欧美人文风情第232篇:奥林匹克运动会的历史

 The origins of the Olympic Games date back to at least the eighth century BC. 奥运的起源可以回溯到至少公元前八世纪时。

Dedicated¹ to the Greek god Zeus, they took place on the plains of Olympia in the Peloponnese every four years. 献给希腊天神宙斯，奥运每四年在伯罗奔尼撒半岛的奥林匹亚平原上举行。

Sports included running, wrestling, boxing, a primitive² form of martial³ art known as pancratium, equestrian⁴ competitions, and pentathlon. 运动项目包含赛跑、角力、拳击、一项名为角斗的古老武术形式、马术竞赛以及五项全能。

The ancient Olympic Games fell into decline when Rome conquered Greece in 146 BC and were finally abolished in 393 AD by Emperor Theodosius I. 古代奥运在罗马于公元前 146 年攻占希腊时开始没落，最后终于在公元 393 年时被大帝狄奥多西一世废除。

The site of the Games, Olympia, sank into oblivion, ravaged⁵ by earthquakes and floods. 奥运举办的地点奥林匹亚被遗忘、被地震和洪水摧毁。

It wasn't until 1,500 years later that the modern Olympic Games were born in Athens in 1896, featuring 280 participants from 30 nations. 直到 1,500 年后，现代奥运才在 1896 年时于雅典诞生，主轴为来自 30 个国家的 280 位参赛者。

The Games slowly grew under the guidance of Pierre de Coubertin, who founded the International Olympic Committee in 1894. 奥运在 Pierre de Coubertin 的领导下逐渐成长，他在 1894 年成立国际奥林匹克委员会。

In the 1900 Games, women were allowed to take part for the first time. 1900 年的奥运，女性首度被允许参加。

By 1924, the Olympic Games in Paris had captured the public's imagination. 到 1924 年，巴黎奥运吸引大众目光。

More than 3,000 athletes took part from 43 nations. 超过 3,000 名运动员从 43 个国家来参加。

The 1936 Berlin Olympics were the first to be televised to a limited audience and took place under Adolf Hitler's Nazi⁶ regime. 1936 年柏林奥运是首度电视转播给少数观众的一次，且在希特勒的纳粹政权下举办。

Hitler sought to use the Games for propaganda purposes to showcase his Aryan race, 希特勒试图利用奥运来达到宣传目的，展示他的雅利安民族，

but history remembers the four-gold-medal performance of African-American athlete Jesse Owens. 但历史却记得非裔美籍选手 Jesse Owens 的四面金牌表现。

It wasn't until Rome 1960 that the Olympics were broadcast live across Europe, and Tokyo 1964 that they reached a worldwide audience. 直到 1960 年罗马奥运，奥运赛事才在全欧洲直播，而 1964 年东京奥运时，奥运才触及全球观众。

At the height of the U.S. Civil Rights Movement during the 1968 Mexico City Games, 1968 年墨西哥奥运期间，美国民权运动颠峰时，

African-American runners Tommie Smith and John Carlos staged a protest at the medal ceremony. 非裔美籍跑者 Tommie Smith 以及 John Carlos 在颁奖仪式上演抗议举动。

They were stripped of their medals but inspired a whole generation of black athletes. 他们被夺去奖牌，但影响了整个世代的黑人运动员。

During the 1972 Games in Munich, Palestinian militants⁷ invaded the Olympic Village, 1972 年慕尼黑奥运时，巴勒斯坦激进份子入侵奥运选手村，

killing⁸ 11 Israeli athletes and coaches as well as a West German police officer. 杀害 11 名以色列运动员和教练，还有一名西德警察。

Today, the Games are the world's largest sporting celebration, with more than 10,500 athletes from 206 countries taking part in Rio 2016. 如今，奥运是全世界最大的体育盛事，2016 年里约奥运有超过 10,500 名来自 206 个国家的运动员参加。

 

1 dedicated   

adj.一心一意的；献身的；热诚的

参考例句：

• He dedicated his life to the cause of education.他献身于教育事业。
• His whole energies are dedicated to improve the design.他的全部精力都放在改进这项设计上了。

2 primitive   

adj.原始的；简单的；n.原(始)人，原始事物

参考例句：

• It is a primitive instinct to flee a place of danger.逃离危险的地方是一种原始本能。
• His book describes the march of the civilization of a primitive society.他的著作描述了一个原始社会的开化过程。

3 martial   

adj.战争的，军事的，尚武的，威武的

参考例句：

• The sound of martial music is always inspiring.军乐声总是鼓舞人心的。
• The officer was convicted of desertion at a court martial.这名军官在军事法庭上被判犯了擅离职守罪。

4 equestrian   

adj.骑马的；n.马术

参考例句：

• They all showed extraordinary equestrian skills.他们的骑术都很高超。
• I want to book two equestrian tickets.我想订两张马术比赛的票。

5 ravaged   

毁坏( ravage的过去式和过去分词 )； 蹂躏； 劫掠； 抢劫

参考例句：

• a country ravaged by civil war 遭受内战重创的国家
• The whole area was ravaged by forest fires. 森林火灾使整个地区荒废了。

6 Nazi   

n.纳粹分子，adj.纳粹党的，纳粹的

参考例句：

• They declare the Nazi regime overthrown and sue for peace.他们宣布纳粹政权已被推翻，并出面求和。
• Nazi closes those war criminals inside their concentration camp.纳粹把那些战犯关在他们的集中营里。

7 militants   

激进分子，好斗分子( militant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The militants have been sporadically fighting the government for years. 几年来，反叛分子一直对政府实施零星的战斗。
• Despite the onslaught, Palestinian militants managed to fire off rockets. 尽管如此，巴勒斯坦的激进分子仍然发射导弹。

8 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。