复旦大学研究生英语第二册课文翻译

Spectator sports provide an outlet for viewing the vitality of youth, speed, and strength. The levels of skill displayed fascinate people. Men identify more directly than most women with spectator sports because of their childhood experience and the macho nature of most games. For men there is an additional attraction in their minds that because they are male they could be called on to be there on field, asked to contribute their playing or coaching skills. Viewing sport thus provides the raw material for dreams. Nevertheless, women too feel vicarious satisfaction of a desire to win, and more women are becoming active in competitive sports.

By the early 1970s, growing fan interest in the games, heightened by network television, had transformed professional sports into lucrative business enterprises. As a result, entirely new leagues sprang up to compete with established organizations and lure away players with attractive salaries. As sports became more like traditional businesses, players increasingly turned to agents to represent them in salary negotiations. Now professional sports have entered a new era.

Translation of Text

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。

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。

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。他们所有的道德标准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。