奥运知识—羽毛球的历史 Badminton'History（在线收听）

 　　As to the beginning of badminton, there are a lot of stories. One saying that it started in Japan, the other says that it started from India. But one thing is for sure, which is that badminton was started in the U.K., in about 1800, which was developed from tennis. You may discover that there are a lot of similarities between the two. In the year of 1870, a sort of ball made of feather and wood as well as a bat woven with strings were invented. Ever since 1873, the sport of badminton become more and more prosperous, when the field was a gourd like, with two wider spaces at both ends and a narrow stretch of land in the middle where a net was set up. This gourd-like field was changed to a square shape in 1901.
　　羽毛球的历史，有很多种说法，一种说法是起源于日本，也有另一种说法是起源于印度。不过可以确定的是现代羽毛球运动诞生于英国，大约在1800年左右，由网球变化而来。如果留心你会发现现在的羽毛球场地和网球场地非常相似。1870年，出现了用羽毛、软木做的球和穿弦的球拍。从1873年起，羽毛球运动便逐渐开展起来，那时的活动场地是葫芦形，两头宽中间窄，窄处挂网，直至1901年才改作长方形。

　　In 1893, the first badminton committee was established, which was then the British Badminton Association, holding a championship competition in 1899 nation wide.
　　1893年，世界上最早的羽毛球协会---英国羽毛球协会成立，并于1899年举办了全英羽毛球锦标赛。 　　
　　In 1934, an international badminton association was founded with its headquarter in London. The members are Canada, Denmark, Britain, France, Ireland, Holland, New Zealand, Scotland and Wales. Ever from then on, there have been more and more badminton competitions.
　　1934年，由加拿大、丹麦、英国、法国、爱尔兰、荷兰、新西兰、苏格兰和威尔士等国发起了国际羽毛球联合会，总部设在伦敦。从此，羽毛球国际比赛日渐增多。