经济学人90:萁与豆 Shock and oar

 　　Still in Books and Arts; Book Review; The Oxford¹-Cambridge boat race; Shock and oar²;

　　文艺；书评；牛津-剑桥划艇赛；萁与豆；

　　Blood Over Water: Oxford Versus³ Cambridge. One Race. Two Brothers. Only One Winner. By David and James Livingston;

　　《水上血战：牛津—剑桥划艇赛》；利维斯顿家的大卫和詹姆斯著。

　　Sibling⁴ rivalry⁵ has many famous examples. Cain and Abel, Linus and Lucy, Liam and Noel. Less well-known, but no less competitive, are David and James Livingston, two brothers who, in April 2003, raced on opposite sides in the Oxford and Cambridge University Boat Race, one of the toughest sporting challenges in the world.

　　同室操戈有很多典故。该隐和亚伯，莱纳斯和露西，里昂和诺埃尔。名气小点的，竞争却一点也不小的，是利维斯顿家的大卫和詹姆斯。2003年4月这两兄弟在牛津和剑桥大学划艇赛中正好各为其主。这项赛事激烈艰苦，世上已属罕见。

　　“Blood Over Water”, published to coincide with the 155th boat race on March 29th, tells in alternating narratives⁶ the story of how the brothers' quest for victory turned them into enemies. Providing context is the broader tale of the historic rowing competition between two prestigious⁷ universities.

　　《水上血战》3月29日出版，恰逢第155届划艇赛。该书交替讲述两兄弟如何争相夺冠乃至反目成仇。故事背景是两大名校载入史册的划艇赛。

　　The first boat race took place in 1829 on the River Thames at Henley in Oxfordshire and was the culmination⁸ of an idea of Charles Merivale, a Cambridge student, and his Harrow schoolmate Charles Wordsworth (nephew of poet William), at Oxford. The event was such a success—newspapers of the day reported crowds of 20,000—that Henley decided⁹ to organise¹⁰ its own (now famous) regatta and the boat race moved to Westminster in London. By 1845, with Westminster too crowded, the race moved up river to Putney. Today it still runs four-and-a-quarter miles (6.8km) from Putney to Mortlake and, despite being in the public eye for just one day each year, attracts a global audience of around 120m.

　　1829年第一次划艇赛在牛津郡亨里镇的泰晤士河上举行。此事源自剑桥学生查尔斯·梅里瓦勒和他以前哈罗公学的同学，牛津学生查尔斯·沃兹沃斯（诗人威廉·沃兹沃斯的侄子）的突发奇想。这项赛事竟大获成功，据当天报纸报道，有多达两万人围观，以至亨里镇决定组织自家的划艇赛（如今已享盛名），而原来的划艇赛移至伦敦的西敏寺。到了1845年，因西敏寺人满为患，赛事又转至上游的普特利。今日赛程依旧4.25英里（6.8公里），从普特利划至莫特雷克，虽然比赛一年仅有一天，但仍在全球吸引了一亿两千万上下的观众。

　　Training is brutal¹¹. For seven months potential crews (each with eight oarsmen and a cox) undergo two intense sessions every day, one on the water and one on indoor rowing machines or ergometers. Over that time they put in two hours' work for each of the 600 strokes they will take in the race. As they train, hearts race at over 200 beats a minute; lactic¹² acid builds to stinging levels in muscles; fragile capillaries¹³ burst in the lungs. To combat the physical demands made on them oarsmen must consume 6,000 calories a day, more than twice the normal daily requirement for men. All of this must be balanced against the demands of tutors, supervisions, essays, exams and long-suffering girlfriends.

