回到體操賽館，力爭更多金牌

Gymnastics incorporates a wide range of exercises where sport and art seem perfectly combined. As one of the oldest sports on show this summer， gymnastics has been an integral part of the Olympic programme ever since the modern Games began. Gymnasts require extreme levels of strength and agility， be it in artistic gymnastics， where apparatus is required， or in the lesser-known rhythmic and trampoline events. In all of these disciplines， China is a leading competitor on the world stage. Now everyone is hoping the Chinese team can live up to their potential.

體操是將體育和藝術(shù)完美結(jié)合的一系列比賽項(xiàng)目。作為將在今年夏天上演的最古老的體育項(xiàng)目之一，體操自現(xiàn)代奧運(yùn)會(huì)起就是比賽中必不可缺的一部分。體操對力量與靈巧都有極高的要求，特別是在藝術(shù)體操，要使用一些器材，或者是少數(shù)人知道的韻律操和蹦床項(xiàng)目中都需要這樣的要求。在所有這些項(xiàng)目中，中國都位于世界前列?，F(xiàn)在所有人都希望中國隊(duì)能夠?qū)撃苻D(zhuǎn)化為現(xiàn)實(shí)。

The sport of gymnastics actually began back to ancient Greece， where competitions were held for young men to demonstrate their agility and aptitude for battle. Early events such as club-swinging and rope-climbing may now be a thing of the past， but the principle of pushing the human body to its limits remains the same. The men's and women's competitions incorporate a wide-range of exercises， spread across individual and team events. These are scored by judges who assess both the difficulty of the every routine and the precision with which it is executed.

事實(shí)上，體操運(yùn)動(dòng)還要追溯到古希臘，年輕的男子在戰(zhàn)斗中展現(xiàn)他們的靈巧與智慧，從而產(chǎn)生了這項(xiàng)競賽。早期項(xiàng)目如棍棒操和繩操可能已經(jīng)成為過去，但是把人類的身體發(fā)揮到極限的理念依然延續(xù)至今。男子和女子體操比賽由許多項(xiàng)目組成，包括個(gè)人賽和團(tuán)體賽。比賽由評委們根據(jù)動(dòng)作編排的難易度和完成的準(zhǔn)確性打分。

What separates gymnastics from other sporting competitions at the Olympics is the variety of events on offer. At one moment， you will be watching a gymnast tackle the vault， where he or she sprints up to a springboard and launches their body high into the air， spinning and twisting before landing perfectly on the other side.In contrast to this， others specialize in the rings， where gymnasts rotate their bodies like windmills， or perform complex routines on a narrow balance beam， where somersaults are executed with frightening accuracy. Such variety guarantees the gymnastics competition will forever remain one of the highlights of any Olympic programme.

體操比賽區(qū)別于其他奧運(yùn)比賽是因?yàn)樗捻?xiàng)目實(shí)在很多。一會(huì)兒你可能要觀看體操選手騰空翻越跳馬，運(yùn)動(dòng)員加速踏上跳板而高高躍起，在空中翻轉(zhuǎn)騰挪，直到完美地落到對面的場地上。與之形成對照的是，其他人則正在進(jìn)行吊環(huán)比賽，選手像風(fēng)車般轉(zhuǎn)動(dòng)身體，或者在狹窄的平衡木上完成一套復(fù)雜的動(dòng)作，以令人窒息的精準(zhǔn)翻跟斗。各種各樣的項(xiàng)目使得體操一直是所有奧運(yùn)比賽中最受人關(guān)注的比賽之一。

Rhythmic gymnastics， although less publicized than its artistic cousin， is perhaps an even greater spectacle. In these events， gymnasts use balls， ribbons or rope to delight the crowds. A typically astonishing routine would see a female gymnast launching a ball high into the air， spinning and contorting her body as it drops to the ground， before catching it in the curve of her neck. Such displays need to be seen to be believed. Add to this the exhilarating performances on show in the trampoline events， where competitors leap fearlessly towards the ceiling in highly complex routines， it is hardly surprising everyone is getting so excited about the upcoming gymnastics competition in Beijing.

