中英双语新闻 拳王阿里去世, 享年74岁

Tributes are being paid around the world to Mohammad Ali, considered by many to be the best boxer¹ of all time and three times the heavyweight champion of the world. He’s died at the age of 74 in Arizona. President Obama called Mohammad Ali “A man who fought for what was right”. He said Ali shook up the world and the world was better for it. And the former US president Bill Clinton also paid tribute to Mohammad Ali.

The sporting universe had suffered a huge loss. The Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta said Ali’s courage and determination would remain an enduring inspiration for the world. He was born Cassius Clay, Jr. in Louisville, Kentucky. He said of his own sport “Boxing is a lot of white men watching two black men beat each other up”. Let’s throw back now, the life of Mohammad Ali with the BBC’s Joe Wilson.

He touched too much. He is ugly. He is pretending. I’m the true champion. And they make me the underdog. They are wrong because I’m the champion, I’m the real champion.

No one talked the talk like Mohammad Ali. No one fought the fights like him. He told the world he would float like a butterfly and sting like a bee. And then he did it. As an amateur boxer, he was Olympic champion in 1960. As a professional, he became indisputable heavyweight champion. But the progress was almost never smooth. In 1964, Clay became world champion beating Sonny Liston after weeks of taunting². He’d called the most feared fighter in the world, “a big ugly bear”. Boxing had never heard nor seen anything like it.

Put him in the hospital!

Having become world champion, Cassius Clay then ceased to be. He announced his conversion³ to Islam and changed his name.

Why you insist not being called Mohammad Ali now?

That’s the name given to me by my leading teacher.

Ali’s close association with the Black Muslims under the influence of people like Malcolm X alienated⁴ him for much of 1960s in America. His belief in separation of the races set him against supporters of the black Christian⁵ integrationist⁶ movement spearheaded by Martin Luther King. Ali refused to fight in the Vietnam War declaring himself a conscientious⁷ objector. Now his opponent was establishment, he was stripped of his title and sentenced to five years in jail. In 1974, Ali traveled to Zaire for perhaps the most famous boxing match of them all, “The rumble⁸ in the jungle”. Once again, Ali was fighting an opponent many perceived to be undefeatable, up against the younger bigger George Foreman.

世界各地的人们都在致敬穆罕默德·阿里，他是许多人眼中自始至终最优秀的拳手，三届重量级世界冠军。阿里在美国亚利桑那州去世，享年74岁。奥巴马总统称他为“为正义而战的男人”，他说阿里撼动了整个世界，而且世界因此变得更好。另外，美国前总统比尔·克林顿也向阿里发出了敬意。

这是体坛的巨大损失。肯尼亚总统乌胡鲁·肯雅塔称，阿里的勇气和决心会持续鼓舞全世界。阿里出生于肯塔基州的路易斯维尔，原名卡修斯·克莱。他曾这样描述自己的运动“拳击就是一群白人看两个黑人生死肉搏”。让我们和BBC的乔·威尔森一起回顾穆罕默德·阿里的一生。

他管得太宽了，他就是丑人一个，他很假。我是真正的冠军，但他们却压迫我。他们错了，因为我是冠军，我是真正的冠军。

没有人像穆罕默德·阿里一样说到做到；没有人像他一样拼搏斗争。他向全世界宣告，他会像蝴蝶一样飘，像蜜蜂一样蜇，然后他就真的做到了。1960年，作为业余拳击手的阿里成为奥运会冠军。后来作为专业选手，他无可争议地成为重量级拳击冠军。但这个进程一直不太顺利。1964年，在经历了数周的嘲讽后，克莱打败索尼·利斯顿成为世界冠军，前者将这个世界上最可怕的拳击手称为“丑陋笨重的大熊”。拳击界从来没听过或见过这样的事情发生。

把他送进医院！

成为世界冠军后，卡修斯·克莱就不再争冠军了。他宣布改信伊斯兰教并改了名。

现在你为什么不让别人叫你穆罕默德·阿里？

那是导师赐我的名字。

在马尔科姆艾克斯影响下，阿里和黑人穆斯林组织联系密切，这让他与20世纪60年代的美国社会相背离。他信仰种族分离，导致自己与马丁·路德·金领导下的黑人基督徒反隔离运动的支持者相对立。他拒绝参加越战，称自己是负责任的反对者。反对者当政后，他的冠军头衔被收回，并被判处5年徒刑。1974年，阿里到扎伊尔参加可能是有史以来最著名的一场拳赛——“丛林之战”，阿里再遇强手，和许多人眼中的无敌拳手，更年轻更高大的乔治·福尔曼对战。

1 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。

2 taunting   

嘲讽( taunt的现在分词 )； 嘲弄； 辱骂； 奚落

参考例句：

• She wagged a finger under his nose in a taunting gesture. 她当着他的面嘲弄地摇晃着手指。
• His taunting inclination subdued for a moment by the old man's grief and wildness. 老人的悲伤和狂乱使他那嘲弄的意图暂时收敛起来。

3 conversion   

n.转化，转换，转变

参考例句：

• He underwent quite a conversion.他彻底变了。
• Waste conversion is a part of the production process.废物处理是生产过程的一个组成部分。

4 alienated   

adj.感到孤独的，不合群的v.使疏远( alienate的过去式和过去分词 )；使不友好；转让；让渡（财产等）

参考例句：

• His comments have alienated a lot of young voters. 他的言论使许多年轻选民离他而去。
• The Prime Minister's policy alienated many of her followers. 首相的政策使很多拥护她的人疏远了她。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

6 integrationist   

n.主张消除种族隔离的人

参考例句：

7 conscientious   

adj.审慎正直的，认真的，本着良心的

参考例句：

• He is a conscientious man and knows his job.他很认真负责，也很懂行。
• He is very conscientious in the performance of his duties.他非常认真地履行职责。

8 rumble   

n.隆隆声；吵嚷；v.隆隆响；低沉地说

参考例句：

• I hear the rumble of thunder in the distance.我听到远处雷声隆隆。
• We could tell from the rumble of the thunder that rain was coming.我们根据雷的轰隆声可断定，天要下雨了。