Unit-5-Athletes新編大學英語第二版第四冊課文翻譯(共12頁)

1、精選優(yōu)質(zhì)文檔-傾情為你奉上Unit 5 AthletesAthletes Should Be Role ModelsI love Charles Barkley like a brother, and except for the times when we're hanging and pushing each other under the boards in games between my team, the Utah Jazz, and his, the Phoenix Suns, we're great friends. We don't necessari

2、ly like the same things: Charles loves golf so much he would play at halftime if he could, but I think a golf course is a waste of good pasture-land. One of the reasons we get along so well, though, is that we both say what's on our minds without worrying about what other people are going to thi

3、nkwhich means we disagree from time to time. Here's an example of what I mean: I disagree with what Charles says in his Nike commercial, the one in which he insists, "I am not a role model." Charles, you can deny being a role model all you want, but I don't think it's your deci

4、sion to make. We don't choose to be role models, we are chosen. Our only choice is whether to be a good role model or a bad one. I don't think we can accept all the glory and the money that comes with being a famous athlete and not accept the responsibility of being a role model, of knowing

5、that kids and even some adults are watching us and looking for us to set an example. I mean, why do we get endorsements in the first place? Because there are people who will follow our lead and buy a certain sneaker or cereal because we use it. I love being a role model, and I try to be a positive o

6、ne. That doesn't mean I always succeed. I'm no saint. I make mistakes, and sometimes I do childish things. And I don't always wake up in a great, role-model mood. There are days when I don't want to pose for a picture with every fan I run into, when I don't feel like picking up b

7、abies and giving them hugs and kisses (no matter how cute they are), those are the days I just try to avoid the public. But you don't have to be perfect to be a good role model and people shouldn't expect perfection. If I were deciding whether a basketball player was a positive role model, I

8、 would want to know: Does he influence people's lives in a positive way away from the court? How much has he given of himself, in time or in money, to help people who look up to him? Does he display the valueslike honesty and determinationthat are part of being a good person? I wouldn't ask

9、whether he lives his life exactly the way I would live it or whether he handles every situation just the way I would handle it. I do agree with Charles on one thing he says in his commercial: "Just because I can dunk a basketball doesn't mean I should raise your kids." But sometimes pa

10、rents need a little assistance. There are times when it helps for a mother and father to be able to say to their kids, "Do you think Karl Malone or Scottie Pippen or Charles Barkley or David Robinson would do that?" To me, if someone uses my name in that way, it's an honor. Sure, paren

11、ts should be role models to their children. But let's face it, kids have lots of other role modelsteachers, movie stars, athletes, even other kids. As athletes, we can't take the place of parents, but we can help reinforce what they try to teach their kids. Parents just have to make sure the

12、y don't take it too far. Sometimes they put us on a pedestal that feels more like a tightropeso narrow that we're bound to fall off eventually. This is not something I'm especially proud of, but I've had parents in Utah say things to me like, "You know, Karl, in our family we wo

13、rship the ground you walk on. In our house your picture is right up there on the wall beside Jesus Christ." Now, that's going too far. Is it any wonder some athletes don't want to be role models? Who wants to be held up to that kind of impossibly high standard? Imagine someone putting a

14、 lifesized picture of you on a wall and saying things to your picture before they go to bed. That's scary. Constantly being watched by the public can be hard to tolerate at times. I am sorry that Michael Jordan had to deal with the negative publicity he received about gambling. I don't think

15、 most people can imagine what it's like to be watched that closely every minute of every day. I was told once that it wouldn't be that bad for me because no one would know me outside of Utah, but that's not true. Ever since I played on the Dream Team in the Olympics, I can't go anywh

16、ere without being the center of attention, and that's very confining at times. For instance, there have been occasions when I've felt like buying a big Harley-Davidson motorcycle and riding it down the street. First, the Jazz would have a fit and say it's too dangerous. Second, everyone

17、would be watching to see if I wore a helmet, if I was obeying the speed limit, if I was taking turns safelyyou name it. The first time I didn't measure up to expectations, I would hear, "What kind of example is that to set for other people who ride motorcycles?" But the good things abo

18、ut being a role model outweigh the bad. It's a great feeling to think you're a small part of the reason that a kid decided to give school another try instead of dropping out or that a kid had the strength to walk away when someone offered him drugs. But one thing I would encourage parents to

19、 do is to remind their kids that no matter which athletes they look up to, there are no perfect human beings. That ways if the kid's heroes should make mistakes, it won't seem like the end of the world to them. I would never criticize someone for saying what he thinks. If Charles doesn't