　　赛事训练惨无人道。预备队员（每队八位划桨手一位舵手）每天承受两次高强度训练达七月之久，一次在水上，另一次在室内划艇设备或测功机上。期间队员花两个小时腿蹬臂拉，做满全程比赛的六百次划桨动作。训练中心脏每分钟跳两百多次；乳酸暴增教肌肉如遭芒刺；脆弱的毛刺血管在肺部炸裂。为达到体能要求划桨手每日需消耗六千卡路里，高出正常水平一倍有余。还得在导师、督导、论文、考试和长年受苦的女友间折冲樽俎，权衡轻重。

　　“Blood Over Water” stands out from the mass of sporting memoirs¹⁴ thanks to the authors' open portrayal¹⁵ of their relationship as the build-up to the race intensifies¹⁶. David, the younger by three years, speaks unashamedly of his struggle to keep up with the high-achieving James, his emotions swinging from pride and love to envy and hate. James dreads¹⁷ failure and is consumed by the fear that his kid brother might beat him at his chosen endeavour. As race day approaches the two opposing camps eat meals at opposite ends of the family kitchen, communication is reduced to curt¹⁸ nods, and the feeling of brotherhood¹⁹ is replaced by one of hostility²⁰.

　　《水上血战》从众多体育回忆录中脱颖而出，归功于两位作者坦然描述自准备阶段到赛事白热化的兄弟情谊。小三岁的大卫毫无顾忌地述说赶上高水平詹姆斯的奋斗史，情感或爱慕有加，或嫉恨如狂。詹姆斯极惧失败，生怕被弟弟在他为之奋斗的事业上击败，这念头搞得他心力憔悴。赛事临近，两兄弟在家里厨房相对而坐一起吃饭，闲聊不再，日渐寡言，手足之情让位给敌我戒备。

　　The irony²¹ of it all is that when Oxford wins the race, by one foot—a 0.0043% difference over the length of the course and the smallest margin²² on record—the younger man's joy is tinged²³ with guilt²⁴ at taking away his brother's dream. Proof indeed, that blood is thicker than water.

　　可笑最后牛津获胜时，差距仅为一英尺，即比赛全程的0.0043%，立马创了记录。弟弟欣喜之余，不免内疚横刀夺走兄长梦想。毕竟，血浓于水。

1 Oxford   

n.牛津（英国城市）

参考例句：

• At present he has become a Professor of Chemistry at Oxford.他现在已是牛津大学的化学教授了。
• This is where the road to Oxford joins the road to London.这是去牛津的路与去伦敦的路的汇合处。

2 oar   

n.桨，橹，划手；v.划行

参考例句：

• The sailors oar slowly across the river.水手们慢慢地划过河去。
• The blade of the oar was bitten off by a shark.浆叶被一条鲨鱼咬掉了。

3 versus   

prep.以…为对手，对；与…相比之下

参考例句：

• The big match tonight is England versus Spain.今晚的大赛是英格兰对西班牙。
• The most exciting game was Harvard versus Yale.最富紧张刺激的球赛是哈佛队对耶鲁队。

4 sibling   

n.同胞手足(指兄、弟、姐或妹)

参考例句：

• Many of us hate living in the shadows of a more successful sibling.我们很多人都讨厌活在更为成功的手足的阴影下。
• Sibling ravalry has been common in this family.这个家里，兄弟姊妹之间的矛盾很平常。

5 rivalry   

n.竞争，竞赛，对抗

参考例句：

• The quarrel originated in rivalry between the two families.这次争吵是两家不和引起的。
• He had a lot of rivalry with his brothers and sisters.他和兄弟姐妹间经常较劲。

6 narratives   

记叙文( narrative的名词复数 )； 故事； 叙述； 叙述部分

参考例句：

• Marriage, which has been the bourne of so many narratives, is still a great beginning. 结婚一向是许多小说的终点，然而也是一个伟大的开始。
• This is one of the narratives that children are fond of. 这是孩子们喜欢的故事之一。

7 prestigious   

adj.有威望的，有声望的，受尊敬的

参考例句：

• The young man graduated from a prestigious university.这个年轻人毕业于一所名牌大学。
• You may even join a prestigious magazine as a contributing editor.甚至可能会加入一个知名杂志做编辑。

8 culmination   

n.顶点；最高潮

参考例句：

• The space race reached its culmination in the first moon walk.太空竞争以第一次在月球行走而达到顶峰。
• It may truly be regarded as the culmination of classical Greek geometry.这确实可以看成是古典希腊几何的登峰造级之作。

