英客在线体育英语马拉松的历史.doc

体育英语之马拉松的历史 The modern Athens Marathon commemorates the run of the soldier Pheidippides from a battlefieJd at the site of the town of Marathon, Greece, to Athens in 490 B.C.,bringing news of a Greek victory over the Persians. Legend has it that Pheidippides delivered the momentous message “Niki!”（“victory”)，then collapsed and died, thereby setting a precedent for dramatic conclusions to the marathon.现代雅典马拉松是为了纪念公元前490年一位名叫费迪皮迪兹的士兵从希腊马拉松镇的战场带着希腊人击败了波斯人的消息一直跑到了雅典。传说费迪皮迪兹说完“胜利”两个字之后倒地而亡，从此为马拉松戏剧性的结尾开创了先例。When the modern Olympic Games were inaugurated in 1896 in Greece, the legend of Pheidippides was revived by a 24.85-mile (40 000 meters) run from Marathon Bridge to Olympic stadium in Athens. Traditionally as the final event in the Olympics, the first organized marathon on April 10，1896 was especially important to all Greeks. Greece was hosting the first modern Olympic Games. The Greeks had yet to win a medal, and had one final chance to bring glory to their nation. Twenty-five runners assembled on Marathon Bridge. The starter mumbled a few words and fired the gun, and the race was on. The excitement of the crowd waiting at the finish line at the newly constructed replica of Athens ancient stadium was beyond description. Spiridon Louis, a Greek postal worker crossed the finish line a full seven minutes ahead of the pack. He used 2 hours, 58 minutes, and 50 seconds for the 40 kilometer distance (average pace of 7:11 minutes per mile). When it was all over, nine runners finished the run, and 8 of them Greeks. The host nation was ecstatic, and the marathon was born.现代的奥运会于1896在希腊举行开幕时，从马拉松桥到雅典奥林匹克体育馆的24.85英里的赛跑，又使费迪皮迪兹的传说得以复活。传统上，奥林匹克比赛中最后一项是马拉松，而它对于1896年4月10日第一次举行马拉松比赛的希腊人尤为重要。希腊人主持的是第一届奥林匹克运动会，而且希腊人还必须获得-块奖牌，才有最后一次为国家贏得荣誉的机会。25名跑赛者聚集在马拉松桥上。发令员咕哝了几句话后就鸣枪示意比赛开始。在按原样新建的雅典体育馆的终点线等待的人群兴高采烈，简直无法用语言形容。一位邮政工人斯比里东?路易斯比其他选手提前整整七分钟到达终点。他用了2小时58分50秒跑完了 40公 里的距离(平均每英里用了7分11秒)。当全部比赛结束时，共有9名选手跑完了全程，其中8名是希腊人。主办国欣喜若狂，由此马拉松比赛诞生了。The United States was one of 9 nations at the 1896 Athens Olympics, thanks to sponsorship of athletes bythe Boston Athletic Association. Middle distance runner Arthur Blake was the only American to enter the first marathon. Planning for North Americas first marathon began on the boat back to the United States. The first annual Boston Athletic Association marathon was conducted on April 19，1897，the date chosen to commemorate the famous ride of Paul Revere in 1775.在1896年雅典奥林匹克比赛上，由于波士顿田径协会是运动会的赞助者，美国成为参赛的9个国家之一。中距离跑选手阿瑟?布莱克是进入首次马拉松比赛唯一的美国人。北美第一次马拉松比赛的计划是在返回美国的船上开始酝酿的。第一届波士顿田径协会马拉松赛于1897年4月19日举行。选择这个日期是为了纪念1775年保罗?瑞威尔骑马报信的著名举动。At the 1908 Olympic Games in London, the marathon distance was changed to 26 miles to cover the ground from Windsor Castle to White City stadium, with 385 yards added on so the race could finish in front of the royal familys viewing box. This was the origin of the marathon tradition of shouting “God save the Queen!”. After 16 years of extremely heated discussion, this 26.2-mile distance was established at the 1924 Olympics in Paris as the official marathon distance.在1908年伦敦奥运会上，马拉松距离被改为26英里，从温莎城堡