经济学人450:黑人拳王奋斗史

 　　Books and Arts; Book Review;

　　文艺；书评；

　　Racism¹ in sport;The black white hope

　　体坛的种族歧视;黑人拳王奋斗史

　　The Longest Fight: In the Ring with Joe Gans, Boxing's First African-American Champion. By William Gildea.

　　《最长的奋斗：第一位美国黑人拳击冠军Joe Gans的拳击生涯》；作者：William Gildea；

　　“The whitest black man that ever entered the ring,” said a famous American sports writer a century ago in praise of Joe Gans. Given the place and the time, the comment was unexceptional. It is Gans's reaction to the insulting words that still astounds². Far from being offended, the first American-born black boxer³ to win a world title regarded it instead as a compliment. So, less remarkably⁴, did his numerous white fans.

　　一个世纪以前，美国某位著名的体育作家曾“称赞”Joe Gans是“拳击这个圈子里有史以来最白的黑人运动员。”在当时的环境和时代背景下，这样的评价并不奇怪，但令人震撼至今的是Gans对这一侮辱性的评价的回应。Gans土生土长在美国，是第一位夺得世界拳击冠军的美国黑人，他非但没有认为这一评价是对他的人身侵犯，反倒把这看做对他赞美。而他众多的白人粉丝也是这么认为的，虽然比起Gans来这没什么值得一提。

　　Against enormous odds⁵, as William Gildea recalls in his episodic biography, Gans had by 1906 achieved the seemingly impossible. He actually left the ring a popular winner in successfully defending his title against Battling Nelson, a Danish-American, in Goldfield, Nevada. Even grizzled prospectors⁶ whooped⁷ when, after two hours and 48 minutes, the longest championship fight of the 20th century, Nelson was disqualified for a deliberate low blow.

　　William Gildea在Gans的这本情节式自传中回忆到，1906年，Gans在历经重重困难后终于变不能为可能，大获成功。Gans退出拳击圈时还是个炙手可热的拳击好手，当时他在内华达州戈德菲尔德市击败了丹麦籍美国选手Battling Nelson，成功卫冕。这场堪称20世纪历时最长的冠军卫冕赛，在进行到2小时48分钟时，Nelson因故意腰下攻击被判下场，这时就连头发花白的勘探者看客都呐喊欢呼起来。

　　Extraordinary stoicism earned Gans his lasting⁸ popularity in America. Born and brought up in Maryland, a state bordering on the old Confederacy, he had to put up with the everyday humiliations suffered by all African-Americans there. And, on top of these, he had also to tolerate the particular horrors suffered by America's black sportsmen.

　　非凡的隐忍力使得Gans在美国的受欢迎程度长久不衰。Gans在马里兰州出生长大，马里兰州位于旧邦联的边界，和在这个州生活的其他所有非裔美国人一样，Gans必须日日忍受侮辱。除此之外，他还得忍受作为美国的黑人运动员必须经受的威胁恐吓。

　　Gans, a naturally polite and cheerful man, was tutored always to show restraint by Bob Fitzsimmons, a world champion at three weights②, who argued that you should do as you would be done by. In consequence, Gans learnt to remain impassive in the face of the most egregious⁹ provocations¹⁰: even, for instance, when one opponent called him “133 pounds of black meat” and when another spat¹¹ in his face as they squared up in the centre of the ring.

　　Gans天性乐观向上，温润谦和，从师于三重量级的世界冠军Bob Fitzsimmons。Bob常常教导他要隐忍克制，要以己之所欲，施之于人。所以，Gans学会了在面对即使是最刁难的挑衅时，也能泰然处之。不管是一次对手骂他是“一堆133磅重的黑肉”，又或是一次刚在场中央摆好姿势，对方就啐他一脸唾沫 ，这些Gans都能应对自如。

　　Like other black boxers¹², Gans was exploited by the low-life types that inhabited professional boxing. Promoters paid him less than his white rivals, even when he was the main draw. His sleazy manager, Al Herford, bet heavily against Gans in two fights and then ordered him to lose. Gans eventually sacked his manager, confessed to the fixed¹³ fights, won international recognition as a fine champion and was mourned by thousands, white and black, at his funeral in Baltimore, when he died from tuberculosis¹⁴ at the then typically early age of 35.

　　和其他拳击运动员一样，Gans也是在水生火热的拳击职业中摸爬滚打，艰辛过活。即是当他已经成为正选选手时，赛事承办人给他的钱还是比他的白人对手拿到的少。Al Herford是他的经纪人，为人卑劣无耻，他在两场比赛赛前重金押赌Gans会输，然后命令Gans必须输掉比赛。Gans最终辞掉了他的经纪人，供出这两场比赛已被操纵，作为一名优秀的运动冠军，他靠此举赢得了国际声誉。Gans才35岁便死于肺结核，他在巴蒂摩尔的葬礼有上千人参加，无论白人还是黑人，都来默哀悼念这位英年早逝的优秀运动员。

　　Mr Gildea, a talented sports journalist with a ready following among American readers, is nostalgic for the days when crowds of 125,000 jammed into wooden stadiums to watch prizefights although not, of course, for the racism that then infected this and other sports. He is also nostalgic for the days when Goldfield was a rip-roaring, hard-drinking, sinful boom town. Those times, too, have gone. On a day trip to Goldfield, he saw several empty shops and houses, only four other people and a petrol station with a sign reading: “OPEN EXCEPT WHEN CLOSED”. This is a memorable¹⁵ book about a time that should not be forgotten.

