网球传统-体坛风云-休闲英语-轻松英语-洪恩在线

Tennis' heritage was its pride and curse I

Serena Williams in the match Everything about tennis, except its essential rules, has changed from the way it was played 100 years ago, when balls, clothes, players and spectators all were white. Andre Agassi's baggy shorts and Serena Williams' bright, skintight halter tops are the latest fashion, far cries from the days when decorum[1] demanded pleated white trousers and ankle-length dresses.

Women routinely serve at 110 mph, rather than merely plopping[2] the ball in safely with spin. Pete Sampras serves more aces[3] in a match than turn-of-the-century players did in a season.

Middle class professionals, not upper class amateurs, rule the courts, and hundreds of thousands of dollars, not merely silver cups and platters, are at stake[4] at the majors.

The Grand Slam events, once small, provincial affairs, now boast multiple stadiums and draw tens of thousands of fans each day, along with worldwide television audiences and millions in corporate sponsorships[5].

注释：

1．Decorum：
礼貌；高雅的举止；得体的行为。

2．plop：
象声词，是"扑通"一声落下的意思。

3．Ace：
发球得分。

4．at stake：
濒临危险；得失攸关。

5．Sponsorships：
赞助者的地位，任务等。

Rackets are bigger, lighter and stronger, crafted from space-age composites rather than wood. The once ubiquitous[6] racket press, with its nuts and bolts and washers in four corners to keep wooden rackets from warping, is a curiosity found only in antique shops. Optic yellow balls made white ones obsolete 30 years ago.

Even the lawn in "lawn tennis" has disappeared, except for Wimbledon and a few other events, replaced by hardcourts and clay.

Although a few wrinkles in the rules have come along, most notably the tiebreaker, tennis still has the same quaint scoring -- love, 15, 30, 40, deuce, advantage. The dimensions of the court and the height of the net haven't budged. Faults and double-faults bedevil[7] players today as they always have.

Cyclops[8], the electronic eye, guards the service lines at the bigger tournaments, but linesmen still squat in every corner of the court and matches still are called by the umpires perched high in their chairs.

The pride of tennis, and its curse, through the century has been its heritage as a sport of the upper crust.

6．Ubiquitous：
无所不在的，普遍存在的。

7．Bedevil：
虐待，使苦恼，使痛苦

8．Cyclops：
古希腊神话中的独眼巨人。

网球运动的传统－－是标榜还是叛逆　《一》

Agassi in tje match 网球运动，除了基本规则以外，100年间变化巨大。在100多年前，网球是白色的，球员和观众也身着白衣；笔挺的裤子和垂至脚踝的长裙意味着优雅得体。但是，安得烈·阿加西的松垂的短裤和和瑟林娜·威廉姆斯明快的紧身吊带网球裙却与这一传统背道而驰。

　　当今，女子球员通常可以发出时速为110公里的球，而不是仅仅象以前那样只能发出慢吞吞的下手旋转弧线球。皮特·桑普拉斯在一场比赛里发出的ACE球比20世纪初的球员们在一个赛季里发出的还要多。

　　统治球场并不是上流社会的业余爱好者，而是中产阶级的职业球员。因而，他们不仅仅是赢得了银杯和奖盘，而且在大赛上也获得了大笔奖金。

　　曾为小型地方比赛的大满贯赛事，现在则在各种大型运动场地举行，每天吸引了成千万的球迷来观看，同时世界各地的人们通过电视来收看，因此有许多公司还出巨资赞助比赛。

　　现在球拍比过去更大，更轻，更坚固，以太空时代材料而非木材精工制作而成。过去见的那种为了避免球拍变弯，四角都用镙栓、镙帽和垫圈固定的木制球拍夹子，现在只有在古董店里才能见得到了。更醒目的黄色网球在30年前就取代了白色网球。

　　甚至草地网球场上的草坪也消失了，除了温布尔登等几个赛场仍使用草场外，其余的已被硬场地和土场地所取代了。

　　尽管网球的规则有了一些变动，最明显的是在平局加赛中，然而网球运动仍然沿用那奇有趣的记分方式--0，15，30，40，平分，占先。球场尺寸和球网高度维持不变。发球失误和连续失误制至今还使一些球员感到头疼。

　　虽然电子眼在大型的赛事中被用来监视发球线，但是巡边员在比赛中仍然要蹲在球场每一个角落里，主裁判员还是坐在高高的椅子上用喊声发出指令。

　　传统上，网球是上流社会和贵族阶级的运动，这一点是它的骄傲，但也使它受到拖累，这种情形持续了整整一个世纪。

（待续）