生而為贏

Three...Two...One!We were off!

三……二……一！ 我們沖出了起跑線(xiàn)！

I ran as I had so many times before， practicing on my track in Corinth. Digging my feet into the sand， I scattered1) it everywhere as I struggled to gain the lead. There were 50 meters left and I had only one runner slightly in front of me—

我飛奔起來(lái)，就像我曾經(jīng)無(wú)數(shù)次在科林斯跑道上練習(xí)賽跑那樣。我的雙腳重重地踏進(jìn)沙地里，使得沙粒四處飛濺，我拼命想跑到第一名。離終點(diǎn)還剩50米，只有一名選手稍稍比我領(lǐng)先了——

My Olympic Dream

My name is Xenophon. I come from Corinth， one of the oldest Greek cities. When I was growing up， I saw my relatives achieve great fame as Olympic champions， and I decided to be a champion also. I committed myself to2) harsh training to build my physical and mental strength. I practiced running， jumping， discus3)， javelin4) and wrestling. My trainers supplemented5) my practice with lessons on the rules of these Olympic contests.

The Dream Sails

My first year of competition was 464 B.C. A messenger from Olympia came to my town and announced that the games would start in two months. I decided to compete in two different events: the stade6)， which is the shortest race—a 200-yard7) sprint8)， and the pentathlon9).

My trainer and I planned to take a boat to Olympia. When we departed， the townspeople were very excited for us and the other young men who were going to compete. We all wanted to win for Corinth and bring our city glory.

We finally made it to Olympia. It was a beautiful place. Before we could compete， the runners were responsible for \"cleaning the track.\" We had to tear out10) weeds and grass that had grown on the track and fill in the track with sand. I arrived early enough so that after this preparation was done， I had a month to practice with my trainer.

My Dream Comes True

The day before the competition arrived soon. The actual competition lasted two days. The stade was the first event to be held， early the next morning. On the day of the competition I awoke early having had a great dream. I dreamt that my feet were on fire which is a good sign for runners， meaning that I would run \"like a cat on hot bricks11).\"

To prepare， I stretched， then removed my toga12) and rubbed oil all over my body， a ritual13) for competitors.

我的奧林匹克夢(mèng)

我叫克賽諾豐，來(lái)自希臘最古老的城市之一——科林斯。我從小就看到許多親戚和家人勇奪奧運(yùn)冠軍，名揚(yáng)四方，于是，我決心也要成為冠軍。我投入到嚴(yán)苛的訓(xùn)練之中，強(qiáng)健體魄，磨煉意志。我練習(xí)賽跑、跳遠(yuǎn)、鐵餅、標(biāo)槍和摔跤。教練們?cè)谶@些訓(xùn)練的基礎(chǔ)上，還為我補(bǔ)充了奧運(yùn)會(huì)比賽規(guī)則的課程。

夢(mèng)想起航

公元前464年，我第一次參加奧運(yùn)會(huì)。那年，來(lái)自?shī)W林匹亞的信使抵達(dá)我所在的城鎮(zhèn)，宣布比賽將于兩個(gè)月后舉行。我決定參加兩個(gè)不同的比賽項(xiàng)目：體育場(chǎng)內(nèi)賽，也就是距離最短的賽跑——200碼短距離賽跑，以及五項(xiàng)全能。

教練和我計(jì)劃乘船去奧林匹亞。出發(fā)之際，鎮(zhèn)里的人們都為我們以及其他前去參賽的年輕人感到激動(dòng)不已。我們都想為科林斯贏得比賽，為我們的城市帶來(lái)榮耀。

一路風(fēng)塵，我們終于到達(dá)了奧林匹亞，這真是一個(gè)美麗的地方。在比賽前，賽跑選手們要負(fù)責(zé)“清理跑道”。我們必須拔掉跑道上長(zhǎng)滿(mǎn)的雜草，再用沙子填滿(mǎn)跑道。我抵達(dá)奧林匹亞的時(shí)間很早，所以在完成這些準(zhǔn)備工作之后，我還有一個(gè)月的時(shí)間跟著我的教練進(jìn)行訓(xùn)練。

夢(mèng)想成真

很快就到了賽前的最后一天。實(shí)際的比賽會(huì)持續(xù)兩天。體育館內(nèi)200碼短跑是明天一早的第一項(xiàng)賽事。比賽那天，我早早醒來(lái)，醒之前我做了一個(gè)特別棒的夢(mèng)。我夢(mèng)見(jiàn)兩只腳著火了，這對(duì)賽跑選手而言是個(gè)好兆頭，預(yù)示著我會(huì)跑得“像熱磚上的貓”一樣快。

賽前準(zhǔn)備時(shí)，我做了做四肢伸展運(yùn)動(dòng)，然后脫掉身上的托加袍，把全身涂滿(mǎn)油，這是所有參賽者都要進(jìn)行的一個(gè)儀式。

來(lái)到露天運(yùn)動(dòng)場(chǎng)，我看到所有觀眾都在大聲歡呼。隨后，我同其他20名賽跑選手一起被安排在起跑線(xiàn)上。所有選手做好起跑姿勢(shì)，我們都非常緊張，因?yàn)榇蠹抑罁屌苷邔⑹艿奖摅椎奶幜P。

三……二……一！我們沖出了起跑線(xiàn)！

……

After arriving at the stadium and gazing at all of the cheering spectators， I was set up at the starting line with the other twenty competitors. Assuming starting position， we were all tense， aware that anyone who started early was punished with a flogging16).