20、 consider himself a role model, that's certainly his right. But I think he is a role modeland a good one, too. And if he gets that NBA championship ring, I might just make him my role model. 運動員該成為榜樣嗎？1. 我喜歡查爾斯巴克利，就像他是我的親兄弟一樣，而且除了比賽中在籃板下彼此沖撞的時候（我在猶他爵士隊；他在菲尼克斯太陽隊），我們是很好的朋友。我們的愛好不一定完全相同：查爾斯酷愛高爾夫球，

21、要是可能的話他中場休息時都會打，我卻認為把優(yōu)良的牧地造成高爾夫球場是浪費。而我們能很好相處的一個原因是，我倆都心里想什么就說什么，不管別人會怎么想這也意味著我們時常會意見不一致。有一個例子能說明我的意思：我不同意查爾斯在他做的耐克廣告中說的話。在那則廣告里，他強調(diào)說：“我不是一個行為榜樣?！辈闋査?，你完全可以否認自己是行為榜樣，但是我認為這不是自己可以決定的。我們沒想要做行為榜樣，而是大家要我們做。我們唯一能選擇的是做一個好榜樣還是做一個壞榜樣。2 我認為成了著名運動員后，我們不能只接受隨之而來的榮譽和金錢，卻拒絕承擔作為榜樣的責任，或者沒有意識到孩子們、甚至一些成年人正關注著我們，期望我們樹

22、立起一個榜樣。我的意思是，首先為什么我們能有機會做廣告呢？因為有人會以我們?yōu)榘駱樱麄冑I某種運動鞋或某種麥片，（僅僅）因為我們在用這些東西。3 我喜歡成為榜樣，并努力去做個好榜樣。但這并不是說我總是做得很好。我決非圣賢，我會犯錯誤，而且有時還會做一些非常幼稚的事情。我并非每天早上醒來都具備了做榜樣的好心情。有些日子，我并不想同遇見的每個球迷都擺姿勢合影，不想抱起嬰兒擁抱、親吻（無論他們有多可愛）。處在這種時候，我就盡量避開公眾。4 但做個好榜樣并不需要十全十美，而且人們也不應該期盼完美。如果由我來判定一個籃球運動員是否是個好榜樣，我想知道的是：他在球場之外，是否給人們的生活帶來了積極的影響？他

23、自己付出了多少時間或金錢去幫助那些敬仰他的人？他顯示出一個優(yōu)秀者應具有的諸如誠實、毅力這些品格嗎？但我不會問他是否以我的那種方式生活，或者是否以我處理事情的方式來應付每一個局面。5 查爾斯在他的廣告中所說的有一點我贊成，那就是“我能扣籃并不意味著我應該養(yǎng)育你們的孩子?！钡牵袝r家長們也需要一點幫助。如果父母能對孩子說：“你想想卡爾馬龍、斯科蒂皮蓬、查爾斯巴克利或大衛(wèi)羅賓遜會那樣做嗎？”有時候，這是很管用的。如果有人這樣提到我的名字，對我來說是一種榮譽。當然，父母應該成為自己孩子的行為榜樣。然而實際情況是孩子們有許多其他的行為榜樣老師、電影明星、運動員、甚至其他孩子。作為運動員，我們不能取代父

24、母，但是我們能協(xié)助他們?nèi)ゼ訌姾挽柟趟麄兣探o孩子的那些思想。6 父母們一定不能做得太過火。他們有時把我們奉若神明，使我們感到是在走鋼索在這么細的鋼索上我們最終必定會摔下來。這不是一件讓我感到特別自豪的事：在猶他州曾經(jīng)有孩子家長對我說過這樣的話：“你要知道，卡爾，我們?nèi)叶紝δ愠绨莸梦弩w投地，在我們家里，我們把你的照片和基督畫像一起并排掛在墻上?！边@就太過分了。難怪有些運動員不愿做行為榜樣。誰會愿意被拔得那樣高呢，那是能達到的標準嗎？設想一下，有人把你真人大小的照片掛在墻上，而且每晚睡覺前都要對著你的照片傾訴一番，這是很可怕的。7 時刻處在公眾的注視之下有時令人難以忍受。我十分同情邁克爾喬丹，

