2007年VOA标准英语-Influence of Australia's Cricket Boycott of Zim

By Tendai Maphosa
London
17 May 2007

The Australian government's cancellation¹ of its national cricket team's tour of Zimbabwe, which had been scheduled for September, has re-ignited a passionate² debate about whether politics and sports should mix and about what happens when they do. Tendai Maphosa has more about the effects of sports boycotts⁴ in this report for VOA from London.

Australia's batsman Adam Gilchrist celebrates as he points to his left hand glove during the Cricket World Cup final against Sri Lanka, 28 April 2007

Announcing the ban, Australian Prime Minister John Howard said allowing the cricket tour to go ahead would give a propaganda boost to the government of Zimbabwe and its president, Robert Mugabe, whom he described as a "grubby dictator."
 
The Australians suggested playing the series in a neutral venue⁵, but the Zimbabwe government refused the offer, saying Australia is obliged to fulfill⁶ the tour and accused the Australians of politicizing sport. 
 
A look at one of the world's major sports boycotts, the one imposed on South Africa during the apartheid era, reveals that both the Zimbabweans and the Australians have done an about face.  When the boycott³ against South Africa was in force, the Zimbabwe government supported it and Mr. Howard opposed it.

Steven Friedman is an associate researcher at the Institute of Democracy In South Africa.  He tells VOA that there are often double standards when it comes to sport boycotts.

"The problem is that the principles are very inconsistently applied⁷ so that there is currently a boycott of Zimbabwe and Zimbabwe is a tyrannical state, one concedes that, but at the same time in the cricketing world there is no boycott of Pakistan, which is also in the midst of political upheaval⁸ because the president Is trying to get rid of the chief justice," he said.  "So people legitimately⁹ ask why it is appropriate in one circumstance and not in another."

But Friedman argues that sport boycotts can work if they are applied in a package along with other measures.

"If you have a very clear set of principles which you use to underpin¹⁰ the boycott it can be very effective," he added.  "The most obvious example is that if you say there shouldn't be any racism¹¹ in sport, which was used to condemn¹² and boycott apartheid sport."

Ali Bacher is a former South African cricket player and administrator¹³. During the sport boycott of South African, he organized so-called rebel tours of the country and lured¹⁴ international cricketers to the country with money.  His argument then was that sport and politics should not mix.  But he now believes that sport boycotts are a necessary element of campaigns to compel political change.

"No question about it that the international isolation¹⁵ of South Africa, not only in sport, but in culture and business, ultimately brought down the Nationalist Party apartheid government," he noted¹⁶.  "The question arises now whether this ban by the Australian government will have an impact in Zimbabwe. I have my doubts, the simple reason is cricket in Zimbabwe is a very low-profile sport."

Kevin Curran, who coaches Zimbabwe's national cricket team, opposes the boycott because he says the players are the real victims.  He says the Zimbabwean national team is young and that they are trying hard to rebuild after several major setbacks, and that an important part of that is exposure to strong international teams, such as the Australian side.

"They [Australia] are the best side in the world, you [want to] measure yourself against some of the best players in the world; that's the best way to improve obviously," he explained.  "We better now look elsewhere, try to get other teams to come here and try to improve our standard."

Although Curran describes the mixture of politics and sport as unfortunate, analyst¹⁷ Friedman said politics frequently intersects with sport.  As examples, he gave the 1936 Olympics in Germany, when Hitler was in power, the United States-led boycott of the Moscow Olympics in 1980 and the retaliatory¹⁸ boycott by the Soviet¹⁹ Union of the Los Angeles Olympics in 1984. He said it's not possible to separate politics and sport, but consensus²⁰ and consistency²¹ are always going to be difficult to achieve.

"Politicians don't have to be consistent.  Politicians change their tune²² the whole time," he said.

Only time will tell whether Mr. Howard's action will have any impact on the political crisis in Zimbabwe, but it is unlikely the majority of cricketing nations will follow Australia's lead.

1 cancellation   

n.删除，取消

参考例句：

• Heavy seas can cause cancellation of ferry services.海上风浪太大，可能须要取消渡轮服务。
• Her cancellation of her trip to Paris upset our plan.她取消了巴黎之行打乱了我们的计划。

2 passionate   

adj.热情的，热烈的，激昂的，易动情的，易怒的，性情暴躁的

参考例句：

• He is said to be the most passionate man.据说他是最有激情的人。
• He is very passionate about the project.他对那个项目非常热心。

3 boycott   

n./v.(联合)抵制，拒绝参与

参考例句：

• We put the production under a boycott.我们联合抵制该商品。
• The boycott lasts a year until the Victoria board permitsreturn.这个抗争持续了一年直到维多利亚教育局妥协为止。