Three...two...one! We were off!

....

Did I win?

Yes! I was an Olympic Champion!

The crowd cheered and I was given olive crown on my head. I graciously17) received the applause of the audience. I still wanted to prove my all around strength in the pentathlon the next day.

我贏了嗎？

當(dāng)然！我成為了奧運(yùn)冠軍！

人群歡呼起來(lái)，為我戴上橄欖枝編就的桂冠。我有禮貌地接受了觀眾的掌聲和喝彩。我還想在第二天的五項(xiàng)全能賽中證明我的綜合實(shí)力。

又一次，我輕松地贏得跑步和跳遠(yuǎn)比賽。接下來(lái)的鐵餅和標(biāo)槍是我練習(xí)得不夠多的兩個(gè)項(xiàng)目，但我還是拼盡全力奪得了標(biāo)槍的第一名、鐵餅的第二名。最后一項(xiàng)比賽是摔跤，這一項(xiàng)最為艱巨。我環(huán)顧四周，看了看我的對(duì)手們，他們當(dāng)中有些人比我塊頭大很多，但是我絕不會(huì)因此而退縮。我表現(xiàn)出自信，利用自身的敏捷優(yōu)勢(shì)打敗了體格比我大的對(duì)手，結(jié)果我贏啦！

我欣喜若狂，因?yàn)閹缀鯊臎](méi)聽(tīng)說(shuō)過(guò)哪個(gè)運(yùn)動(dòng)員能同時(shí)贏得兩項(xiàng)賽事。

那天晚上，當(dāng)所有觀眾都離開(kāi)之后，慶祝開(kāi)始了，所有獲勝者都很光榮地參加了一個(gè)大型宴會(huì)。我靠在椅子上，全身心地放松。我品嘗著美酒佳肴，沉醉在音樂(lè)之中，直至凌晨。

接下來(lái)的那天，教練和我收拾好行裝，乘船直接回科林斯。雖然美麗的奧林匹亞讓人戀戀不舍，但是我急切地想回到家鄉(xiāng)。我到家之后，鎮(zhèn)民們?yōu)槲遗e行了一場(chǎng)盛大的游行。

Again， I easily won the running and jumping events. Next were discus and javelin. I had not practiced as much in these events， yet I managed to place first in the javelin and second in the discus. The final event was wrestling， which was the roughest one. I looked around at my competitors and some of them were much larger than me， but I would not let that stop me. I showed the confidence and used my quickness to defeat my larger opponents and I won!

I was overjoyed20) because it was almost unheard of for an athlete to win in two events.

That night， after all of the spectators had left， the celebration started. All of the victors were honored in a large feast. I sat back and relaxed. I enjoyed tasty foods， wine， and music until the early morning.

The next day， my trainer and I packed up to sail directly back to Corinth. Leaving beautiful Olympia was hard， but I was eager to return home. When I arrived， the townspeople had a large parade for me.

Olympic Dream Will Continue

This was the only Olympic competition that I participated in. I retired after this with all of the prize money and fame I had earned. Even though my competing days were over， the tradition continued in our family.

So the sun set on21) another Olympic legend....

奧運(yùn)夢(mèng)想永不滅

這是我參加的唯一一次奧林匹克競(jìng)賽。此后，我便帶著已經(jīng)獲得的全部獎(jiǎng)金和名譽(yù)退出了體壇。盡管我馳騁賽場(chǎng)的歲月已經(jīng)結(jié)束，但是拼搏奧運(yùn)賽場(chǎng)的傳統(tǒng)會(huì)在我們家族延續(xù)。

明天的太陽(yáng)將迎來(lái)另一個(gè)奧林匹克傳奇……

How Were the Athletes Trained? 古代運(yùn)動(dòng)員是如何進(jìn)行訓(xùn)練的?

Athletics were a key part of education in ancient Greece. Many Greeks believed that developing the body was as important as improving the mind for overall (全面的) health. Also， regular exercise was important in a society where men were always needed for military service. Greek youth therefore worked out (訓(xùn)練) in wrestling school whether they were Olympic contenders (冠軍爭(zhēng)奪者) or not.

Athletic trainers used long sticks to point out incorrect body positions and other faults， and paid close attention to balancing the types of physical exercise and the athlete's diet. The Greeks also thought that harmonious (協(xié)調(diào)的) movement was very important， so athletes often exercised to flute music.

Why Were the Ancient Olympic Games Held at Olympia?

古代奧運(yùn)會(huì)為什么要在

奧林匹亞舉行？

Olympia was one of the oldest religious centers in the ancient Greek world. Since athletic contests were one way that the ancient Greeks honored their gods， it was logical to hold a recurring (反復(fù)的) athletic competition at the site of a major temple.

Also， Olympia is convenient (便利的) geographically to reach by ship， which was a major concern (重要的事物) for the Greeks. Athletes and spectators traveled from Greek colonies as far away as modern-day (現(xiàn)代的) Spain， the Black Sea， or Egypt.