　　Gildea是个颇具天分的体育记者，在美国有一批忠实的读者群。他怀念旧日时光，怀念那时十二万五千人一起挤在木制的体育馆里观看职业性拳击赛的日子，当然并不怀念那时影响着拳击和其他运动的种族歧视。还让他怀念不已的，是那时喧嚣热闹，灯红酒绿，甚至罪恶丛生的新兴城市--戈德菲尔德市。那样的时光已不再。在一次戈德菲尔德市一日游时，Gildea只看见几家关门的商店，几户空着的房屋，一路上只遇到了四个人，还有一个加油站，站旁立着这样的标牌“除了关门时都营业”。这本书让人难忘而不能释手，因为它写的是一个不该被遗忘的时代。

1 racism   

n.民族主义；种族歧视(意识)

参考例句：

• He said that racism is endemic in this country.他说种族主义在该国很普遍。
• Racism causes political instability and violence.种族主义道致政治动荡和暴力事件。

2 astounds   

v.使震惊，使大吃一惊( astound的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• She is an elderly woman whose brio astounds everyone. 她是个年逾中年的妇女，但她的精力充沛使大家惊异。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• The incident astounds both China and foreign countries. 这个事件震惊中外。 来自互联网

3 boxer   

n.制箱者，拳击手

参考例句：

• The boxer gave his opponent a punch on the nose.这个拳击手朝他对手的鼻子上猛击一拳。
• He moved lightly on his toes like a boxer.他像拳击手一样踮着脚轻盈移动。

4 remarkably   

ad.不同寻常地，相当地

参考例句：

• I thought she was remarkably restrained in the circumstances. 我认为她在那种情况下非常克制。
• He made a remarkably swift recovery. 他康复得相当快。

5 odds   

n.让步，机率，可能性，比率；胜败优劣之别

参考例句：

• The odds are 5 to 1 that she will win.她获胜的机会是五比一。
• Do you know the odds of winning the lottery once?你知道赢得一次彩票的几率多大吗？

6 prospectors   

n.勘探者，探矿者( prospector的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The prospectors have discovered such minerals as calcite,quartz and asbestos here. 探矿人员在这里发现了方解石、石英、石棉等矿藏。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The prospectors have discovered many minerals here. 探矿人员在这里发现了许多矿藏。 来自辞典例句

7 whooped   

叫喊( whoop的过去式和过去分词 )； 高声说； 唤起

参考例句：

• The bill whooped through both houses. 此提案在一片支持的欢呼声中由两院匆匆通过。
• The captive was whooped and jeered. 俘虏被叱责讥笑。

8 lasting   

adj.永久的，永恒的；vbl.持续，维持

参考例句：

• The lasting war debased the value of the dollar.持久的战争使美元贬值。
• We hope for a lasting settlement of all these troubles.我们希望这些纠纷能获得永久的解决。

9 egregious   

adj.非常的，过分的

参考例句：

• When it comes to blatant lies,there are none more egregious than budget figures.谈到公众谎言，没有比预算数字更令人震惊的。
• What an egregious example was here!现摆着一个多么触目惊心的例子啊。

10 provocations   

n.挑衅( provocation的名词复数 )；激怒；刺激；愤怒的原因

参考例句：

• We cannot ignore such provocations. 对于这种挑衅，我们不能置之不理。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• They must immediately cease all their provocations. 他们必须停止一切挑衅。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

11 spat   

n.口角，掌击；v.发出呼噜呼噜声

参考例句：

• Her parents always have spats.她的父母经常有些小的口角。
• There is only a spat between the brother and sister.那只是兄妹间的小吵小闹。

12 boxers   

n.拳击短裤；（尤指职业）拳击手( boxer的名词复数 )；拳师狗

参考例句：

• The boxers were goaded on by the shrieking crowd. 拳击运动员听见观众的喊叫就来劲儿了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The boxers slugged it out to the finish. 两名拳击手最后决出了胜负。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 fixed   

adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的

参考例句：

• Have you two fixed on a date for the wedding yet?你们俩选定婚期了吗？
• Once the aim is fixed,we should not change it arbitrarily.目标一旦确定，我们就不应该随意改变。

14 tuberculosis   

n.结核病，肺结核

参考例句：

• People used to go to special health spring to recover from tuberculosis.人们常去温泉疗养胜地治疗肺结核。
• Tuberculosis is a curable disease.肺结核是一种可治愈的病。

15 memorable   

adj.值得回忆的，难忘的，特别的，显著的

参考例句：

• This was indeed the most memorable day of my life.这的确是我一生中最值得怀念的日子。
• The veteran soldier has fought many memorable battles.这个老兵参加过许多难忘的战斗。