4 boycotts   

（对某事物的）抵制( boycott的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Their methods included boycotts and court action, supplemented by'sit-ins". 他们的主要方法包括联合抵制、法庭起诉，还附带进行静坐抗议。
• Are boycotts for other purposes illegal? 至于用于其它目的的联合抵制行动是否也是非法的呢？

5 venue   

n.犯罪地点，审判地，管辖地，发生地点，集合地点

参考例句：

• The hall provided a venue for weddings and other functions.大厅给婚礼和其他社会活动提供了场所。
• The chosen venue caused great controversy among the people.人们就审判地点的问题产生了极大的争议。

6 fulfill   

vt.履行，实现，完成；满足，使满意

参考例句：

• If you make a promise you should fulfill it.如果你许诺了，你就要履行你的诺言。
• This company should be able to fulfill our requirements.这家公司应该能够满足我们的要求。

7 applied   

adj.应用的；v.应用，适用

参考例句：

• She plans to take a course in applied linguistics.她打算学习应用语言学课程。
• This cream is best applied to the face at night.这种乳霜最好晚上擦脸用。

8 upheaval   

n.胀起，(地壳)的隆起；剧变，动乱

参考例句：

• It was faced with the greatest social upheaval since World War Ⅱ.它面临第二次世界大战以来最大的社会动乱。
• The country has been thrown into an upheaval.这个国家已经陷入动乱之中。

9 legitimately   

ad.合法地；正当地，合理地

参考例句：

• The radio is legitimately owned by the company. 该电台为这家公司所合法拥有。
• She looked for nothing save what might come legitimately and without the appearance of special favour. 她要的并不是男人们的额外恩赐，而是合法正当地得到的工作。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹

10 underpin   

v.加固，支撑

参考例句：

• China needs regional stability to underpin its continued economic growth.中国需要地区稳定来巩固其持续的经济增长。
• These developments are underpinned by solid progress in heavy industry.重工业的稳固发展为这些进展打下了基础。

11 racism   

n.民族主义；种族歧视(意识)

参考例句：

• He said that racism is endemic in this country.他说种族主义在该国很普遍。
• Racism causes political instability and violence.种族主义道致政治动荡和暴力事件。

12 condemn   

vt.谴责，指责；宣判(罪犯)，判刑

参考例句：

• Some praise him,whereas others condemn him.有些人赞扬他，而有些人谴责他。
• We mustn't condemn him on mere suppositions.我们不可全凭臆测来指责他。

13 administrator   

n.经营管理者，行政官员

参考例句：

• The role of administrator absorbed much of Ben's energy.行政职务耗掉本很多精力。
• He has proved himself capable as administrator.他表现出管理才能。

14 lured   

吸引，引诱（lure的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• The child was lured into a car but managed to escape. 那小孩被诱骗上了车，但又设法逃掉了。
• Lured by the lust of gold,the pioneers pushed onward. 开拓者在黄金的诱惑下，继续奋力向前。

15 isolation   

n.隔离，孤立，分解，分离

参考例句：

• The millionaire lived in complete isolation from the outside world.这位富翁过着与世隔绝的生活。
• He retired and lived in relative isolation.他退休后，生活比较孤寂。

16 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。

17 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

18 retaliatory   

adj.报复的

参考例句：

• The process can take years before the WTO approves retaliatory action. 在WTO通过此行动之前，这个程序恐怕要等上一阵子了。 来自互联网
• Retaliatory tariffs on China are tantamount to taxing ourselves as a punishment. 将惩罚性关税强加于中国相当于对我们自己实施课税惩罚。 来自互联网

19 Soviet   

adj.苏联的，苏维埃的；n.苏维埃

参考例句：

• Zhukov was a marshal of the former Soviet Union.朱可夫是前苏联的一位元帅。
• Germany began to attack the Soviet Union in 1941.德国在1941年开始进攻苏联。

20 consensus   

n.(意见等的)一致，一致同意，共识

参考例句：

• Can we reach a consensus on this issue?我们能在这个问题上取得一致意见吗？
• What is the consensus of opinion at the afternoon meeting?下午会议上一致的意见是什么？

21 consistency   

n.一贯性，前后一致，稳定性；(液体的)浓度

参考例句：

• Your behaviour lacks consistency.你的行为缺乏一贯性。
• We appreciate the consistency and stability in China and in Chinese politics.我们赞赏中国及其政策的连续性和稳定性。

22 tune   

n.调子；和谐，协调；v.调音，调节，调整

参考例句：

• He'd written a tune,and played it to us on the piano.他写了一段曲子，并在钢琴上弹给我们听。
• The boy beat out a tune on a tin can.那男孩在易拉罐上敲出一首曲子。