9 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

10 organise   

vt.组织，安排，筹办

参考例句：

• He has the ability to organise.他很有组织才能。
• It's my job to organise all the ceremonial events.由我来组织所有的仪式。

11 brutal   

adj.残忍的，野蛮的，不讲理的

参考例句：

• She has to face the brutal reality.她不得不去面对冷酷的现实。
• They're brutal people behind their civilised veneer.他们表面上温文有礼，骨子里却是野蛮残忍。

12 lactic   

adj.乳汁的

参考例句：

• Now they wear rubber fingers treated with lactic acid.现在他们带上了用乳酸处理过的橡皮指套。
• Lactic acid is an important organic acid of industrial importance.乳酸是一种具有重要工业价值的有机酸。

13 capillaries   

毛细管，毛细血管( capillary的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The blood flows from the capillaries back into the veins. 血从毛细血管流回静脉。
• While Joe sleeps, a large percentage of his capillaries are inactive. 当乔睡觉时，他的毛细血管大部分是不工作的。

14 memoirs   

n.回忆录；回忆录传( mem,自oir的名词复数)

参考例句：

• Her memoirs were ghostwritten. 她的回忆录是由别人代写的。
• I watched a trailer for the screenplay of his memoirs. 我看过以他的回忆录改编成电影的预告片。 来自《简明英汉词典》

15 portrayal   

n.饰演；描画

参考例句：

• His novel is a vivid portrayal of life in a mining community.他的小说生动地描绘了矿区的生活。
• The portrayal of the characters in the novel is lifelike.该书中的人物写得有血有肉。

16 intensifies   

n.（使）增强， （使）加剧( intensify的名词复数 )v.（使）增强， （使）加剧( intensify的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• A clear atmosphere intensifies the blue of the sky. 纯净的空气使天空变得更蓝。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Blowing on fire intensifies the heat. 吹火使热度加强。 来自《简明英汉词典》

17 dreads   

n.恐惧，畏惧( dread的名词复数 )；令人恐惧的事物v.害怕，恐惧，担心( dread的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The little boy dreads going to bed in the dark. 这孩子不敢在黑暗中睡觉。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• A burnt child dreads the fire. [谚]烧伤过的孩子怕火（惊弓之鸟，格外胆小）。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

18 curt   

adj.简短的，草率的

参考例句：

• He gave me an extremely curt answer.他对我作了极为草率的答复。
• He rapped out a series of curt commands.他大声发出了一连串简短的命令。

19 brotherhood   

n.兄弟般的关系，手中情谊

参考例句：

• They broke up the brotherhood.他们断绝了兄弟关系。
• They live and work together in complete equality and brotherhood.他们完全平等和兄弟般地在一起生活和工作。

20 hostility   

n.敌对，敌意；抵制［pl.］交战，战争

参考例句：

• There is open hostility between the two leaders.两位领导人表现出公开的敌意。
• His hostility to your plan is well known.他对你的计划所持的敌意是众所周知的。

21 irony   

n.反语，冷嘲；具有讽刺意味的事，嘲弄

参考例句：

• She said to him with slight irony.她略带嘲讽地对他说。
• In her voice we could sense a certain tinge of irony.从她的声音里我们可以感到某种讥讽的意味。

22 margin   

n.页边空白；差额；余地，余裕；边，边缘

参考例句：

• We allowed a margin of 20 minutes in catching the train.我们有20分钟的余地赶火车。
• The village is situated at the margin of a forest.村子位于森林的边缘。

23 tinged   

v.（使）发丁丁声( ting的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• memories tinged with sadness 略带悲伤的往事
• white petals tinged with blue 略带蓝色的白花瓣

24 guilt   

n.犯罪；内疚；过失，罪责

参考例句：

• She tried to cover up her guilt by lying.她企图用谎言掩饰自己的罪行。
• Don't lay a guilt trip on your child about schoolwork.别因为功课责备孩子而使他觉得很内疚。