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I am always amazed when I hear people saying
that sport creates goodwill between
the nations, and that if only the common peoples of the world
could meet
one another at football or cricket, they would have no
inclination to meet on
the battlefield. Even if one didn't know from concrete
examples (the 1936
Olympic Games, for instance) that international sporting
contests lead to orgies
of hatred, one could deduce it from general principles.
Nearly all the sports practised nowadays are competitive. You
play to win,
and the game has little meaning unless you do your utmost to
win. On the village
green, where you pick up sides and no feeling of local
patriotism is involved, it
is possible to play simply for the fun and exercise: but as
soon as the question of
prestige arises, as soon as you feel that you and some larger
unit will be disgraced
if you lose, the most savage combative instincts are aroused.
Anyone who
has played even in a school football match knows this. At the
international level
sport is frankly mimic warfare. But the significant thing is
not the behaviour of
the players but the attitude of the spectators: and, behind
the spectators, of the
nations. who work themselves into furies over these absurd
contests, and seriously
believe--at any rate for short periods--that running, jumping
and kicking a ball
are tests of national virtue.
New words and expression
goodwill
n. 友好
cricket
n. 板球
inclination
n. 意愿
contest
n. 比賽
orgy
n. 無(wú)節制的，放蕩
deduce
v. 推斷
competitive
adj. 競爭性的
patriotism
n. 地方觀(guān)念，愛(ài)國主義
disgrace
v. 使丟臉
savage
adj. 野性的
combative
adj. 好斗的
mimic warfare
模擬戰爭
behaviour
n. 行動(dòng)，舉止
absurd
adj. 荒唐的
參考譯文
當我聽(tīng)人們說(shuō)體育運動(dòng)可創(chuàng )造國家之間的友誼，還說(shuō)各國民眾若在足球場(chǎng)或板球場(chǎng)上交鋒，就不愿在戰場(chǎng)上殘殺的時(shí)候，我總是驚愕不已。一個(gè)人即使不能從具體的事例（例如1936年的奧林匹克運動(dòng)會(huì )）了解到國際運動(dòng)比賽會(huì )導致瘋狂的仇恨，也可以從常理中推斷出結論。
現在開(kāi)展的體育運動(dòng)幾乎都是競爭性的。參加比賽就是為了取勝。如果不拚命去贏(yíng)，比賽就沒(méi)有什么意義了。
在鄉間的草坪上，當你隨意組成兩個(gè)隊，并且不涉及任何地方情緒時(shí)，那才可能是單純的為了娛樂(lè )和鍛煉而進(jìn)行比賽�？墒且涣可婕暗綐s譽(yù)問(wèn)題，一旦你想到你和某一團體會(huì )因為你輸而丟臉時(shí)，那么最野蠻的爭斗天性便會(huì )激發(fā)起來(lái)。即使是僅僅參加過(guò)學(xué)校足球賽的人也有種體會(huì )。在國際比賽中，體育簡(jiǎn)直是一場(chǎng)模擬戰爭。但是，要緊的還不是運動(dòng)員的行為，而是觀(guān)眾的態(tài)度，以及觀(guān)眾身后各個(gè)國家的態(tài)度。面對著(zhù)這些荒唐的比賽，參賽的各個(gè)國家會(huì )如癡如狂，甚至煞有介事地相信
-- 至少在短期內如此 --
跑跑、跳跳、踢踢球是對一個(gè)民族品德素質(zhì)的檢驗。
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