2024年3月18日发(作者：蓝清妙)
Blowing the whistle on soccer
揭足球的短
1 A French friend of mine got a big laugh at a dinner party recently with his
account of the game of baseball: "Seven guys stand around in a field doing
nothing while two of their teammates throw the ball back and forth."
我的一位法国朋友在最近的一次晚宴上说起棒球时哈哈大笑：“当两个队友在场上来
回投球时，另外七个小伙子在边上站着无事可做。”
2 I understand – it's hard to get excited about a foreign sport if you didn't
grow up with it. Now I'm colliding with this same cultural barrier. The World Cup
soccer tournament begins on June 9 and I will have no clue what's going on out
there on the "pitch". It seems a good time to blow the whistle on the so-called
beautiful game.
我知道，如果一个人不是从小就接触某项外来的运动，他就很难对它感兴趣。现在我
正遭遇同样的文化壁垒。6月9号世界杯足球赛就要开始了，而我对球员在“球场”上干
些什么却一无所知。看起来这是给这个所谓的精彩赛事揭短的一次大好机会。
3 I have been watching soccer for years and all I can see on the field is 22
grown men in shorts running around madly trying to kick the ball and tripping
over each other. I guess the object is to get the ball into the net (also known as the
goal), but if it ever gets close it looks like an accident.
我看足球也有好几年了，我所看到的就是22个穿着短裤的成年人在场上疯狂地奔跑，
力争踢到球，互相绊倒对方。我猜想他们的目的是要把球踢进网里（也叫球门），可是，如
果不是碰巧的话， 球是很难靠近球门的。
4 What we have here, it would seem, is a game of chance.
看起来，我们现在谈论的是一项靠运气取胜的运动。
5 For an hour and a half, the field is a scene of sheer chaos as the ball sails back
and forth and the fans hum some mournful tune reminiscent of "The Slaves'
Chorus" from Nabucco. Neither team seems to be in control.
整整一个半小时，球场上一片混乱：球飞来飞去，球迷们在哼着一首悲伤的曲子，让
人想起《纳布卡》里的“奴隶合唱团”。双方队员好像都失控了。
6 The scoring system says it all. Most finals are 0-0, 1-0 or 2-1, indicating that
games tend to be stand-offs and it's a matter of luck to be ahead when time runs
out. To put a good face on it, they call this tension or suspense.
记分法说明了一切：多数球赛都是以0–0、1–0或2–1结束，这意味着球赛结果倾向
于平局，如果比赛结束时一方胜出了，那只是因为他们运气好。为了粉饰这种现象，他们
称这样的比赛为“激烈”或“有悬念”。
2024年3月18日发(作者：蓝清妙)
Blowing the whistle on soccer
揭足球的短
1 A French friend of mine got a big laugh at a dinner party recently with his
account of the game of baseball: "Seven guys stand around in a field doing
nothing while two of their teammates throw the ball back and forth."
我的一位法国朋友在最近的一次晚宴上说起棒球时哈哈大笑：“当两个队友在场上来
回投球时，另外七个小伙子在边上站着无事可做。”
2 I understand – it's hard to get excited about a foreign sport if you didn't
grow up with it. Now I'm colliding with this same cultural barrier. The World Cup
soccer tournament begins on June 9 and I will have no clue what's going on out
there on the "pitch". It seems a good time to blow the whistle on the so-called
beautiful game.
我知道，如果一个人不是从小就接触某项外来的运动，他就很难对它感兴趣。现在我
正遭遇同样的文化壁垒。6月9号世界杯足球赛就要开始了，而我对球员在“球场”上干
些什么却一无所知。看起来这是给这个所谓的精彩赛事揭短的一次大好机会。
3 I have been watching soccer for years and all I can see on the field is 22
grown men in shorts running around madly trying to kick the ball and tripping
over each other. I guess the object is to get the ball into the net (also known as the
goal), but if it ever gets close it looks like an accident.
我看足球也有好几年了，我所看到的就是22个穿着短裤的成年人在场上疯狂地奔跑，
力争踢到球，互相绊倒对方。我猜想他们的目的是要把球踢进网里（也叫球门），可是，如
果不是碰巧的话， 球是很难靠近球门的。
4 What we have here, it would seem, is a game of chance.
看起来，我们现在谈论的是一项靠运气取胜的运动。
5 For an hour and a half, the field is a scene of sheer chaos as the ball sails back
and forth and the fans hum some mournful tune reminiscent of "The Slaves'
Chorus" from Nabucco. Neither team seems to be in control.
整整一个半小时，球场上一片混乱：球飞来飞去，球迷们在哼着一首悲伤的曲子，让
人想起《纳布卡》里的“奴隶合唱团”。双方队员好像都失控了。
6 The scoring system says it all. Most finals are 0-0, 1-0 or 2-1, indicating that
games tend to be stand-offs and it's a matter of luck to be ahead when time runs
out. To put a good face on it, they call this tension or suspense.
记分法说明了一切：多数球赛都是以0–0、1–0或2–1结束，这意味着球赛结果倾向
于平局，如果比赛结束时一方胜出了，那只是因为他们运气好。为了粉饰这种现象，他们
称这样的比赛为“激烈”或“有悬念”。