Lesson 21   Daniel Mendoza丹尼尔·门多萨

How many unsuccessful attempts did Mendoza make before becoming Champion of all England?     Boxing matches were very popular in England two hundred years ago. In those days, boxers fought with bare fists for prize money. Because of this, they were known as 'prizefighters'. However, boxing was very crude, for these were no rules and a prizefighter could be seriously injured or even killed during a match.     One of the most colorful figures in boxing history was Daniel Mendoza, who was born in 1764. The use of gloves was not introduced until 1860, when the Marquis of Queensberry drew up the first set of rules. Though he was technically a prizefighter, Mendoza did much to change crude prizefighting into a sport, for he brought science to the game. In this day, Mendoza enjoyed tremendous popularity. He was adored by rich and poor alike.     Mendoza rose to fame swiftly after a boxing match when he was only fourteen years old. This attracted the attention of Richard Humphries who was then the most eminent boxer in England. He offered to train Mendoza and his young pupil was quick to learn. In fact, Mendoza soon became so successful that Humphries turned against him. The two men quarreled bitterly and it was clear that the argument could only be settled by a fight. A match was held at Stilton, where both men fought for an hour. The public bet a great deal of money on Mendoza, but he was defeated. Mendoza met Humphries in the ring on a later occasion and he lost for a second time. It was not until his third match in 1790 that he finally beat Humphries and became Champion of England. Meanwhile, he founded a highly successful Academy and even Lord Byron became one of his pupils. He earned enormous sums of money and was paid as much as $100 for a single appear. Despite this, he was so extravagant that he was always in debt. After he was defeated by a boxer called Gentleman Jackson, he was quickly forgotten. He was sent to prison for failing to pay his debts and died in poverty in 1836.     两百年前，拳击比赛在英国非常盛行。当时，拳击手们不戴手套，为争夺奖金而搏斗。因此，他们被称作“职业拳击手”。不过，拳击是十分野蛮的，因为当时没有任何比赛规则，职业拳击手有可能在比赛中受重伤，甚至丧命。     拳击史上最引人注目的人物之一是丹尼尔.门多萨，他生于1764年。1860年昆斯伯里侯爵第一次为拳击比赛制定了规则，拳击比赛这才用上了手套。虽然门 多萨严格来讲不过是个职业拳击手，但在把这种粗野的拳击变成一种体育运动方面，他作出了重大贡献。是他把科学引进了这项运动。门多萨在的全盛时期深受大家 欢迎，无论是富人还是穷人都对他祟拜备至。     门多萨在14岁时参加一场拳击赛后一举成名。这引起当时英国拳坛名将理查德.汉弗莱斯的注意。他主动提出教授门多萨，而年少的门多萨一学就会。事实上，门 多萨不久便名声大振，致使汉弗莱斯与他反目为敌。两个人争吵不休，显而易见，只有较量一番才能解决问题。于是两人在斯蒂尔顿设下赛场，厮打了一个小时。公 众把大笔赌注下到了门多萨身上，但他却输了。后来，门多萨与汉弗莱斯再次在拳击场上较量，门多萨又输了一场。直到1790年他们第3次对垒，门多萨才终于 击败汉弗莱斯，成了全英拳击冠军。同时，他建立了一所拳击学校，办得很成功，连拜伦勋爵也成了他的学生。门多萨挣来大笔大笔的钱，一次出场费就多可达 100英镑。尽管收入不少，但他挥霍无度，经常债台高筑。他在被一个叫杰克逊绅士的拳击手击败后很快被遗忘。他因无力还债而被捕入狱，最后于1836年在贫困中死去。      Boxing    n.   拳击      boxer    n.   拳击手      bare    adj. 赤裸的      prizefighter    n.   职业拳击手（尤指古时赤手拳击手）      crude    adj. 粗野的      marquis    n.   侯爵      technically    adv. 严格根据法律意义地      science    n.   科学      popularity    n.   名望      adore    v.   崇拜，爱戴      alike    adv. 一样地      fame    n.   名声      eminent    adj. 著名的，杰出的      bitterly    adv. 厉害地      bet    v.   打赌      academy    n.   专业学校      extravagant    adj. 浪费的，奢移的      poverty    n.   贫困 1  they were known as ` prizefighters'，他们被称作“职业拳击手”。be known as…，被称作···。 2  until 1860, when the Marquis o Queensberry drew up the first set of rules中，以when引导的从句是定语从句，修饰前面的年代1860年。draw up是“制定”，“草拟”的意思。a set of,一套。Marquis of Queensberry,昆斯伯里侯爵，是指第8位昆斯伯里侯爵约翰·修托·道格拉斯(1844 -1900 )，苏格兰贵族。他制定的  “昆斯伯里规则”至今仍是拳击的比赛规则。 3  change ... into ...，把...变成...;  bring ... to ...，把...引进...。 4  in his day，在他的全盛时期。day此处指“幸运或顺利的时期”。 5  He was adored by rich and poor alike.人们不论贫富都很崇拜他。 rich and poor是固定词组，意为富人和穷人。有的形容词可用作名词，但前面要加the。 6  rise to fame，成名。 7  Humphries turned against him，汉弗莱斯与他反目为敌。 8  at Stilton, where both men fought for an hour中，以where引导的从句作Stilton的定语。 9  bet on…，在……上押(赌金)。 10  It was not until his third match in 1790 that he finally beat Humphries…这是一个it的强调句。被强调的部分not until his third match in 1790放在It was之后，句子的其他部分放在引导词that之后。 11  be in debt 负债。