Dream to Be a Hero

 

 

Most parents who want to send their kids to camp in the summertime have to pay hundreds, even thousands of dollars. If your kid happens to be a really good basketball player, you probably won’t have to pay a ¹⁾dime². Your kid will go to camp, basketball camp, ²⁾courtesy of Nike or Adidas. Those shoe companies ³⁾scour³ the country for the best basketball talent and compete like crazy to get those kids into their brand, offering free shoes, free trips, free camps to even younger players.

Interviewer: How old were you when they started ⁴⁾singling you out? Were you just a little kid?

Tyson Chandler: It was about 5th grade, 6th grade.

When we first met him in 1997, Tyson Chandler had just finished the 8th grade. But he and his teammates on the southern California all stars were already sponsored and equipped by Nike.

Interviewer: You’te all wearing Nike.Chandler: Yeah.

Interviewer: You have Nike on, too.

Chandler: Yeah.

Interviewer: You’re Nikemen.

Chandler: All Nike.Nike and Adidas have turned summertime into a huge basketball ⁵⁾bazaar⁴, spending millions of dollars to ⁶⁾coral every kid with a decent jump shot. Betting that one or two of them will develop into superstars and human ⁷⁾billboards. As soon as kids are finished with their junior high or high school seasons in the spring, coaches armed with free shoes are weighing to recruit them from Nike summer teams or Adidas summer teams that will play all the way through August. Both Nike and Adidas have sponsored youth tournaments in Las Vegas. Hundreds of kids as young as 12 showing their skills on the court, and ⁸⁾strutting their stuff on the ⁹⁾strip. At an age when the only mail most kids get is birthday party invitations, Tyson got ¹⁰⁾recruitment letters from ¹¹⁾UCLA and Arizona and Syracuse. They wanted him for later, Nike already had him. Both companies also have their ¹²⁾hooks in high school basketball teams, all around the country. There are more than a hundred Nike high schools and a hundred Adidas high schools. They get free shoes, free uniforms and free equipment and often cash for the coach. In return Nike and Adidas get exposure, loyalty⁷ and a pipeline⁸ for promising⁹ players. More and more, the best teenage players are turning ¹³⁾pro¹ right from high school.

Tyson’s mother is worried that things are moving to fast for her son.

Interviewer: Do you worry sometimes about what this is doing to your kid?

Mother: Yes, I do, I worry ‘cause I don’t want him to move too fast, I still want him to be a kid.

Interviewer: He is a kid.

Mother: Yeah, but a lot of people ¹⁴⁾overlook that because of his height.CE

19、少年英雄梦

 

许多父母情愿花上几百甚至几千美元也要把孩子送进夏令营。如果你的孩子是一个灌篮高手，你也许就不用花费分文。你的孩子将可以参加一个由耐克和阿迪达斯举办的篮球夏令营。这些鞋业公司到全国各地搜罗篮球精英，争先恐后地将这些孩子招至自家公司旗下，甚至为小孩子们提供免费鞋子、免费的旅行和免费的夏令营。

记者：他们把你挑出来的时候你多大？当时你还是个小孩子吧？

泰森·钱德勒：那时候我大约五、六年级。1997年初见到泰森·钱德勒的时候，他刚刚读完八年级。但他和他在加利福尼亚南部的全明星篮球赛的队友们已全部获得耐克公司赞助，并获全套耐克装备。

记者：你们都穿耐克。

钱德勒：是的。

记者：你的鞋子也是耐克的。

钱德勒：是的。

记者：你们都是耐克人。

钱德勒：全是耐克。

耐克和阿迪达斯把暑假时光变成了一个大型篮球市场，为了一个优美的跳跃投篮动作就在每个孩子身上投资数百万美元，希望他们中的一个或两个能成长为超级明星或活招牌。一旦孩子们完成了春季的初中或高中学业，那些以免费鞋子做诱饵的教练就开始将他们从耐克或阿迪达斯夏令营队招募进来，然后整个八月便持续进行比赛。耐克和阿迪达斯都赞助了拉斯维加斯的青年锦标赛。成百上千的小孩子，甚至只有十二岁的小不点也在赛场上展示着他们的球技，在繁华大街上炫耀着自己的球技。同龄的孩子此时收到的只是生日宴会的邀请函，而泰森则收到加利福尼亚大学洛杉矶分校、亚利桑那大学和锡拉丘兹大学的录取通知书。这些大学只能排后了，因为现在他属于耐克。两家公司在全国中学的篮球队里都有星探，全国大约有一百多所耐克中学和一百所阿迪达斯中学。他们提供免费的鞋子、免费的球服和免费的装备，还为教练支付酬金。作为回报，耐克和阿迪达斯则获得曝光率、忠诚以及输送大有前途的球员。于是，这些出类拔萃的少年球员一从中学毕业就成了职业球员。

