2017考研英语阅读精选：传奇谢幕!拳王阿里逝世

　　"Muhammad Ali was one of the greatest human beings I have ever met. No doubt he was one of the best people to have lived in this day and age." - George Foreman, Ali’s friend and rival in the Rumble in the Jungle

　　阿里的朋友和他在“丛林争夺战”中的对手乔治·福尔曼说：“阿里是我遇到过的最伟大的人之一。毫无疑问，他是生活在这个时代最好的人之一。”

　　"There will never be another Muhammad Ali. The black community all around the world, black people all around the world, needed him. He was the voice for us. He’s the voice for me to be where I’m at today." - Floyd Mayweather, world champion boxer across five divisions

　　包揽了世界五大拳击协会冠军的梅威瑟写道“这世上再也不会有第二个阿里了。全世界的黑人群体，全世界的黑人都需要他。他是我们的代言人，是他造就了今天的我。”

　　Crowned "Sportsman of the Century" by Sports Illustrated and "Sports Personality of the Century" by the BBC, Ali was noted for his pre- and post-fight talk and bold fight predictions just as much as his boxing skills inside the ring.

　　《体育画报》将阿里评为“20世纪运动员”，而BBC则称其为“20世纪运动名人”。阿里在比赛前后的言论，对比赛大胆的预测和其出众的拳击技艺一样出名。

　　But he was also a civil rights campaigner and poet who transcended the bounds of sport, race and nationality.

　　阿里还是一位民权斗士，一位诗人。他的成就超越了运动，种族和国籍的限制。

　　Asked how he would like to be remembered, he once said: "As a man who never sold out his people. But if that’s too much, then just a good boxer. I won’t even mind if you don’t mention how pretty I was."

　　问及死后希望如何为人们铭记自己时，阿里说了一下这番话：“我希望人们记住，我从未出卖支持我的人民。倘若这要求有点高，那记住我是个好拳手就行了。如果你压根不提我有多么可爱，我对此也不会介意。”

　　Ali turned professional immediately after the Rome Olympics and rose through the heavyweight ranks, delighting crowds with his showboating, shuffling feet and lightning reflexes.

　　阿里在罗马奥运会后转战职业拳坛，在重量级比赛所向披靡。阿里爱炫耀的个性，游刃有余的步伐和闪电般的反应深深折服了观众。

　　British champion Henry Cooper came close to stopping Clay, as he was still known, when they met in a non-title bout in London in 1963.

　　1963年，英国冠军亨利·库珀曾险些将阿里斩落马下，当时两人在伦敦举行的一场普通比赛中进行交锋。

　　Cooper floored the American with a left hook, but Clay picked himself up off the canvas and won the fight in the next round when a severe cut around Cooper’s left eye forced the Englishman to retire.

　　库珀曾以一记左勾拳击倒对手，而阿里顽强地站了站了起来，下一轮，库珀眼角遭到重创，不得不选择退赛，阿里成为了赢家。

　　In February the following year, Clay stunned the boxing world by winning his first world heavyweight title at the age of 22.

　　1964年2月，刚刚22岁的阿里赢得了世界重量级拳王称号，举世震惊。

　　He predicted he would beat Liston, who had never lost, but few believed he could do it.

　　利斯顿此前保持着全胜战绩，阿里预测自己将打破利斯顿的不败金身，当时几乎无人相信他能做到这一点。

　　Yet, after six stunning rounds, Liston quit on his stool, unable to cope with his brash, young opponent.

　　然而6轮过后，面对气势正盛的年轻阿里，利斯顿毫无招架之力，瘫坐在凳子上，选择了退赛。

　　At the time of his first fight with Liston, Clay was already involved with the Nation of Islam, a religious movement whose stated goals were to improve the spiritual, mental, social, and economic condition of African Americans in the United States.

　　在与利斯顿首次交战时，阿里已经加入了“伊斯兰民族”运动。这项宗教运动的宗旨在于提升非裔美国人的精神，思想，社会和经济条件。

　　But in contrast to the inclusive approach favoured by civil rights leaders like Dr Martin Luther King, the Nation of Islam called for separate black development and was treated by suspicion by the American public.

