走进剑桥大学 第11期:庭院中的赛跑

 Great Court Run

庭院中的赛跑

The course of the Great Court Run now is 341 meters long. The length of time between the start and the finish of the chimes is about 43 seconds, but this varies according to the state of winding¹ and atmospheric² conditions. It is customary for athletically-inclined members of Trinity to attempt the run every year at noon on the day of the Matriculation Dinner.

现在巨庭赛跑的赛程是341米，钟声从响起到结束大概用时43秒，但是这个时间会根据风力和大气条件的不同而变化。三一学院爱好竞技运动的学生会在每年举行入学晚宴的当天跑完全程，这已经成为了一项传统。

The Great Court Run forms a central scene in the film Chariots of Fire (David Puttnam, 1981) (although it was not in fact filmed at Trinity).

巨庭赛跑构成了电影《烈火战车》（1981 年，戴维普特内姆担任制片的著名电影）的一个中心场景（虽然并没有真正在三一学院拍摄）。

In October 1988 the race was recreated for charity by Britain’s two foremost middle-distance runners at that time, Sebastian Coe and Steve Cram³. The decathlete Daley Thompson was a reserve. Coe won, getting round in 45.52 seconds. The runners started when the clock began to chime, and the final chime was dying away as Coe crossed the line.

1988年10月，为了举行慈善募捐活动，人们重新组织了巨庭赛跑比赛，并邀请了英国两位最著名的中长跑选手塞巴斯蒂安科和史蒂夫克拉姆参加比赛，还邀请了十项全能选手戴利汤普森做替补队员。结果是科贏了，跑完全程用了45.52秒。当大钟开始鸣响时，选手们就起跑，最后的钟声停止时，科冲过了终点线。

On 20 October 2007 Sam Dobin, a student majoring in economics, completed the run within the sound of the final chime, with a time of 42.77 seconds. The course taken by the runners of that year was slightly different to that of 1988 in that competitors ran on the cobbles as well as the flagstones.

2007年10月20日，剑桥大学一位经济学专业的学生山姆多宾在大钟最后的钟声消逝之前，跑完了全程，成绩是42.77秒。这名学生跑的路程和1988年的选手跑的路程有些不同，在1988年的比赛中，选手们既要在鹅卵石上跑，又要在石板路上跑。

It must be noted⁴ that the route taken by competitors around the court has changed over the years, thus making the accomplishment⁵ much more attainable⁶ today. The current route -running on the path rather than the cobbles-cuts the distance down to 299m (the perimeter⁷ of the grass) as opposed to 341m (the perimeter of the cobbles). This is 12% shorter, reducing the pace required from Olympic to a level manageable by hundreds of good club athletes across the country. It also enables the four sharp comers to be “rounded of” so that runners do not need to slow down appreciably⁸ when taking the corners.

我们应该注意到，随着时光流逝，巨庭赛跑的路线己经发生了变化。所以，现在的选手们更容易“击败大钟”，跑完全程。现在是在小道上跑，而不是在鹅卵石上跑，这样就把路程缩短到了299米（草地的周长),而不是原来的341米（鹅卵石道的长度) 路程缩短了12%,以前参加比赛的选手要达到奥运会水准，现在参赛难度下降，全英国很多的优秀俱乐部运动员都有能力参加。这样的路线也使得原先比赛中要经过的急 转弯“变圆了一些”，所以参赛者在跑过转弯处时就不用紧急减速了。

It is interesting to note that the two men who are reckoned to have achieved the Great Court Run prior to 2007，David Cecil and Sebastian Coe, both achieved the multiple distinctions of Olympic Champion, Member of both Houses of Parliament, and Chairman of London Olympics Organising Committee.

有意思的是，公认的2007前跑完巨庭赛跑的两位运动员大卫伯利和塞巴斯蒂安科都获得过多项奥运会殊荣，他们都是议会议员，都担任过伦敦奥运会组委会主席（大卫伯利是1948年伦敦奥运会组委会主席，塞巴斯蒂安科是2012年伦敦奥运会组委会主席）。

1 winding   

n.绕，缠，绕组，线圈

参考例句：

• A winding lane led down towards the river.一条弯弯曲曲的小路通向河边。
• The winding trail caused us to lose our orientation.迂回曲折的小道使我们迷失了方向。

2 atmospheric   

adj.大气的，空气的；大气层的；大气所引起的

参考例句：

• Sea surface temperatures and atmospheric circulation are strongly coupled.海洋表面温度与大气环流是密切相关的。
• Clouds return radiant energy to the surface primarily via the atmospheric window.云主要通过大气窗区向地表辐射能量。

3 cram   

v.填塞，塞满，临时抱佛脚，为考试而学习

参考例句：

• There was such a cram in the church.教堂里拥挤得要命。
• The room's full,we can't cram any more people in.屋里满满的，再也挤不进去人了。

4 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

5 accomplishment   

n.完成，成就，（pl.）造诣，技能

参考例句：

• The series of paintings is quite an accomplishment.这一系列的绘画真是了不起的成就。
• Money will be crucial to the accomplishment of our objectives.要实现我们的目标，钱是至关重要的。

6 attainable   

a.可达到的，可获得的

参考例句：

• They set the limits of performance attainable. 它们确定着可达到的运行限度。
• If objectives are to be meaningful to people, they must be clear, attainable, actionable, and verifiable. 如果目标对人们是具有意义的，则目标必须是清晰的，能达到的，可以行动的，以及可供检验的。

7 perimeter   

n.周边，周长，周界

参考例句：

• The river marks the eastern perimeter of our land.这条河标示我们的土地东面的边界。
• Drinks in hands,they wandered around the perimeter of the ball field.他们手里拿着饮料在球场周围漫不经心地遛跶。

8 appreciably   

adv.相当大地

参考例句：

• The index adds appreciably to the usefulness of the book. 索引明显地增加了这本书的实用价值。
• Otherwise the daily mean is perturbed appreciably by the lunar constituents. 否则，日平均值就会明显地受到太阳分潮的干扰。