VOA慢速英语2013 摔跤项目有可能被奥运会保留(在线收听

 

AS IT IS 2013-10-13 Wrestling May Still Be an Olympic Sport 摔跤项目有可能被奥运会保留 

Hi again. Nice to have you with us on As It Is. I’m Kelly Jean Kelly.

People who like the sport of wrestling can breathe a sigh of relief – at least for now. Wrestling has passed the first test to get back on the schedule for the 2020 Olympic Games.

喜欢摔跤运动的人至少现在可以松一口气了。摔跤通过了回到2020年奥运会赛程表上的第一道测试。

Wrestling was allowed to reapply, along with squash, sport climbing, karate, the Chinese martial art of wushu, roller sports, wakeboarding, and a combined application from baseball and softball.

摔跤和壁球,攀岩,空手道,中国武术,轮滑运动,滑水一起允许重新申请,一起的还有棒球和垒球的申请。

Representatives from all eight sports made a presentation to a committee in St. Petersburg, Russia about why their sport should be included in the 2020 Olympic Games. The committee voted by secret ballot and decided that wrestling, squash, and baseball/softball would advance to the next level.

这8个运动项目的代表在圣彼得堡向委员会做了关于他们的项目为什么要包含在2020年奥运会里的报告。委员会进行了秘密抽签决定摔跤,壁球和棒球/垒球进入下一轮。

The International Olympic Committee will decide in September in Buenos Aires, Argentina which one of those three sports will remain in the Games.

9月,国际奥林匹克委员会将在阿根廷,布宜诺斯艾利斯决定这三项中的哪一项会保留在比赛中。

Mario Ritter gives us the background on how wrestling was cut from the Olympics in the first place.

首先,让Mario Ritter告诉我们摔跤被剔除奥运会的背景。

Wrestling in Trouble

摔跤陷入麻烦

The International Olympic Committee, or IOC, decided last February to take wrestling out of the Olympics. VOA’s Ardita Dunellari spoke with a former wrestler to try to understand the IOC’s decision.

国际奥委会,简称IOC,去年2月份决定将摔跤运动从奥运会中去除。VOA记者Ardta Dunllari拜访了前摔跤运动员,试图理解IOC的决定。

Wade Schalles has won 15 national wrestling titles and one world wrestling title. He is also recognized by the Guinness Book of Records for the most pins in his career—in other words, wrestling his opponent to the floor and holding him there. Mr. Schalles says he thinks the sport is in trouble.

Wade Schalles 获得过15个国家摔跤冠军和2个世界冠军。他被载入吉尼斯记录,因为在他的职业生涯中他有最多的“别针”,换句话说,将他的对手摔在地上并牢牢地按在那里。Schalles先生说他认为这张项运动陷入了麻烦。

“We lost the sport primarily because we were arrogant. We were unwilling to follow the suggestion of the IOC. It was a very strong suggestion, but we overlooked it thinking we were immune from that, because we are wrestling.”

”因为我们的傲慢我们在一开始就失去了这项运动。我们不愿意听取IOC的建议。虽然那是很强烈的建议,但我们忽视了他们的建议。因为我们认为摔跤可以免疫。”

Wrestling has a long tradition in the Olympics. It was featured in the first modern Olympics in Athens, Greece, in 1896. But today’s Olympic Games are much more than tradition. The Olympics are a major television event. And for the IOC—a for-profit organization—the money a sport makes and how popular it is on TV are important considerations.

1896年在希腊雅典举办的第一届现代奥运会摔跤是特色运动。但是现在的奥运会比赛与传统的不同,它主要是电视赛事。作为一个盈利组织,IOC考虑更多的是一项运动它能赚多少钱和在电视上它有多么受欢迎。

 

Mr. Schalles says wrestling has not kept people interested in the sport and has lost TV audiences.

Schalles先生说摔跤因不能让人们感兴趣二失去了很多电视观众。

“Wrestling internationally is not fun to watch, in my opinion. Some people would disagree with me. Today, wrestling is so slippery because of the perspiration. Half of your moves you can’t get because you slip off the guy, which then keeps the scoring low, takes away the excitement from the crowd.”

”有些人可能不同意我的观点,但是摔跤对于全球的观众来看都不是很有趣。今天,摔跤因为出汗而变得溜滑。你一半的动作都完成不了因为你让你的对手溜走了,这就让比分一直很低从而降低了观众的兴奋度。”

Mr. Schalles proposes major changes. They include adding long sleeves to uniforms and making point-scoring easier.

Schalles先生建议做些改变,包括让服装的袖子变长,让得分更容易些。

He also says one big lesson that came from February’s decision is the importance of promoting sports. That lesson is not lost on the sport’s governing organization. The International Wrestling Federation has already hired consultants to help make the sport more popular and more interesting to more people.

同时,他表示从“二月决定”得到的很大的教训就是促进一项运动的重要性。不要失去对管理运动的组织的依靠。国际摔跤联合会已经聘请顾问帮忙让摔跤变得更受欢迎更有趣。

I’m Mario Ritter.

The Future of Wrestling

摔跤的未来

We also spoke to VOA’s Sonny Young about the future of wrestling. You may recognize Sonny from his show, “The Sonny Side of Sports.”

