访谈录 2008-08-24&08-26 不是我不爱国

A remarkable¹ athlete, you know the athletes go to the Olympics representing their countries, right? That’s clear from the parade of nations in the opening ceremony to the playing of the national anthem² for gold medal winners. But Stephanie Sy reports the definition of what country an athlete belongs to is getting just a bit blurry³.

The only thing Russian about Becky Hammon is her fanny pack.  Everything else is apple-pie American. 

 “You know, I stand in honor of my country. Always my hand will be across my chest. I am one of those people that still believe the pledge of allegiance should be said in school every morning.”

 But tomorrow the WNBA player from South Dakota will put a jersey⁴ on for Russia and play against the United States. Playing for an old Cold War enemy and being a formidable point guard, Hammon has borne the brunt of criticism. But she is among countless⁵ athletes playing for other nations at the Games.

“Pretty sure, the Canadian track and field teams are all from Nigeria.".

"Azerbaijan imports a lot Korean girls, and they've got to marry to Azerbaijanis.”

A French man won Togo’s first gold medal after only being to the African nation once. When people looked to the Russia versus⁶ Georgia beach volleyball game for political metaphors⁷, they realized the Georgian players were actually Brazilian. And the entire US table tennis team is from China, not to mention the woman’s volleyball coach. 33 foreign-born athletes are on team USA.

The Olympics have come to represent universal values of peace and friendship. But at the end of the day, it is a competition between nations. And some say those athletes that choose to play for other countries are traitors⁸.

If you play in this country, live in this country, um, grow up in the heartlands, you know, and you put on a Russian uniform, you are not a patriotic⁹ person in my mind.

 But Hammon says she did everything she could to get on the US team, it still wasn’t enough. When it became a choice between participating in the world’s greatest sporting event and watching from the sidelines, it was easy for a 31-year-old Hammon.

If I was 26, 25, I probably wouldn't have made this decision to play for Russia, I would have held out and hoped that United States would have come back around.

So Hammon chased her dream. There’s nothing more American than that, even if she had to chase it all the way to Russia.

1 remarkable   

adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的

参考例句：

• She has made remarkable headway in her writing skills.她在写作技巧方面有了长足进步。
• These cars are remarkable for the quietness of their engines.这些汽车因发动机没有噪音而不同凡响。

2 anthem   

n.圣歌，赞美诗，颂歌

参考例句：

• All those present were standing solemnly when the national anthem was played.奏国歌时全场肃立。
• As he stood on the winner's rostrum,he sang the words of the national anthem.他站在冠军领奖台上，唱起了国歌。

3 blurry   

adj.模糊的；污脏的，污斑的

参考例句：

• My blurry vision makes it hard to drive. 我的视力有点模糊，使得开起车来相当吃力。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The lines are pretty blurry at this point. 界线在这个时候是很模糊的。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 jersey   

n.运动衫

参考例句：

• He wears a cotton jersey when he plays football.他穿运动衫踢足球。
• They were dressed alike in blue jersey and knickers.他们穿着一致，都是蓝色的运动衫和灯笼短裤。

5 countless   

adj.无数的，多得不计其数的

参考例句：

• In the war countless innocent people lost their lives.在这场战争中无数无辜的人丧失了性命。
• I've told you countless times.我已经告诉你无数遍了。

6 versus   

prep.以…为对手，对；与…相比之下

参考例句：

• The big match tonight is England versus Spain.今晚的大赛是英格兰对西班牙。
• The most exciting game was Harvard versus Yale.最富紧张刺激的球赛是哈佛队对耶鲁队。

7 metaphors   

隐喻( metaphor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• I can only represent it to you by metaphors. 我只能用隐喻来向你描述它。
• Thus, She's an angel and He's a lion in battle are metaphors. 因此她是天使，他是雄狮都是比喻说法。

8 traitors   

卖国贼( traitor的名词复数 )； 叛徒； 背叛者； 背信弃义的人

参考例句：

• Traitors are held in infamy. 叛徒为人所不齿。
• Traitors have always been treated with contempt. 叛徒永被人们唾弃。

9 patriotic   

adj.爱国的，有爱国心的

参考例句：

• His speech was full of patriotic sentiments.他的演说充满了爱国之情。
• The old man is a patriotic overseas Chinese.这位老人是一位爱国华侨。