M9 U1 Project 阅读材料中英文对照版.doc

M9 U1 Project 阅读材料中英文对照版
Is Australia really a sporting nation?
澳大利亚真是体育之国吗？
There is nothing ambiguous about Australians’ love of sport. Their absolute love of it seems compulsory. They talk about sport all the time. They watch it live or on television, and sometimes it seems to be the only topic of conversation. Anywhere Australians get together—in the canteen during lunch, in the pub with a pint of beer, or in someone’s garden over a barbecue grill—the conversation quickly turns to sport. It can be an analysis of how teams are placing in the various sports leagues, or a discussion of the strengths and weaknesses of different players and their teams.
澳大利亚人热爱体育，这点毫无疑问。他们对体育的绝对热爱似乎是必需的。他们时时刻刻在谈论体育。他们在现场观看比赛或收看电视转播，有时体育似乎是交谈的惟一话题。无论澳大利亚人在何地相聚——在餐厅吃午饭、在酒吧喝啤酒或在某人的花园烧烤——他们的谈话都很快地转到体育上。谈话内容可以是分析球队在各项联赛中的排名，或是讨论不同运动员和他们所在球队的优势和劣势。

Australians’ devotion to sport, however, does not mean that most of them really do much sport. In fact, statistics show that only about one quarter of Australians exercise enough. The rest are content to just sit in their cosy armchairs and watch. Indeed, sitting in front of the television watching a sports event, with a drink in one hand and some fast food in the other, is very common in Australia. It is one of the main reasons why Australians can sometimes be accused of being overweight and unfit.
但澳大利亚人对体育的热衷并不意味着他们中的大多数真的做很多运动。事实上，统计数据表明，只有约四分之一的澳大利亚人进行足够的运动。其他人则仅仅满足于坐在舒服的扶手椅上看比赛。确实，坐在电视机前看体育赛事，一手握饮料一手捧快餐，这在澳大利亚非常普遍。这是澳大利亚人有时被批评体重超标、健康欠佳的主要原因之一。

Still, Australia is considered to be a great sporting nation. The climate is mild, neither too hot nor too cold. The sun shines most of the time and there is plenty of space, including many beaches. Many people owe their love of sport to the perfect weather conditions for it. Best of all, there is a two-day weekend to enjoy the outdoors.
尽管如此，澳大利亚仍被视为体育大国。这里气候温和，既不太热也不太冷，大多数时候阳光普照，而且有足够的场地，包括许多沙滩。许多人把他们对体育运动的热爱归功于适合体育运动的完美气侯条件。最棒的是，人们有两天的周末可以享受户外活动。

With most of its population living near the coast, swimming and surfing are popular activities for many families at the weekend. Sydney, for example, is a city with 37 beaches, most of which can be reached within 30 minutes by public transport from the city centre.
澳大利亚的大多数人口住在沿海地区，对于许多家庭来说，游泳和冲浪是在周末最受欢迎的活动。例如，悉尼市有37处海滩，大多数海滩从市中心搭乘公共交通工具30分钟内就可到达。

Another sport Australians are fond of is tennis. Since most tennis courts are equipped with lights, many people often play after dusk in the evening and late into the night. In addition, many school children regularly take after-school tennis lessons.
澳大利亚人喜爱的另一种运动是网球。由于大多数网球场装有照明设施，很多人常常在黄昏和深夜打球。另外，许多学龄儿童还定期上课外的网球课。

Parents and teachers also encourage children to participate in team sports like various forms of football. The sport that most of the world calls football is known as soccer in Australia, to distinguish it from Australian rules football. Football is a sport where players hold the ball and run with it, like in rugby. Rugby, soccer and football are all rough games and can lead to serious injuries, but they greatly appeal to Australians, who watch sports for the thrills they bring.
家长和老师也鼓励孩子们参加团体体育活动，如各式各样的足球。世界大部分地区将足球叫做football，而在澳大利亚它被称为soccer，以区别于澳式橄榄球。澳式橄榄球比赛中球员抱着球跑动，就像打橄榄球一样。橄榄球、足球和澳式橄榄球都是剧烈运动，可能导致严重受伤，但澳大利亚人对它们还是情有独钟，他们看比赛以寻求运动带来的刺激。

Another popular sport, cricket, is originally from the UK, and has been exported to and followed in countries influenced by it, such as Australia, India, Pakistan, Kenya and South Africa. Patience is a must to enjoy the game, because it seems very slow and boring for those who do not quite grasp cricket For fans of this sport, though, it is an art form. Even quiet and serious scholars can become excited about it. Cricket is usually considered a summer sport in Australia, and throughout the country you will see players dressed all in white, hitting and running after the ball.
另一项流行的体育运动板球起源于英国。它被引进到受英国影响的国家且大为盛行，比如澳大利亚、印度、巴基斯坦、肯尼亚和南非。耐心是享受这项运动的必备条件，因为对于那些不太懂板球的人来说，板球节奏似乎非常慢，非常无聊。但对于这项运动的狂热爱好者而言，它是一种艺术形式。甚至沉默寡言、严肃认真的学者也会为它激动。板球在澳大利亚通常被视为夏季运动，在澳大利亚各地都可看到一身白色球衣的球员在球场跑动，争抢击球。

Is Australia a sporting nation? Of course it is, as any Australian will tell you. The statistics prove it. In most international competitions, Australia is among the winning nations. At the Olympic Games in particular, Australian performers often win a greater percentage of medals than many of the other countries. For example, at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, only the USA, China, Russia, the UK and Germany won more medals than Australia. Considering Australia’s small population, its outstanding performance at the Olympic Games was really amazing.
澳大利亚是不是一个体育之国？当然是，任何澳大利亚人都会这样告诉你。统计数字也证明了这一点。在多数国际比赛中，澳大利亚都名列前茅。尤其在奥运会上，澳大利亚运动员赢得奖牌的比例通常比其他许多国家要高。例如，在2008年北京奥运会上，只有美国、中国、俄罗斯、英国和德国赢得的奖牌数比澳大利亚多。考虑到澳大利亚人口较少，它在奥运会上的出色表现着实令人惊讶。

So, while a high percentage of Australians may be people who watch sports rather than do them, Australia is indeed a great sporting nation!
因此，虽然相当比例的澳大利亚人只观看体育比赛，而不参与运动，但澳大利亚仍不愧是个体育大国！