2006年VOA标准英语-The History of American Baseball

By Crystal Park
Washington, D.C.
06 June 2006
 
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It is baseball season in the United States. Baseball is still known as America's national pastime despite competition from other professional sports and the game's evolution into more of an international sport.

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The origins of baseball are centered in the northeastern United States. The first official game under modern rules was played at the Elysian Fields in Hoboken, New Jersey² in 1846. The man who wrote the rules was Alexander Cartwright, who was part of the first official team, the New York Knickerbockers. 
 

 
Alexander Cartwright is credited with writing the first rules for the sport in 1846
  

During the Civil War in the 1860s, baseball became an increasingly popular sport among Union soldiers. Frank Ceresi is a baseball historian. "This [photograph] is from the Civil War period and this takes place in the 37th Massachusetts volunteer army from during the Civil War and if you can see it, they're playing a bat and ball game,” Ceresi said. “What they're doing is relaxing before the battle."
 
Baseball's popularity grew after the Civil War. It attracted donors³ who wanted to sponsor teams.

In 1869, the Cincinnati Red Stockings became the first fully⁴ professional team. From there, more amateur teams turned pro¹. This was the beginning of what is now Major League Baseball.

Today, baseball is enjoyed by many Americans for many reasons, says Ceresi.

 
Frank Ceresi, baseball historian
  
“If you think of the story, it's woven in our culture,” he said. “It hits on everything - civil rights, history, heroes, the great outdoors, competitions, all of those things are embodied⁵ in a game in our culture, and that's why it's so popular.”

Baseball impacted the social fabric⁶ of America in the mid-20th century. At a time when much of the United States was heavily segregated⁷, Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in 1947, playing for the Brooklyn Dodgers⁸ as the first African-American in the major leagues.
 
Many others followed, but the process moved slowly, with the final team - the Boston Red Sox - only integrating in 1959. 

 
Bob Dupuy
  
Bob Dupuy, President of Major League Baseball, says the next wave of players was from outside the country.
 
“Now 23 percent of our major league roaster are players that were born outside the United States,” he said. “There are a number of Asian players, some European players, some Australian players, but the majority are Latinos”
 
Though there's more diversity among the players, Ceresi said, “there is not full equality in management or in ownership of the game.”

While several countries enjoy thriving baseball leagues, the international record for baseball is mixed. This year's inaugural⁹ World Baseball Classic, which included Japan, China, South Korea, Australia and several Caribbean countries, was viewed by many as a success. However, the International Olympic Committee announced last year that it was dropping baseball from its list of sports after the 2008 Summer Games

1 pro   

n.赞成，赞成的意见，赞成者

参考例句：

• The two debating teams argued the question pro and con.辩论的两组从赞成与反对两方面辩这一问题。
• Are you pro or con nuclear disarmament?你是赞成还是反对核裁军？

2 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。

3 donors   

n.捐赠者( donor的名词复数 )；献血者；捐血者；器官捐献者

参考例句：

• Please email us to be removed from our active list of blood donors. 假如你想把自己的名字从献血联系人名单中删去，请给我们发电子邮件。
• About half this amount comes from individual donors and bequests. 这笔钱大约有一半来自个人捐赠及遗赠。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

5 embodied   

v.表现( embody的过去式和过去分词 )；象征；包括；包含

参考例句：

• a politician who embodied the hopes of black youth 代表黑人青年希望的政治家
• The heroic deeds of him embodied the glorious tradition of the troops. 他的英雄事迹体现了军队的光荣传统。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 fabric   

n.织物，织品，布；构造，结构，组织

参考例句：

• The fabric will spot easily.这种织品很容易玷污。
• I don't like the pattern on the fabric.我不喜欢那块布料上的图案。

7 segregated   

分开的； 被隔离的

参考例句：

• a culture in which women are segregated from men 妇女受到隔离歧视的文化
• The doctor segregated the child sick with scarlet fever. 大夫把患猩红热的孩子隔离起来。

8 dodgers   

n.躲闪者，欺瞒者( dodger的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a crackdown on fare dodgers on trains 对火车逃票者的严厉打击
• But Twain, Howells, and James were jeeringly described by Mencken as "draft-dodgers". 不过吐温、豪威尔斯和詹姆斯都是被门肯讥诮地叫做“逃避兵役的人。” 来自辞典例句

9 inaugural   

adj.就职的；n.就职典礼

参考例句：

• We listened to the President's inaugural speech on the radio yesterday.昨天我们通过无线电听了总统的就职演说。
• Professor Pearson gave the inaugural lecture in the new lecture theatre.皮尔逊教授在新的阶梯讲堂发表了启用演说。