泰森的妈妈有些担心，这样的发展对她儿子来说是不是太快了些。

记者：有时你是不是会担心孩子现在的经历？

妈妈：是的。我担心，因为我不想他发展得太快。我想让他做个小孩子。

记者：他本来就是个小孩子。妈妈：是的，可是许多人都因为他的身高而忽视这一点。CE

1) dime [daim] n. （美）一角硬币

2) courtesy [5kE:tisi] n. 同意，默许

3) scour [5skauE] v. 来回搜寻

4) single [siNgl] v. 挑出，选出

5) bazaar [bE5zB:] n. 市场，集市

6) coral [5kCrEl] n. 珊瑚

7) billboard⁵ [5bilbC:d] n. 广告牌

8) strut⁶ [strQt] v. 大摇大摆地走，趾高气扬地走strut one’s stuff是俚语，意思是炫耀自己的相貌、穿戴或才艺。

9) strip [strip] n. 两旁商店、酒吧和餐厅等密集的街道

10) recruitment [ri5kru:tmEnt] n. 新成员的雇佣

11) hook [huk] n. 陷阱；钩

12) UCLA: University of California, Los Angeles加利福尼亚大学洛杉矶分校

13) pro [prEu] n. Professional的缩略语

14) overlook [5[uvEluk] v. 无视，忽视

 

1 pro   

n.赞成，赞成的意见，赞成者

参考例句：

• The two debating teams argued the question pro and con.辩论的两组从赞成与反对两方面辩这一问题。
• Are you pro or con nuclear disarmament?你是赞成还是反对核裁军？

2 dime   

n.（指美国、加拿大的钱币）一角

参考例句：

• A dime is a tenth of a dollar.一角银币是十分之一美元。
• The liberty torch is on the back of the dime.自由火炬在一角硬币的反面。

3 scour   

v.搜索；擦，洗，腹泻，冲刷

参考例句：

• Mother made me scour the family silver.母亲让我擦洗家里的银器。
• We scoured the telephone directory for clues.我们仔细查阅电话簿以寻找线索。

4 bazaar   

n.集市，商店集中区

参考例句：

• Chickens,goats and rabbits were offered for barter at the bazaar.在集市上，鸡、山羊和兔子被摆出来作物物交换之用。
• We bargained for a beautiful rug in the bazaar.我们在集市通过讨价还价买到了一条很漂亮的地毯。

5 billboard   

n.布告板，揭示栏，广告牌

参考例句：

• He ploughed his energies into his father's billboard business.他把精力投入到父亲的广告牌业务中。
• Billboard spreads will be simpler and more eye-catching.广告牌广告会比较简单且更引人注目。

6 strut   

v.肿胀，鼓起；大摇大摆地走；炫耀；支撑；撑开；n.高视阔步；支柱，撑杆

参考例句：

• The circulation economy development needs the green science and technology innovation as the strut.循环经济的发展需要绿色科技创新生态化作为支撑。
• Now we'll strut arm and arm.这会儿咱们可以手挽着手儿，高视阔步地走了。

7 loyalty   

n.忠诚，忠心

参考例句：

• She told him the truth from a sense of loyalty.她告诉他真相是出于忠诚。
• His loyalty to his friends was never in doubt.他对朋友的一片忠心从来没受到怀疑。

8 pipeline   

n.管道，管线

参考例句：

• The pipeline supplies Jordan with 15 per cent of its crude oil.该管道供给约旦15%的原油。
• A single pipeline serves all the houses with water.一条单管路给所有的房子供水。

9 promising   

adj.有希望的，有前途的

参考例句：

• The results of the experiments are very promising.实验的结果充满了希望。
• We're trying to bring along one or two promising young swimmers.我们正设法培养出一两名有前途的年轻游泳选手。