外刊逐句精读|《经济学人》:制霸冬奥会的秘诀是什么?|CATTI一级译员外...

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思考题
- 感受每一段的论证
- 有哪些冬奥会相关表达?
The secret to Winter Olympic success: cold or hard cash
在冬奥会取得成功的秘诀:寒冷或金钱
- hard cash n. [英]现金(纸币/硬币)
=cold cash[美]
之所以将现金叫做hard/cold cash,是因为在几百年前的欧洲,更常见的货币是各种金属制成的货币,发展至今,hard cash就成了与银行卡、支票等支付方式等相对的现金
hard currency n. 硬通货
指政治经济比较稳定的国家或地区所发行的货币,如美元、欧元,与其相对的概念就是soft currency(软通货)
Money helps countries with warmer climes excel
资金帮助气候比较温暖的国家取得好成绩
- clime n. 有某种气候的地区(常以复数形式出现)
- excel v. 擅长、善于
excel in/at sth./doing sth. 擅长做某事
Sofia Goggia’s hometown of Bergamo, Italy, gets an average of just 7 centimetres of snow a year. The average temperature is 12°C.
Sofia Goggia 的家乡意大利贝尔加莫,平均每年的降雪量仅为 7 厘米,平均温度为12°C。
- Bergamo n. 贝尔加莫(意大利北部城市,位于米兰东北部)
- snowfall n. 降雪量
(But in 2018), Ms Goggia won the gold medal (for downhill skiing) (in the Winter Olympics).
但在 2018 年,Goggia 女士在冬奥会上取得了滑降项目的金牌。
- downhill skiing n. 滑降
alpine skiing n. 高山滑雪
- sport n. 大项
discipline n. 分项
event n. 小项
Ragnhild Mowinckel of Norway and Lindsey Vonn of America took silver and bronze. Both live in towns where it snows (more than 100 centimetres) (a year).
挪威的 Ragnhild Mowinckel 和美国的 Lindsey Vonn 获得银牌和铜牌。 两人的家乡都是年降雪量超过 100 厘米的城镇。
- silver n. 银牌
- bronze n. 铜牌
段落大意
用三位运动员所获得成就和家乡气候环境的对比引出文章主题。
(In general), cold countries do better (at the Winter Olympics).
总的来说,寒冷的国家在冬奥会上表现更好。
A culture (of recreational skiing, skating and snowboarding) lends itself to good slopes and training facilities.
休闲滑雪、滑冰和单板滑雪的文化使其拥有良好的滑雪斜坡和训练设施。
- recreational adj. 娱乐的、消遣的
recreation n. 娱乐、消遣
- skiing n. (双板)滑雪
ski n. 双板滑雪,滑雪板
- skating n. 滑冰
- snowboarding n. (单板)滑雪
snowboard n. 单板滑雪,滑雪板
- lend itself to sth. 适合于
Her voice doesn't really lend itself well to blues singing.
她的嗓子不是很适于唱布鲁斯歌曲。
- slope n. 山坡、滑雪斜坡
He spends all winter on the slopes.
整个冬天他都在山坡上滑雪。
The more people who participate, the larger the talent pool.
参与的人越多,人才库就越大。
- pool n. 公用的资金、资源
labor pool 劳动力库
talent pool 人才库
The Jamaican bobsleigh team, despite their fame, never won an Olympic medal: their four-man team’s best result was 14th in 1994.
牙买加雪橇队尽管声名远播,但从未获得过奥运会奖牌:他们四人队的最好成绩是 1994 年冬奥会的第 14 名。
- Jamaican adj. 牙买加的
Jamaica n. 牙买加
- bobsleigh n. 雪车
冬奥会项目名,美式英语也作bobsled
段落大意
总体而言,寒冷地区的国家在冬奥会上表现更好。并分别用寒冷地区和炎热地区的国家来举例。
Norway, (with a population of just 5.5m), is a Winter Olympics superpower.
挪威人口只有 550 万,却是冬奥会超级大国。
- superpower n. 超级大国
It has amassed 368 medals to date, more than any other country.
迄今为止,它已经赢得了 368 枚奖牌,比其他任何国家都多。
- amass vt. 集聚
- to date 迄今为止(常与完成时态一同出现)
Its climate (more snowy days than any other country in Europe) helps.
它的气候(比欧洲任何其他国家都多的下雪天)起到了帮助作用。
So, too, does its long tradition of skiing: one of the earliest depictions (of the activity) is a stone-age petroglyph (from Rødøya), a Norwegian island.
其悠久的滑雪传统也起到了帮助作用:关于这项活动最早的描述之一是来自挪威罗达亚岛的石器时代岩画。
首句是倒装句,正确语序是its long tradition of skiing does so。
- depiction n. 绘画、描绘
depict v. 绘画,刻画,描绘
- Stone Age n. 石器时代
stone-age adj. 石器时代的,老掉牙的
- petroglyph n. 岩画
来自古希腊语,即petro(岩石)+ glyph(雕刻)
- Rødøya n. 罗达亚(挪威西北部一岛屿名)
A survey (in 2013) found that 70% of Norwegians own a pair of cross-country skis.
2013 年的一项调查发现,70% 的挪威人拥有一双越野滑雪板。
- cross-country adj. 越野的
cross-country skiing 越野滑雪(冬奥会滑雪项目的一个分项)
段落大意
用挪威的卓越表现证明气候寒冷地区的国家在冬奥会的先天优势。
Warmer countries that buck the trend tend to spend big.
那些逆流而上的气候温暖的国家通常资金花费更多。
- buck vt. 抵制、反抗
buck the trend 顶住势头