我们同样和VOA的Sonny Young谈论了摔跤的未来。你可以从Sonny Young的节目了解。

He explains that the Olympics can support only about 25 sports. And even though wrestling has been around since ancient times, Olympic officials are trying to appeal to a younger audience with newer sports such as BMX cycling. So, Sonny says wrestling and Olympic officials are likely to make some changes.

他解释说奥运会只能举行25个运动项目。虽然从古时候就有摔跤比赛了,但奥委会官员试图通过像越野自行车这样的新运动吸引年轻观众。所以S说摔跤运动和奥委会官员可能会做些改变。

“One of the changes, they say they want to make the Olympic rules for wrestling easier to understand – easier for offense, easier for a wrestler to score points. That’s basically how they judge a wrestling match.”

“其中一个改变就是他们想让摔跤的规则变得更容易理解,选手犯规容易,得分也容易。这是摔跤最基本的判断。”

“Because right now, it’s very low-scoring, and it takes a long time for somebody to win, is that the deal?”

“因为现在得分慢,选手花很长时间才能赢,这才是问题所在是不是?”

“Yes, yes, that’s part of it. Another change that they have made recently, they would like to see more women in wrestling. And in London last year when I was at the Games they did have female Olympic wrestling. That’s relatively new that we’ve had female wrestlers, including some from Africa.”

“是的,是的,这是一部分。另一改变是他们希望能有更多的女选手参加比赛。去年我在伦敦奥运会看到摔跤比赛上有女选手。我们有女选手包括从非洲过来的,这相对是比较新的。”

“So let me ask you this. Let’s say, let’s say wrestling doesn’t make it. Squash is also very popular, softball, baseball, also very popular. It’s a very real possibility that wrestling just does not make the cut. What’s at stake? What does that mean for the sport if it’s no longer an Olympic sport?”

“现在让我问你个问题,我们说如果摔跤申请没有成功。壁球又很受欢迎,垒球,棒球同样很受欢迎。摔跤很有可能被剔除。什么处在紧要关头?如果再也不存在奥运会比赛中对一个运动项目来说意味着什么?”

“I think it would be a huge blow. To compare it with track and field, track and field is popular in Europe. The meets are broadcast on television and it has a pretty wide audience.

“我想这会引起轩然大波。将它和田径比较,田径在欧洲很受欢迎。它有大量电视观众。

Here in the United States, many people watch track and field only every four years when the Olympics come around. It’s almost like a lull that these sports have prior to the Olympics. Wrestling gets much of its exposure at the Olympics. So I think it would be a huge blow if they take it out of the Games.”

这里,在美国,很多人只在每四年一次的奥运会上观看田径比赛。就像暂时的平静,这些运动对奥运会比较重要。摔跤在奥运会中的曝光率很高。所以我认为将摔跤从奥运会中去除,会引起轩然大波。”

“So it would just mean probably that fewer schools would offer it, fewer kids would start to pursue wrestling, there would be less interest even in community clubs or in cities or whatever it is.”

“所以这意味着可能更少的学校提供摔跤课程,更少的孩子学习摔跤,对摔跤的兴趣锐减不论是在团体俱乐部还是在城市中或在其他地方。”

“In fact, on that note, I read an article recently, this was a local wrestler, from the Washington, DC, area. He’s a high school student, and he decided to forego his senior year of high school in order to go to this Olympic development center out in Colorado, where he would receive specific training in wrestling from the best American coaches, and he would be practicing against some of the best wrestlers in the United States. If they take wrestling out of the Olympics, that type of development will go away.”

“事实上,在那个笔记上,我最近读了一篇文章,关于华盛顿DC的摔跤手。他是一名高中生,他为了去Colorado外的奥林匹克中心要放弃学业,在那里他能从最好的美国教练获得专业训练,也能和美国最好的摔跤手切磋。如果将摔跤从奥运会中剔除,这种形式的发展也将不复存在。”

“What do you think? Should wrestling stay in, especially given the other two sports that it’s up against?”

“你的看法呢?摔跤应该留下来吗?尤其是打败其他两项运动。”

“Unquestionably I feel wrestling should remain in the Olympics. I think it’s a great sport. Just because of its Olympic legacy, going back to ancient times. I think it definitely belongs in the Olympics. And my feeling, just by the sports it’s going up against, squash and baseball/ softball, I think they will vote in September to keep it in the Games. That’s my early prediction.”

”我认为摔跤留在奥运会是无可非议的。它是一项伟大的运动。因为它是让我们追溯古时候的奥林匹克遗产。它绝对属于奥林匹克。我的感觉是摔跤和壁球,棒球/垒球竞选,9月他们一定会投票给摔跤让它留在奥运会比赛中。这是我的预测。”

That was Sonny Young, talking to us about the future of Olympic wrestling.

That’s our show for today. See you next time on As It Is. If you would like to reach us, send an email to [email protected]. Or go to our website at learningenglish.voanews.com and click on “Contact Us.”

Remember, you can hear VOA World News at the beginning of the hour, Universal Time.

  原文地址:http://www.tingroom.com/voa/2013/10/232548.html