藝術(shù)體操盡管沒有體操那么為人知曉，卻可能呈現(xiàn)更壯觀的景象。在這些項(xiàng)目中，選手使用球，帶子或繩子進(jìn)行表演來取悅觀眾。一個(gè)十分典型的動(dòng)作就是女選手將球高高拋到空中，旋轉(zhuǎn)并俯身到地上，在球掉落之前用彎曲的頸部將球接住。這些表演恐怕只有親眼所見才會(huì)相信。蹦床比賽也會(huì)有精彩紛呈的表演，選手無所畏懼地躍向在最高并完成極為復(fù)雜的動(dòng)作，難怪每個(gè)人對即將到來的北京奧運(yùn)會(huì)的體操比賽都如此興奮。

China has more reason than most to be looking forward to the gymnastics events， especially given the progress made by the Chinese team over the past eight years. The Sydney Olympics in 2000 saw the gymnastics squad take home an impressive five medals， including three golds， a silver and a bronze. Although the Games in Athens yielded fewer medals， the competition was widely seen as a way of preparing for this year's Olympics on home soil. Such a claim was supported by the performances of the Chinese gymnasts at the Asian Games， held in Doha in 2006. China came top of the medals table， their gymnasts picking up an incredible 11 gold medals to erase any feelings of doubt surrounding their ability before Beijing. Another encouraging sign was the four golds won by the exceptional Yang Wei， who became the first man to retain the world title in 81 years， and he certainly looks set to continue such dominance in the upcoming Olympics.

中國更有理由期待體操比賽，特別是想到中國體操隊(duì)在過去八年來所取得的進(jìn)步。2000年悉尼奧運(yùn)會(huì)上中國體操隊(duì)地帶回了五枚獎(jiǎng)牌，令人印象深刻。其中有三枚金牌，一枚銀牌和一枚銅牌。盡管在雅典奧運(yùn)會(huì)上獲得的獎(jiǎng)牌數(shù)量減少了，但是那次比賽被認(rèn)為是他們?yōu)榻衲瓯就僚e行的奧運(yùn)會(huì)所做的準(zhǔn)備。2006年多哈亞運(yùn)會(huì)上，中國體操選手用他們的行動(dòng)證明了這一點(diǎn)。中國隊(duì)在那次比賽的獎(jiǎng)牌榜上獨(dú)占鰲頭，令人難以置信地摘走了11枚金牌，打消了所有人在北京奧運(yùn)會(huì)前對于他們能力的質(zhì)疑。另一個(gè)振奮人心的消息是楊威一人包攬了四枚金牌，成為81年來第一位衛(wèi)冕世界冠軍的選手，他當(dāng)然準(zhǔn)備在接下來的北京奧運(yùn)會(huì)上再次奪冠。

The recent \"Good Luck Beijing\" Gymnastics International Invitational offered still further proof that China is ready to challenge for honors in artistic gymnastics this year. China claimed nine of the twelve gold medals on offer. Veteran gymnast Lu Bin， 28， returned from injury to claim four， whilst Cheng Fei took gold in the floor， vault and beam events. Jiang Yuyuan， at only fifteen years old， also secured the women's all-round title， whilst Liang Mingsheng claimed gold in the parallel bars. Such success should not be taken lightly， and signalled a warning to the rest of the gymnastics world that China is ready for the summer.

中國在最近的“好運(yùn)北京”國際體操邀請賽上的表現(xiàn)，更是他們要在今年奧運(yùn)會(huì)上向榮譽(yù)發(fā)起挑戰(zhàn)的證明。中國隊(duì)包攬了所有12枚金牌中的9枚。其中傷愈復(fù)出的28歲的老將陸斌獲得了四枚，而程菲獲得了自由操、跳馬和平衡木的金牌。年僅十五歲的江鈺源獲得女子全能的冠軍，而梁明聲獲得了雙杠項(xiàng)目的金牌。取得這些成功并非輕而易舉，這代表中國體操隊(duì)向世界其它選手發(fā)出宣告：他們已經(jīng)為今夏做好了準(zhǔn)備。

Artistic gymnastics is certainly China's strongest hope for sustained gold medal success in this year's competition， but there is also reason for optimism in the rhythmic and trampolining events， which have only appeared on the Olympic programme in the past 20 or so years.Russia is surely the firm favorite for gold in rhythmic gymnastics， but the Chinese team have been challenging for honors in a string of recent international events. Similarly， in the individual competition， Yiming Xiao has an outside chance of a medal， and no doubt the Chinese rhythmic gymnasts have been keeping something back for the Olympics. The trampolining team also looks very strong this summer. Huang Shanshan， joined by compatriot Zhong Xingping， is one of a host of talented jumpers in the Chinese squad， and she will be looking to improve on the bronze she won Athens. In the men's competition， Dong Dong， Lu Chunlong and Ye Shuai will all be challenging for gold， with confidence high after solid performances at the recent World Championships. The home crowd has so much to look forward to this summer， with Chinese medal contenders appearing at every turn.