25、他不得不對付有關他賭博的負面報道。我想大多數(shù)人都無法想象，分分秒秒、日復一日都被如此密切地注視著是什么滋味。曾經(jīng)有人對我說，我個人的情況還不至于那么糟，因為出了猶他州就沒人認識我了。但事實并非如此。自從我作為夢之隊的一員參加了奧運會的比賽后，我無論到哪里都會成為人們注意的中心。這有時使人受到很大的限制。例如，我有好幾次想買一輛哈利-戴維森牌的大摩托車，騎著它逛逛街。首先爵士隊會大發(fā)雷霆，說這太危 險。其次，每個人都會盯著我，看我是否戴了頭盔，是否按照限定的速度行駛，是否安全轉(zhuǎn)彎，不一而足。一旦我沒有達到他們的期望，就會有人說：“這給其他騎摩托車的人樹立了個什么榜樣?。俊钡?，8 做一個行為榜樣

26、的好處要多于壞處。想到某個孩子決定在學業(yè)上再做一番嘗試而不是輟學，或者碰到有人向他兜售毒品時，能從毒販子身邊走開，而這其中也有你的一小部分功勞時，那種感覺好極了。但是我要鼓勵父母們?nèi)プ鲆患?，那就是提醒他們的孩子無論他們敬仰哪位運動員，十全十美的人是沒有的。這樣一來，如果孩子們心目中的英雄犯了錯誤，他們就不會覺得世界末日到了。9 我決不會因為某個人說了心里話而批評他。如果查爾斯認為他自己不是個行為榜樣，這是他的權利。但我認為他是一個行為榜樣，而且是一個好榜樣。如果他能戴上NBA的冠軍戒指，我也許會把他當作我自己的行為榜樣。Athletes Should Not Be Role ModelsTh

27、ese days there are so many stories about the criminal activities of athletes that sports pages are beginning to look like police reports. What's going on? American sports fans ask over their morning toast and coffee, What's happening to our heroes? It's not difficult to understand our de

28、sire for athletes to be heroes. On the surface, at least, athletes display a vital and indomitable spirit; they are gloriously alive inside their bodies. And sports do allow us to witness acts that can legitimately be described as courageous, thrilling, beautiful, even noble. In an increasingly comp

29、licated and disorderly world, sports are still an arena in which we can regularly witness a certain kind of greatness. Yet there's something of a paradox here, for the very qualities a society tends to seek in its heroesselflessness, social consciousness, and the likeare precisely the opposite o

30、f those needed to transform a talented but otherwise unremarkable neighborhood kid into a Michael Jordan. To become a star athlete, you have to have an extremely competitive outlook and you have to be totally focused on the development of your own physical skills. These qualities may well make a gre

31、at athlete, but they don't necessarily make a great person. On top of this, our society reinforces these traits by the system it has created to produce athletesa system characterized by limited responsibility and enormous privilege. The athletes themselves suffer the costs of this system. Traine

32、d to measure themselves perpetually against the achievements of those around them, many young athletes develop a sense of what sociologist Walter Schafer has termed "conditional self-worth". They learn very quickly that they will be accepted by the important figures in their livesparents,

33、coaches and peers as long as they are perceived as "winners". Unfortunately they become conceited and behave as if their athletic success will last forever. Young athletes learn that success, rather than hard and honest play, is what brings rewards. And for those successful enough to rise

34、to the level of big-time college sports, the "reward" is often an artificially controlled social environment, one that shields them from many of the responsibilities other students face. Coacheswhose own jobs, of course, depend on maintaining winning programsprotect their athletes to ensur

35、e that nothing threatens their eligibility to compete. If an athlete gets into trouble with the law, for instance, a coach will very likely intervenehiring an attorney, perhaps even managing to have the case quietly dismissed. In some schools, athletes don't even choose their own classes or buy

36、their own books; the athletic department does all this for them. It's not unheard-of for athletic department staff to wake up athletes in the morning and to take them to class. Given this situation, it's not too surprising that many young American athletes lack a fully developed understandin

37、g of right and wrong. Professor Sharon Stoll of the University of Idaho has tested more than 10,000 student athletes from all over the country, ranging from junior high to college age; she reports that in the area of moral reasoning, athletes invariably score lower than non-athletesand that they gro

38、w worse the longer they participate in athletics. Overprotected by universities, flattered by local communities, given star status by the public, rewarded with seven or eight-figure salaries, successful athletes, inevitably develop the feeling that they are privileged beingsas indeed they are. The d

39、anger arises when they think that because they are privileged they can have anything they want. Mike Tyson, of course, is the most obvious example of this phenomenon. Having been taught as a young man that he was specialhis trainer, Cus D' Amato, had one set of rules for Tyson and another, more

40、demanding, set for all his other boxersand having lived his entire adult life surrounded by a team of admiring "slaves", Tyson eventually came to believe, like a medieval king, that all he saw rightfully belonged to him. Blessed with money and fame enough to last a lifetime, he spent his t

