2020年经济学人 篮球巨星科比·布莱恩特(3)

He cared about being the best, winning games. Simple and plain. His obsession¹ could make him by turns hustling², mean and dejected. When he joined the Lakers, his dream team, in 1996, traded from the Charlotte Hornets, he was only 17, the youngest player in the NBA. He had been picked for the pro³ leagues straight from his suburban⁴ high school and had lived as a boy in Italy, two things that made him odd. But he came in burning with self-belief. No babying for him; he was hard, focused, a lone⁵ artist, and much of that stayed.

科比关心的是成为最好的球员，赢得比赛。就是这么简单。他的痴迷会让他时不时地变得急躁、刻薄和沮丧。当科比在1996年被夏洛特黄蜂交易，加入他的梦之队湖人队时，他只有17岁，是NBA最年轻的球员。科比是从郊区的高中直接被选入职业联盟的，而且他小时候在意大利生活过，这两件事让他与众不同。但科比进入NBA的时候充满了自信。他已然成熟；他是一个努力、专注、孤独的艺术家，而这一点在他身上得到了延续。

He called himself the Black Mamba later, an assassinsnake, ruthless in the strike. Unjust foul⁶ calls and lost play-off games—especially the finals against the Detroit Pistons⁷ and the Boston Celtics—threw him into misery⁸ and vows⁹ of revenge. On the court, lithe¹⁰ and nimble, he wanted every game for himself. Team-mates thought him selfish, not passing enough and shooting far too much, missing more shots in his career than anyone in NBA history. He hit back at that, since at least he stayed with one team and didn’t go off somewhere else; he wanted the glory of winning the play-offs for the purple-and-golds, not just himself.

他后来称自己为黑曼巴，是一名在战斗中冷酷无情的杀手。不公正的判罚和输掉的季后赛-特别是总决赛对底特律活塞 和波士顿凯尔特人-使他陷入痛苦，立下复仇誓言。在球场上，科比动作轻盈敏捷，想把每一场比赛都据为己有。队友们认为他自私，传球不够，投篮太多，在整个职业生涯中，他投丢的球比NBA历史上任何人都要多。科比对此进行了回击，因为至少他留在了一支球队，没有离开其他球队; 他想为紫金军团赢得季后赛的荣誉，而不仅仅是为他自己。

Yet he so loved the ball that it just seemed drawn¹¹ towards his hands. And he went on shooting, and shooting, not least because he sometimes saved a game with a fabulous¹² floater in the final seconds. Besides, airballs too could look and feel good, good from trajectory¹³ to follow-through, on-line, on target. Some people thought Mozart had too many notes. As in most love affairs, he had competition. One was Michael Jordan, the greatest basketball player of the era, the Buddha¹⁴ on top of the mountain and winner of six rings, whom he once asked for advice while he was guarding him.

但他太喜欢球了，以至于球似乎都跑到了他的手中。他不停地投篮，不停地投篮，不止是因为他有时会在比赛的最后几秒用一个漂亮的飘移投篮挽救比赛。此外，空气球也可以看起来和感觉良好，良好的轨迹，持续的投篮动作，球没有偏离篮筐。有些人还认为莫扎特音乐的音符太多了。和大多数恋爱一样，他也有竞争对手。一个球员是迈克尔·乔丹，那个时代最伟大的篮球运动员，他是山顶上的佛，赢得了六次总冠军，科比曾经在防守他的时候向他寻求建议。

1 obsession   

n.困扰，无法摆脱的思想(或情感)

参考例句：

• I was suffering from obsession that my career would be ended.那时的我陷入了我的事业有可能就此终止的困扰当中。
• She would try to forget her obsession with Christopher.她会努力忘记对克里斯托弗的迷恋。

2 hustling   

催促（hustle的现在分词形式）

参考例句：

• Our quartet was out hustling and we knew we stood good to take in a lot of change before the night was over. 我们的四重奏是明显地卖座的， 而且我们知道在天亮以前，我们有把握收入一大笔钱。
• Men in motors were hustling to pass one another in the hustling traffic. 开汽车的人在繁忙的交通中急急忙忙地互相超车。

3 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？

4 suburban   

adj.城郊的，在郊区的

参考例句：

• Suburban shopping centers were springing up all over America. 效区的商业中心在美国如雨后春笋般地兴起。
• There's a lot of good things about suburban living.郊区生活是有许多优点。

5 lone   

adj.孤寂的，单独的；唯一的

参考例句：

• A lone sea gull flew across the sky.一只孤独的海鸥在空中飞过。
• She could see a lone figure on the deserted beach.她在空旷的海滩上能看到一个孤独的身影。

6 foul   

adj.污秽的；邪恶的；v.弄脏；妨害；犯规；n.犯规

参考例句：

• Take off those foul clothes and let me wash them.脱下那些脏衣服让我洗一洗。
• What a foul day it is!多么恶劣的天气！

7 pistons   

活塞( piston的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Some pistons have seating rings of metal or leather. 有些活塞上有金属或皮革的密封环。
• A pump uses valves and pistons. 泵使用阀和活塞。

8 misery   

n.痛苦，苦恼，苦难；悲惨的境遇，贫苦

参考例句：

• Business depression usually causes misery among the working class.商业不景气常使工薪阶层受苦。
• He has rescued me from the mire of misery.他把我从苦海里救了出来。

9 vows   

誓言( vow的名词复数 )； 郑重宣布，许愿

参考例句：

• Matrimonial vows are to show the faithfulness of the new couple. 婚誓体现了新婚夫妇对婚姻的忠诚。
• The nun took strait vows. 那位修女立下严格的誓愿。

10 lithe   

adj.(指人、身体)柔软的，易弯的

参考例句：

• His lithe athlete's body had been his pride through most of the fifty - six years.他那轻巧自如的运动员体格，五十六年来几乎一直使他感到自豪。
• His walk was lithe and graceful.他走路轻盈而优雅。

11 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

12 fabulous   

adj.极好的；极为巨大的；寓言中的，传说中的

参考例句：

• We had a fabulous time at the party.我们在晚会上玩得很痛快。
• This is a fabulous sum of money.这是一笔巨款。

13 trajectory   

n.弹道，轨道

参考例句：

• It is not difficult to sketch the subsequent trajectory.很容易描绘出它们最终的轨迹。
• The path followed by a projectile is called its trajectory.抛物体所循的路径称为它的轨道。

14 Buddha   

n.佛；佛像；佛陀

参考例句：

• Several women knelt down before the statue of Buddha and prayed.几个妇女跪在佛像前祈祷。
• He has kept the figure of Buddha for luck.为了图吉利他一直保存着这尊佛像。