中國隊(duì)很有可能在今年的奧運(yùn)會(huì)上繼續(xù)在體操項(xiàng)目上奪得金牌，而在藝術(shù)體操和蹦床項(xiàng)目上中國隊(duì)也很有希望，這兩個(gè)項(xiàng)目剛剛在奧運(yùn)會(huì)上出現(xiàn)20年左右。俄羅斯自然是藝術(shù)體操比賽的奪標(biāo)熱門，但是中國隊(duì)在近來的國際比賽中正向榮譽(yù)發(fā)起挑戰(zhàn)。在個(gè)人賽中，肖一鳴與獎(jiǎng)牌差之毫厘，無疑這位中國藝術(shù)體操選手希望在奧運(yùn)會(huì)上有所收獲。中國蹦床隊(duì)看上去也十分強(qiáng)大。黃珊汕是中國隊(duì)眾多天才選手中的一位，她將與同胞鐘杏平一起爭取在雅典獲得銅牌的基礎(chǔ)上更進(jìn)一步。在男子方面，董棟，陸春龍和葉帥將爭奪金牌，在世錦賽上的出色表現(xiàn)讓他們充滿信心。中國體操隊(duì)的選手準(zhǔn)備在各個(gè)項(xiàng)目上爭奪獎(jiǎng)牌，主場的觀眾將在今夏有如此多的期待。

China's gymnasts are right up there with the best in the world， so much so that the iconic Nadia Comaneci recently predicted the Chinese men’s team would be unbeaten in Beijing. She also tipped Yang Wei， arguably the leading gymnast of the moment， to dominate his exercises and lead the team to gold. Comaneci， as the first gymnast ever to achieve the perfect score of 10.00 at the Montreal games， certainly knows what she is talking about. Ona recent visit to China， she was full of praise for the Chinese team as a whole， and is the latest in a long line of experts backing them to perform admirably in Beijing. Time will tell how many gold medals can be won， but one thing is for sure: the Chinese gymnasts look set to enjoy a fantastic Olympics.

中國體操選手目前處在世界最頂尖的位置，羅馬尼亞的體操標(biāo)志性人物娜迪亞#8226;科馬內(nèi)奇最近預(yù)測中國男隊(duì)是不可戰(zhàn)勝的。她也提到了楊威，目前無可爭議的最優(yōu)秀的體操選手，他將繼續(xù)其統(tǒng)治力的表現(xiàn)率領(lǐng)中國隊(duì)奪金?？岂R內(nèi)奇是在蒙特利爾大賽上成為了史上第一位得到滿分10.0分的體操選手，她當(dāng)然清楚該如何做出正確的評價(jià)。在最近一次來訪中國的時(shí)候，她對整支中國隊(duì)進(jìn)行了高度的贊許，也是看好中國隊(duì)在北京表現(xiàn)的一群專家中最近的一位。時(shí)間會(huì)告訴我們中國隊(duì)會(huì)獲得的多少金牌，但是可以肯定的是，中國體操隊(duì)已經(jīng)準(zhǔn)備好享受這次奧運(yùn)盛宴。

True or False

1. Artistic gymnastics has only been added to the Olympic programme in the last twenty years.

2. Gymnastics was orginally used to show off a man's fighting ability.

3. Club-swinging will be one of the events at this year's Olympics.

4. The vault， springboard and windmill are all types of apparatus used in gymnastics.

5. China's gymnasts performed brilliantly at the Asian Games in Doha.

6. The USA looks set to claim the rhythmic gymnastics title.

7. Yiming Xiao is expected to win gold in rhythmic gymnastics.

8. Huang Shanshan has won an Olympic medal before.

9. Nadia Comaneci did something no other gymnast had achieved before her.

10. Comaneci does not think China's gymnasts will do well at this year's Olympics.