41、ime outside the ring acquiring and discarding the objects of his desire: houses, automobiles, jewelry, clothes, and women. As a result of the publicity surrounding his rape trial, countless women have related stories of Tyson asking them for sexual favors and then, upon being refused, saying with su

42、rprise, "Don't you know who I am? I'm the heavyweight champion of the world." Needless to say, not all athletes are Mike Tyson; there are plenty of athletes who recognize that they have been granted some extraordinary gifts in this life and want to give something back to the commun

43、ity. Some remarkable individuals will always rise above the deforming athletic system we've created. After retiring from football, Alan Page of the Minnesota Vikings became a successful lawyer and established the Page Education Foundation, which helps minority and disadvantaged kids around the c

44、ountry pay for college. Frustrated by the old-boy network by which Minnesota judges were always appointed, Page challenged the system in court and was eventually elected judge in the Supreme Court. He thus became the first black ever elected to a statewide office in Minnesota. Thankfully, there will

45、 always be some legitimate heroes (or, to use the more contemporary term, role models) to be found among professional athletes. Still, it's probably misguided for society to look to athletes for its heroesany more than we look among the ranks of, say, actors or lawyers or pipefitters. The social

46、 role played by athletes is indeed important (imagine a society without sports; I wouldn't want to live in it), but it's fundamentally different from that of heroes. 運動員不應是行為榜樣1如今有關運動員犯罪行為的報道如此之多，以至于體育專欄變得像警方報告欄了。這是怎么回事?美國的體育迷們在吃早點喝咖啡時不禁都會問：我們的英雄們怎么了?2我們渴望運動員成為英雄，這不難理解。至少從表面上來看運動員們展現(xiàn)出了朝氣蓬勃、不

47、屈不撓的精神，他們體內(nèi)煥發(fā)著活力。體育運動的確讓我們目睹了真正可以稱之為勇敢、激動人心、優(yōu)美乃至高尚的行為。在一個日益復雜無序的世界中，體育仍是一個可以讓我們時常目睹某種偉大表現(xiàn)的競技場。3然而這顯然是自相矛盾的。社會想從英雄身上尋求的品質(zhì)，如大公無私、社會意識等等，恰好與運動員所需的品質(zhì)大相徑庭，用這些品質(zhì)是無法把一個有體育天賦而在其他方面表現(xiàn)平平的街坊小孩變成邁克爾·喬丹的。要成為一名體育明星，你必須具備非凡的競爭意識，并全力以赴提高自身的體育技能。這些品質(zhì)很可能會造就一名優(yōu)秀的運動員，但卻未必能塑造一個偉人。此外，我們的社會用它自己創(chuàng)建的培養(yǎng)運動員的制度，進一步助長了這些特征。

48、該制度的特點是：責任有限，待遇豐厚。4運動員自身也為這種制度付出了代價。由于受到的訓練是，永遠拿自己與周圍人的成績相比較，許多年輕運動員便產(chǎn)生了一種意識，這種意識被社會學家沃爾特·謝弗稱之為“有條件的自我價值”。他們很快就明白了，只要自己被看作是“勝者”，便會被父母、教練以及同伴這些自己生活中很重要的人所接受。不幸的是，他們變得很自負，表現(xiàn)得就像他們的運動生涯會永遠輝煌下去。5年輕的運動員們深知，是成功給他們帶來了回報，而不是艱辛和誠實的比賽。對于那些能在最高水平的大學體育競技中嶄露頭角的運動員來說，“回報”往往是一種人為設置的社會環(huán)境，這種環(huán)境使他們免于承擔其他學生要面對的許多責任

49、。教練自身的工作當然取決于如何保住獲勝的項目，他們會保護運動員，確保他們的參賽資格不受到任何威脅。例如，如果某個運動員惹上了官司，教練便很可能會干預請一位律師，甚至還會設法使案件悄悄駁回不予受理。在某些學校，運動員甚至不用自己選課或買書，體育系替他們包辦了一切。體育系的員工早上叫醒隊員并帶他們?nèi)フn堂，這也并非聞所未聞的事。6鑒于上述情況，許多年輕的美國運動員缺乏成熟的是非觀也就不足為奇了。愛達荷大學的莎倫·斯托爾教授對全國從初中到大學的一萬多名學生運動員進行測試。她報道說在倫理道德方面，運動員們總是比非運動員得分低，而且從事體育運動的時間越長，得分越低。7大學的過分呵護、當?shù)厣鐓^(qū)的吹