　　但与马丁·路德·金等民权斗士拥护的包容性举措所不同的是，“伊斯兰民族”只关注黑人的发展，美国公共舆论对其持怀疑的态度。

　　Ali eventually converted to Islam, ditching what he perceived was his "slave name" and becoming Cassius X and then Muhammad Ali.

　　阿里最终皈依伊斯兰教，舍弃了自己眼中“象征奴隶身份的名字”，先后改名为“卡西乌斯·埃克斯”和“穆罕默德·阿里”。

　　In 1967, Ali took the momentous decision of opposing the US war in Vietnam, a move that was widely criticised by his fellow Americans.

　　1967年，阿里做出了反对美国发动越南战争的重大决定，深受美国人的批评。

　　He refused to be drafted into the US military and was subsequently stripped of his world title and boxing licence. He would not fight again for nearly four years.

　　他拒绝服兵役，随后丢掉了拳王头衔和拳击运动员执照，此后四年都无法上场比赛。

　　After his conviction for refusing the draft was overturned in 1971, Ali returned to the ring and fought in three of the most iconic contests in boxing history, helping restore his reputation with the public.

　　1971年，阿里因拒服兵役的裁决得以撤销，他重回赛场，奉献了三场在拳击史上留名的经典比赛，重获人民的爱戴。

　　He was handed his first professional defeat by Joe Frazier in the "Fight of the Century" in New York on 8 March 1971, only to regain his title with an eighth-round knockout of George Foreman in the "Rumble in the Jungle" in Kinshasa, Zaire (now Democratic Republic of Congo) on 30 October 1974.

　　他在1971年3月8日的“世纪之战”中负于乔·弗雷泽，职业生涯首尝败绩，同年10月30日，他在前扎伊尔(现刚果民主共和国)的金沙萨的“丛林争夺战”中击败了乔治·福尔曼，重夺拳王头衔。

　　Ali fought Frazier for a third and final time in the Philippines on 1 October 1975, coming out on top in the "Thrilla in Manila" when Frazier failed to emerge for the 15th and final round.

　　阿里于1975年10月1日同乔·弗雷泽在菲律宾的“马尼拉的震颤”一战中第三次交手(这也是两人最后一次交手)。弗雷泽在最后一回合退赛，阿里最终获胜。

　　Six defences of his title followed before Ali lost on points to Leon Spinks in February 1978, although he regained the world title by the end of the year, avenging his defeat at the hands of the 1976 Olympic light-heavyweight champion.

　　阿里此后六度捍卫了自己的冠军头衔。1972年2月，他在同1976年奥运会冠军右手将里昂·斯平克斯的比赛中以点数劣势告负。同年9月，阿里击败了里昂·斯平克斯，报了一箭之仇。

　　Ali’s career ended with one-sided defeats by Larry Holmes in 1980 and Trevor Berbick in 1981, many thinking he should have retired long before.

　　1980年和1981年，阿里在分别对阵拉里·霍姆斯和特雷弗·伯比克的比赛惨败。此前许多人就认为阿里早就应该退役了。

　　He fought a total of 61 times as a professional, losing five times and winning 37 bouts by knockout.

　　他职业生涯打了61场比赛，输了五场，37场KO对手。

　　Soon after retiring, rumours began to circulate about the state of Ali’s health. His speech had become slurred, he shuffled and he was often drowsy.

　　退役后，关于阿里健康状况的谣言层出不穷。他说话开始变得含糊不清，走路步履蹒跚，时常半睡半醒。

　　Parkinson’s Syndrome was eventually diagnosed but Ali continued to make public appearances, receiving warm welcomes wherever he travelled.

　　阿里被确诊为患帕金森综合症，但是他仍然经常出现在公众视野中，受到各地人民的热烈欢迎。

　　He lit the Olympic cauldron at the 1996 Games in Atlanta and carried the Olympic flag at the opening ceremony for the 2012 Games in London.

　　1996年亚特兰大奥运会，阿里点燃了奥运圣火。2012年伦敦奥运会，阿里又亲手升起了奥运会会旗。

　　来源:BBC 官网

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