buck the system 反抗体制
An analysis (by The Economist) (in 2021) found that a country’s share (of world GDP) was the best predictor (of Summer Olympic glory).
《经济学人》在 2021 年的一项分析发现,一个国家在世界 GDP 中的份额是夏季奥运会成绩的最佳预测指标。
- share n. 份额、比例
- predictor n. 预测器
America does exceptionally well at the winter games, too.
美国在冬季奥运会上的表现也非常出色。
- exceptionally adv. 极其、非常
Italy, Spain and Australia command a higher share (of global GDP) (than the vast majority of countries) that compete (in the Winter Olympics).
意大利、西班牙和澳大利亚在全球 GDP 中的份额高于绝大多数参加冬季奥运会的国家。
- command vt. 控制、占有
the power and finances commanded by the police
警方掌握的权力和资金
They are also the only three countries (with average temperatures above 13°C) to have won medals.
他们也是仅有的三个平均气温高于 13°C还获得过冬奥会奖牌的国家。
段落大意
用美西意澳四国的例子说明温暖的国家要想取得好成绩就得砸钱。
Since Australia increased funding (for its Olympic Committee) (by over 60%) (a year) (in the mid-1990s), nearly all its future gold medalists have set up training headquarters (in Canada or Europe).
自从澳大利亚在 90 年代中期为其奥委会每年增加 60% 以上的拨款,几乎所有未来的金牌得主都在加拿大或欧洲设立了训练总部。
- the Olympic Committee n. 奥委会
the International Olympic Committee 国际奥委会(IOC)
the National Olympic Committee 国家奥委会(NOC)
The American Olympic Committee helps cover costs (for coaching, training, health care and housing).
美国奥委会帮助支付教练、训练、医疗保健和住房的费用。
- coaching n. 训练
coach v. 培养、执导
- housing n. 住房
Cash prizes for medallists may also make a difference.
对奖牌获得者的现金奖励也可能起到作用。
- make a difference 有作用
make some/no/big difference 有些作用/没有作用/有巨大作用
Italy pays $214,000 to athletes who bring home gold; Spain gives them $112,000.
意大利向赢得金牌的运动员支付 214,000 美元; 西班牙给了他们 112,000 美元。
Other countries are more creative. In 2016 Germany gave Olympic medallists a lifetime supply of free beer. South Korean winners are exempt from national military service.
其他国家更有创意。 2016 年,德国向奥运奖牌获得者提供终身免费啤酒。 韩国的获奖者免服兵役。
- exempt adj. 被免除的、豁免的
sb. be exempt from sth.
All four countries have punched above their weight (at past Winter Olympics).
在过去的冬奥会上,这四个国家都有着超乎寻常的表现。
- punch above one's weight 完成超出某人能力的事
段落大意
用多个国家的例子补充说明大量的资金投入也有助于提升冬奥会表现。
But access to snow is still important and (in some places) it is becoming harder to find.
但是获得雪仍然很重要,并且在某些地方雪变得越来越难找到。
Ms Goggia trains (at Stelvio Pass) (in the Italian Alps), where temperatures are rising (at double the rate) (in the rest of the northern hemisphere).
Goggia 女士在意大利阿尔卑斯山的斯泰尔维奥山论训练,那里的气温上升速度是北半球其他地区的两倍。
double在此做前置限定词,如both, all, a lot of, 用于限定数量。
We need double the amount we already have.
我们需要现有数量的两倍。
- Stelvio Pass 斯泰尔维奥山路(意大利境内阿尔卑斯山的一地名)
pass n. 山路、关隘
- hemisphere n. 半球
the southern hemisphere 南半球
the northern hemisphere 北半球
Half of the glacier ice there is expected to melt by 2050.
预计到 2050 年,那里一半的冰川冰将融化。
- glacier ice n. 冰川冰(即冰川或者山脉的顶部积雪形成的冰)
As this problem spreads, more and more training grounds are switching to artificial snow, which is icier and thus more dangerous (for athletes).
随着这个问题的蔓延,越来越多的训练场正在改用人造雪,人造雪比天然雪更冰冷,因此对运动员更危险。
- training ground n. 训练场
proving ground=testing ground 试验场
- icy adj. 寒冷的
As the world warms, cash will become even more important (to countries going for gold).
随着全球变暖,资金对于志在夺金的国家来说将变得愈发重要。
段落大意
气候变暖让资金对于志在夺金的国家变得更重要了。
文章结构

思考题
1. 冬奥相关表达



2. 实用表达
描述冲金夺牌:
win the gold medal for sth.
take gold/silver/bronze
amass XX medals
bring gold
go for gold
其他表达:
talent pool
lend itself to sth.
buck the trend
command a share of sth.
punch above one’s weight