50、捧、公眾給予的明星地位，以及七八位數(shù)字的年薪，這些使得成功的運動員必然形成這樣的感覺：他們是有特權的人他們也確實是有特權的人。當他們因為享有特權便自認為可以為所欲為時，危險就隨之而至。8邁克·泰森當然是這一現(xiàn)象最明顯的例子。他年輕時就被灌輸他是與眾不同的他的教練員屈斯·達馬托單獨為他制定了一套訓練規(guī)則，而為所有其他拳擊手制定了另一套要求更高的規(guī)則而且他的整個成年時期都生活在一群仰慕他的“奴隸”中。泰森終于漸漸相信，他所見到的一切都理應歸其所有，儼然一個中世紀的國王。由于一生可享盡榮華富貴，他將拳擊臺外的時間都用來追逐又拋棄他所要的東西：房子、汽車、珠寶、服飾以及女人。由于強

51、奸案的曝光，無數(shù)的女人講述了當泰森向他們提出性要求而被拒絕時，他竟吃驚地說道：“你們難道不知道我是誰嗎?我是世界重量級拳擊冠軍?！辈挥谜f，并不是所有運動員都像邁克·泰森那樣；有許多運動員認識到自己此生被賦予了非凡才能，愿意給社會一些回報。9總有一些杰出的個人會從我們所創(chuàng)建的畸形的體育制度中脫穎而出。明尼蘇達海盜隊的艾倫·佩奇從橄欖球隊退役后，成了一名成功的律師并創(chuàng)立了佩奇教育基金會，資助全國的少數(shù)民族和貧困兒童上大學。明尼蘇達州的法官原先總是由聯(lián)誼會任命的，由于對這一體制不滿，佩奇在法庭上對此提出了質(zhì)疑，并終于獲選為最高法院的法官。他于是成為第一個當選為明尼蘇達州州級官員的

52、黑人。令人欣慰的是，在職業(yè)運動員的行列里，總能找到一些真正的英雄(或者，用一個更現(xiàn)代的詞：行為榜樣)。10然而，人們期望運動員來充當社會的英雄是一種誤導，也許比我們期待在演員、律師或者管道工等行業(yè)中產(chǎn)生社會英雄更不明智。運動員所起的社會作用的確很重要(設想一個沒有體育運動的社會，我是不愿意生活在其中的)，但他們與英雄所起的作用有本質(zhì)的不同。Playing to WinMy daughter is an athlete. Nowadays, this statement won't strike many parents as unusual, but it does me. Until

53、 her freshman year in high school, Ann was not really interested in sports of any kind. When she played, she didn't like to move around, often dropped the ball, and had the annoying habit of laughing on the field or the court. Indifference combined with another factor that was not a good sign fo

54、r a sports career. Ann was growing up to be beautiful. By the eighth grade, nature and dental work had produced a 5-foot-8-inch, 125-pound, brown-eyed beauty with a wonderful smile. People told her, too. And as many young women know, it is considered a satisfactory accomplishment to be pretty and st

55、ay pretty. Then you can simply sit still and enjoy the unconditional positive reward. Ann loved the attention and didn't consider it insulting when she was awarded "Best Hair," female category, in the eighth-grade yearbook. So it came as a surprise when she became an athlete. The first

56、 indication that athletic indifference had ended came when she joined the high-school cross-country team. She signed up for the team in early September and came third within three days. Not only that. After one of those 3.1-mile races up and down hill on a rainy November afternoon, Ann came home mud

57、dy and bedraggled. Her hair was wet and the mascara she had applied so carefully that morning ran in dark circles under her eyes. This is it, I thought. Wait until Lady Astor sees herself in the mirrors. But the kid with the best hair in eighth-grade went on to finish the season and subsequently let

58、ter in cross-country, soccer, basketball, and football. "I love sports," she tells anyone who will listen. So do I, though my midlife quest for a doctorate leaves me little time for either playing or watching. My love of sports is bound up with the goals in my life and my hopes for my thre

59、e daughters. I have begun to hear the message of sports. It is very different from many messages that women receive about living, and I think it is good. My husband, for example, talked to Ann differently when he realized that she was a serious competitor and not just someone who wanted to get in sh

60、ape so she'd look good in a prom dress. Be aggressive, he'd advise. Go for the ball. Be intense. Be intense. She came in for some of the most severe criticism from her dad when, during basketball season, her intensity decreased. You're pretending to play hard, he said. You like it on the

61、 bench? Do you like to watch while your teammates play? I would think, how is this kid reacting to such advice? For years, she'd been told at home, at school, by countless advertisements. "Be quiet. Be good. Be still." Teachers had reported that Ann was too talkative, not obedient enough, too superficial. I h