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该文的句子结构、用词非常严谨,句子长但层次清晰,结构富于变化。该文是学习写作表达的佳作。
Jesse Owens was the son of a 1)sharecropper and the grandson of a slave. But he had the world’s attention at the 1936 Berlin Olympics, when he left Hitler’s Aryan 2)supremacy theories in the dust and collected four individual gold medals.
杰西·欧文斯是佃农之子,奴隶之孙,但他在1936年的柏林奥运会上夺得四面个人金牌,把希特勒的雅利安人优越论抛在了身后,吸引了世人的目光。
Owens was still at high school when he equaled the world record for the hundred 3)yard dash. At Ohio State University he became known as the “4)Buckeye Bullet” and won a record eight championships. However, as an African-American student, he was forced to live off-campus and America’s racial laws also forbade him to eat out with white teammates when the athletics team traveled around the United States. But the determined athlete could not be held back, and on May 25, 1935, he 5)astounded America by equaling the world record for the hundred yard dash and setting world records in the long jump, the 220 yard dash and the 220 yard low 6)hurdles. This set him up as a force to be 7)reckoned with at the 1936 Olympics.
欧文斯平了100码短跑世界纪录时,仍在念中学;而在念俄亥俄州立大学时,他被称为“俄亥俄州子弹”,并破纪录地赢了八项赛事。但身为非裔学生,他不能入住学生宿舍,美国的种族歧视法例禁止他在随田径队到美国各地比赛时,与白人队友一起外出用餐,但这位心意已决的运动员并未因此而退缩。1935年5月25日,他平了100码短跑世界纪录,刷新了跳远、220码短跑和220码低栏项目的世界纪录,震惊了美国。这些令他成为1936年奥运会上不可小觑的人物。
Adolf Hitler planned to use the Berlin Olympics to 8)showcase the superiority of Germany’s Aryan people, but Owens’ extraordinary achievements 9)put paid to that, and by the end of the Games the Germans themselves were cheering him on.
阿道夫·希特勒本打算利用柏林奥运会展示德国雅利安人的优越性,但欧文斯的超凡成就彻底推翻了这一套论调。比赛快结束时,就连德国人也替他打气。
After the Games, Owens returned to the States to follow up on some potential endorsement deals rather than competing in Sweden with the rest of the team. Sporting authorities 10)revoked his 11)amateur status ending his athletics career. But Owens was unrepentant, as he did not receive any sporting scholarships and needed to support his young family. Unfortunately, prejudice made it impossible for a black athlete to make a living from endorsements, so Owens turned to professional running, taking part in 12)stunts such as racing a horse in Cuba. He won by 20 yards. Owens later said, “People say that it was 13)degrading for an Olympic champion to run against a horse, but what was I supposed to do? I had four gold medals, but you can’t eat four gold medals.”
奥运会后,欧文斯没有随队友到瑞典比赛,而是返回美国跟进洽谈一些广告合约。体育当局取消了其业余田径选手的身份,终结其体育生涯。不过,欧文斯没有后悔,因为他根本没有得到任何体育奖学金,还要养活妻儿。可惜的是,偏见令黑人运动员无法依靠广告维持生计。于是欧文斯转向职业选手的路,还参加惊险特技表演,如在古巴与马赛跑,他在比赛中跑赢了20码。后来欧文斯说:“人们觉得奥运冠军跟马赛跑是有失身份的,但我该怎么做?我拿到了四面金牌,但总不能把四面金牌拿来吃吧。”
The great 14)sprinter struggled to get by when his running days were over, going into the dry cleaning business and even working as a gas station attendant. But in the late 1960’s he started to carve a name for himself as a good will ambassador, spreading the message that with determination anyone could achieve greatness. He participated in events such as the opening of the American Embassy in the 15)Ivory Coast in 1971, where the street was renamed in his honour. The mayor of 16)Abidjan said calling the street Rue Jesse Owens celebrated the athlete’s achievements and 17)commemorated his contribution to disproving Nazi racialist theory.
赛跑生涯结束后,这位优秀的短跑选手挣扎着求生存。他曾从事干洗行业,甚至当过加油站职员。上世纪60年代末,他开始以亲善大使的身份宣传有决心就能成功的信念,赢得了声誉。他参加一些公开活动,如在1971年,他到前象牙海岸,参加美国大使馆开馆仪式。大使馆所在的街道以他的名字命名。阿比让市长说,杰西·欧文斯街的命名,是为了表彰欧文斯的成就,纪念他推翻纳粹种族主义理论所作的贡献。
In 1976, US President Gerald Ford awarded him a Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honour. Four years later, following Owen’s death, President Jimmy Carter paid tribute. “Perhaps no athlete better symbolized the human struggle against 18)tyranny, poverty and racial 19)bigotry,” Carter said. “His work with young athletes as an unofficial ambassador overseas and a spokesman for freedom are a rich legacy to his fellow Americans.”
1976年,美国杰拉尔德·福特总统授予他自由勋章,这是给美国平民的最高荣誉。四年后,美国总统卡特在欧文斯去世时说:“可能没有其他运动员比他更能代表人类与暴政、贫穷和种族偏见的抗争。他栽培年轻运动员,担任海外非官方大使和为自由而战的发言人,这些都是留给美国同胞的丰富遗产。”
