经济学人 迭戈·马拉多纳(2)

How had he been propelled so far, so fast? Evidently God, the Beard as he called him, had something to do with it. The Beard had plans for him, starting with the squat¹, strong body He gave him, and the huge thighs², which made it almost impossible to tackle him at speed. He filled him with love of the beauty and possibility of the game, and with talent that saw him transferred for record sums of money. There were other good assists, too.

他是怎么被推得这么远，这么快的？显然与上帝有关，他曾经称上帝为“胡子”。“胡子”为他做好了安排，上帝给了他矮而强壮的身体，粗壮的大腿，这使得几乎不可能快速地对付他。上帝赋予了他对美丽事物的追求，以及赛场上的可能性，凭借他的才能，他获得了创纪录的巨额收入。还有其他出色的助攻。

In the 1986 World Cup quarter-final against England, where God's hand and his own fist shot up to engineer a goal he knew was illegal, the Beard then blinded the officials so they didn't see it. Four minutes later the Beard helped out to create the goal of his life, allowing him to weave past five England players, trick the goalie with a dummy³, tic, and put the ball in, tac. A certain urchin⁴ cunning also helped. It showed in the way he played, revelling⁵ in tricks and touches: nutmegs, like his debut⁶ pass in his first game for Argentinos Juniors, straight through a defender's legs; back-heel flicks⁷ and sombreros, kicking the ball over an opponent to retrieve⁸ it on the other side.

在1986年世界杯对英格兰的四分之一决赛中，他通过上帝的手和自己的拳头制造了一粒进球，他知道这么做是违法的，“胡子”遮挡了官员的眼睛，让他们没有看到，四分钟后，“胡子”帮助创造了他的人生目标，让他绕过了五名英格兰球员，用一个假动作骗过了守门员，将球攻入球门。某种顽童的狡猾也起了作用。这一点从他踢球的方式上就可以看出来，就像他在阿根廷青年队的第一场比赛中的处子秀，径直穿过防守队员的双腿；后脚跟轻弹和草帽挑球，将球踢过对手，从另一边接回球。

Humiliating England, he said, was like stealing a wallet. Though he hated being called a hustler, he had to take every chance. It might look like cheating or deceiving, or it might be skill. The line was narrow sometimes. If it won games, it didn't matter. His drug problems started in the same way: if ephedrine or cocaine⁹ gave him an edge over the opposition¹⁰, fine. He was sure he could control it as sweetly as a ball, at the beginning. Things got a lot more complicated later.

羞辱英格兰，他说，就像偷钱包一样。尽管他讨厌别人说他是骗子，但他必须抓住每一个机会。它可能看起来像欺骗，也可能是技巧，边界有时很窄。如果它赢了比赛，那并不重要。他的毒品问题也是以同样的方式开始的：如果麻黄碱或可卡因给了他战胜对手的优势，那也无妨。一开始，他就确信自己能像控球一样轻松地控制它。后来事情变得复杂多了。

1 squat   

v.蹲坐，蹲下；n.蹲下；adj.矮胖的，粗矮的

参考例句：

• For this exercise you need to get into a squat.在这次练习中你需要蹲下来。
• He is a squat man.他是一个矮胖的男人。

2 thighs   

n.股，大腿( thigh的名词复数 )；食用的鸡（等的）腿

参考例句：

• He's gone to London for skin grafts on his thighs. 他去伦敦做大腿植皮手术了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The water came up to the fisherman's thighs. 水没到了渔夫的大腿。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 dummy   

n.假的东西；(哄婴儿的)橡皮奶头

参考例句：

• The police suspect that the device is not a real bomb but a dummy.警方怀疑那个装置不是真炸弹，只是一个假货。
• The boys played soldier with dummy swords made of wood.男孩们用木头做的假木剑玩打仗游戏。

4 urchin   

n.顽童；海胆

参考例句：

• You should sheer off the urchin.你应该躲避这顽童。
• He is a most wicked urchin.他是个非常调皮的顽童。

5 revelling   

v.作乐( revel的现在分词 )；狂欢；着迷；陶醉

参考例句：

• I think he's secretly revelling in all the attention. 我觉得他对于能够引起广泛的注意心里感到飘飘然。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They were drinking and revelling all night. 他们整夜喝酒作乐。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 debut   

n.首次演出，初次露面

参考例句：

• That same year he made his Broadway debut, playing a suave radio journalist.在那同一年里，他初次在百老汇登台，扮演一个温文而雅的电台记者。
• The actress made her debut in the new comedy.这位演员在那出新喜剧中首次登台演出。

7 flicks   

（尤指用手指或手快速地）轻击( flick的第三人称单数 )； （用…）轻挥； （快速地）按开关； 向…笑了一下（或瞥了一眼等）

参考例句：

• 'I shall see it on the flicks, I suppose.' “电影上总归看得见。” 来自英汉文学
• Last night to the flicks. 昨晚看了场电影。 来自英汉文学

8 retrieve   

vt.重新得到，收回；挽回，补救；检索

参考例句：

• He was determined to retrieve his honor.他决心恢复名誉。
• The men were trying to retrieve weapons left when the army abandoned the island.士兵们正试图找回军队从该岛撤退时留下的武器。

9 cocaine   

n.可卡因，古柯碱（用作局部麻醉剂）

参考例句：

• That young man is a cocaine addict.那个年轻人吸食可卡因成瘾。
• Don't have cocaine abusively.不可滥服古柯碱。

10 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。