今天的這段對話,在討論賽艇比賽,
牛津與劍橋的賽艇比賽哪所大學(xué)嬴的次數(shù)比較多?女性可以參加比賽嗎
來聽今天的講解:
A: Hi, Jane! Have you heard that the boat race this year is scheduled to start on Saturday, 3 April at 4:30pm?
嗨,吉米!你聽說了嗎?今年的賽艇在4月3日星期六下午4:30舉行。
B: Yes, of course. I learned of the race yesterday on TV.
當(dāng)然啦,我昨天從電視上知道的。
A: I plan to go and have a look, would you like to come with me?
我打算去看看,你愿意和我一起去嗎?
B: No,thanks. I'll watch that on TV.
不了,謝謝。我還是看電視吧。
A: But don't you think that it will be more exciting if we go the spot? You know, I've never been to the spot before. Have you?
但是你不認(rèn)為如果去現(xiàn)場看的話會(huì)更有趣嗎?我還從來沒去過呢。你呢?
B: I went to the spot last year with Harry.
我去年和哈利一起去過。
A: You must have spent a very wonderful time there.
你們在那里肯定玩得很開心吧。
B: Yes. I do think it is more excting than watching it on TV. Large crowds of people join together just to enjoy the same event.
是啊。在那里看確實(shí)比在電視上看要過癮。你想,那么多的人聚集在一起就只是為了看一個(gè)比賽。
A: It must be fun. I will go this Saturday.
肯定很有趣,我這周六一定要去。
B: Get there earlier and find a vantage point in advance. When we arrived 2 hours before the competition start last year, there were so many people there already that we could not get to a good point to view the race. At first, I saw nothing but the backs of other people.
你要去早一點(diǎn),占個(gè)好位置。去車,我們提前兩小時(shí)到達(dá)的時(shí)候,那兒已經(jīng)有好多人了,根本就找不到一個(gè)觀看的好地方。剛開始的時(shí)候,我只能看到別人的后背。
A: That's awful, I’ll be there as early as possible. So what happened to you next, did you find a better spot?
那樣的話就太糟糕了。我會(huì)盡早過去的。你們后來怎么樣,找到好一點(diǎn)的地方了嗎?
B: Yes. Harry and I tried our best to find a better spot amid the crowds. Wasn't good enough but better.
嗯,找到了。我們在人群中擠來擠去,費(fèi)了很大力氣。那地方還是不夠好,不過比原來的好。
A: I see. I heard that this is the 155th race between the two. I cannot believe that it has such a long history.
我知道了。聽說這是兩所大學(xué)第155次比賽?真不敢相信這個(gè)賽艇有這么長的歷史。
B: You're wrong. It is the 156th race! Do you know which university won more times than the other?
你錯(cuò)了,這是第156次!你知道哪所大學(xué)嬴的次數(shù)比較多嗎?
A: I have no idea who won more, but I guess it might be Oxford. They were really good last year. I saw their victory on TV.
我不知道??赡苁桥=虬?,他們?nèi)ツ甑谋憩F(xiàn)真的很棒,我從電視上都看到了。
B: Actually the answer is Cambridge. It won 79 times, 4 times more than Oxford.
實(shí)際上,劍橋臝的次數(shù)比較多。劍橋嬴了 79次,比牛津要多4次。
A: Wow, they are almost neck and neck. I'm wondering who will be the winner this time. Is there any dead-heat?
哇,他們還真是不相上下。我在想,誰會(huì)是這屆比賽的嬴家呢。對了,他們有沒有打過平手?
B: Yes, ever since the race initiated in 1829,there was one dead-heat in 1877.
有啊。從1829年這個(gè)比賽開始以來,只在1877年出現(xiàn)過一次平局。
A: Can women join the crew?
女性可以參加比賽嗎?
B: Yes,women first took part in the competition in 1981 when Sue Brown served as the wheelwoman of Oxford. Oxford won that time. In 1989, both teams had women as their wheelwoman, and Oxford won again.
可以。在1981年首次出現(xiàn)了女性參加比賽,那年蘇布朗擔(dān)任牛津隊(duì)的舵手,牛津嬴了。而1989年,兩個(gè)隊(duì)都由女性擔(dān)任舵手,還是牛津贏。
A: Cambridge must be very upset.
劍橋肯定很傷心。
B: It doesn't matter since Cambridge won more times than Oxford in total.
不過沒關(guān)系,總數(shù)上,劍橋還是暫時(shí)領(lǐng)先的。
A: Are the Boat Race crews up to the standard of international crews?
賽艇隊(duì)的成員們是不是已經(jīng)達(dá)到國際比賽運(yùn)動(dòng)員水淮了?
B:It is difficult to judge, since the Boat Race crews train for a long-distance race early in the season, so their training schedule is quite different for crews training for international regattas.
這很難說。參加賽艇的選手,在賽季之前就開始了長距離的賽艇訓(xùn)練,而國際賽舟會(huì)選手的訓(xùn)練計(jì)劃和他們的很不一樣。
A: I see from the TV that the course follows an S shape. How long is the course?
我從電視上看到,賽道呈S形,它到底有多長?
B: The course is 4 miles from Putney to Mortlake, passing Hammersmith and Barnes; it is sometimes referred to as the Championship Course, and follows an S shape, east to west. The start and finish are marked by the University Boat Race Stones on the south bank.
賽道從普特尼到莫特湖大約有4英里,經(jīng)過漢默斯密和巴爾內(nèi)斯。有時(shí)人們稱它為冠軍河道,從東到西呈S。起始點(diǎn)的南岸都有大學(xué)賽艇的標(biāo)志。
A: Well, thanks for your information.
好,謝謝你提供的信息。