋啊！体育运动大概是所有人都喜欢的最普遍的令人松弛的娱乐形式，不管男孩女孩，男女老少都喜欢体育运动。
Some people seem to think that sports and games are unimportant things that people do at times when they are not working，instead of going to the cinema，listening to the radio，or sleeping.But in fact sports and games can be of great value，especially to people who work with their brains.They could not be treated only as amusements.
有些人似乎认为体育运动不是那么重要的事情，只是在人们不工作、不看电影、不听广播、不睡觉的时候才去参加的活动。其实，体育运动很有好处，特别是对那些脑力劳动者来说。体育运动不应该只是被当作娱乐活动来对待。
Sports and games build our bodies，prevent us from getting too fat，and keep us healthy.But these are not their only uses.They give us valuable practice in helping the eyes，brain and muscles to work together.In table tennis，the eyes see the ball coming，judge its speed and direction，and pass this information on to the brain.The brain then has to decide what to do，and sends its orders to the muscles of the arms，legs，and so on，so that the ball is met and hit back where the players wants it to go.All this must happen with great speed，and only those who had a lot of practice at table tennis can do this successfully.For those who work with their brains，the practice of such skills is especially useful.
体育运动能够增强人的体质，防止我们发胖，让我们保持身体健康。但是体育运动的作用不仅仅限于这些方面，体育运动让我们的眼睛、大脑和肌肉得到锻炼，促使他们更好地协同工作。比如说，打乒乓球的时候，眼睛看到球打过来，判断其速度和方向，马上将这个信息传给大脑。接着大脑决定怎么办，立即将命令传达给手臂、大腿等处的肌肉，结果球被击回到运动员希望它着落的地方。整个过程完成得很快，只有那些训练有素的人才能做到。对那些脑力劳动者来说，这样的技巧型运动特别有用。
Sports and games are also very useful for character training.In their lessons at school，boys and girls may learn about such virtues as unselfishness，courage，discipline and love of one’s country，but what is learned in books cannot have the same deep effect on a child’s character as what is learned through experience.
体育运动对人的性格培养也很有用。孩子们在课堂上也许对富有勇气、遵守纪律、热爱祖国这样的美德有所了解，但是从书本上学到的东西不可能像通过亲身体验了解到的东西那样对孩子的品质产生深刻影响。
The ordinary school can not give much practical training in living，because most of the students’time is spent in classes，studying lessons.So what the students do in their spare time is of great importance.If each of them learns to go all out for his team and not for himself on the sports field，he will later find it natural to work for the good of society，for the good of his country.
普通的学校不可能在生活方面给孩子们很多的实用技能的培训，因为他们的大部分时间都花在了功课上，所以学生们业余时间的体育运动是非常重要的。在体育运动中，不仅可以培养孩子们坚韧不拔的品格，还可以通过足球、篮球等运动培养他们的团队精神。
The Ancient Olympics古代奥运会
The ancient Olympics were rather different from the modern Games.There were fewer events，and only free men who spoke Greek could compete，instead of athletes from any country.Also，the games were always held at Olympia instead of moving around to different sites every time.
古代奥运会与现代奥运大不相同。项目少，非希腊运动员不得参加，只有说希腊语的自由人方可参加。而且运动会总是在奥林匹亚市举行，而不是每次都换不同地方。
Like our Olympics，though，winning athletes were heroes who put their home towns on the map.One young Athenian nobleman defended his political reputation by mentioning how he entered seven chariots in the Olympic chariot race.This high number of entries made both the aristocrat and Athens look very wealthy and powerful.
像我们现代奥运一样，获胜运动员是使自己家乡扬名四海的英雄。一个年轻的雅典政治家通过告诉人们他如何七次在马车赛中获胜而保住了自己的政治名声，参加人数之多显示出希腊贵族和雅典人的财富与强大。
Boxing
Ancient boxing had fewer rules than the modern sport.Boxers fought without rounds until one man was knocked out，or admitted he had been beaten.Unlike the modern sport，there was no rule against hitting an opponent when he was down.
There were no weight classes within the mens’and boys’divisions；opponents for a match were chosen randomly.
Instead of gloves，ancient boxers wrapped leather thongs （himantes）around their hands and wrists which left their fingers free.
Plato makes fun of boxers’faces，calling them the “folk with the battered ears.”
拳击
古代拳击赛的规则比现代要少。拳击运动员不分轮次地进行打斗，直到一方主动认输或被击倒为止。不像现代拳击运动一样，古代运动员可以在对手倒下后继续发起攻击。
在成年男子组和少年组当中不分什么重量级轻量级，比赛的参加人随便选出。
古代运动员不戴拳击套，而用软牛皮裹住手和手腕，露出手指。
柏拉图取笑拳击者的脸部，称之“残耳的居民”。
Riding
The course was 6laps around the track （4.5miles），and there were separate races for full grown horses and foals.Jockeys rode without stirrups.
Only wealthy people could afford to pay for the training，equipment，and feed of both the driver （or jockey）and the horses.As a result，the owner received the olive wreath of victory instead of the driver or jockey.
骑马
这个项目的长度是绕跑道6圈（4.5英里），成年马与驹马参加不同的比赛。职业骑师不需要马镫。
只有富人才能供得起训练、设备和马与骑师的费用。因此，只是主人才获得获胜的橄榄花环，而骑师得不到。
Pankration
Rules outlawed only biting and gouging an opponent’s eyes，nose，or mouth with fingernails.Attacks such as kicking an opponent in the belly，which are against the rules in modern sports，were perfectly legal.
Like boxing and wrestling，among others，this event had separate divisions for both men and boys.
The poet Xenophanes describes the pankration as “that new and terrible contest...of all holds”
混斗
用指甲抓对手的眼睛、鼻子、嘴或者是咬人属于犯规。类似于用脚踢对手的腹部的攻击，尽管在现代体育运动中是犯规的，但在过去则完全合乎法律。
像拳击、摔跤及其它比赛一样，这个项目分为成年男子组及少年男子组。
诗人Xenophanes把混斗描写成“各种比赛中新而残酷的决斗”。
Pentathlon
This was a 5event combination of discus，javelin，jumping，running and wrestling.
Aristotle describes a young man’s ultimate physical beauty：“a body capable of enduring all efforts，either of the racecourse or of bodily strength...This is why the athletes in the pentathlon are most beautiful.”
五项竞技
这曾是一个集铁饼、标枪、跳、跑和摔跤五项运动为一体的项目。
亚里士多德把经过比赛后的男子体态的优美描写成：”一个能忍受各种考验的身躯，无论是比距离的比赛还是比体力的比赛……这就是为什么会加五项竞技的运动员是最优秀的原因。
Discus
The ancient Greeks considered the rhythm and precision of an athlete throwing the discus as important as his strength.