第153期：拳王阿里因何被人铭记

想成为我们的主播，欢迎加微信 xdfbook 投稿。 一段美文，一首英文歌，或是一点生活感想，全由你做主。 《拳王阿里因何被人铭记》 What Is Muhammad Ali Remembered For You may wonder what the big deal is about Muhammad Ali. While Ali, who died June 3 this year at age 74, was a boxing champion, his last fight was almost 35 years ago. But Ali was an important person. To understand why, you have to understand the 1960s and 1970s, when Ali was at the height of his athletic fame. Let's take a look. Boxing was much more popular back in the 1960s than it is today. My guess is that in 1964, most kids knew the name of the heavyweight1) champion. These days, I doubt one kid in a hundred could tell you who the heavyweight champ is without Googling it. (It's Tyson Fury of Great Britain.) So when Ali, then called Cassius Clay, shocked everyone in February 1964 by upsetting Sonny Liston to become the youngest heavyweight champion ever, he was world-famous. Ali was a very different kind of fighter. Although a big man, Ali was quick on his feet. Unlike most heavyweights, Ali moved gracefully around the ring, almost dancing on the canvas2). But Ali could punch. "Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee" is how Ali and his handlers3) described the champ in the ring. Ali also said to anyone who would listen that he was the greatest. He bragged4) about his skill in the boxing ring5) and how "pretty" he looked. Ali was so cocky6) that he predicted, often accurately, the round7) when he would knock out his opponent. After his win over Liston, Ali defended his heavyweight crown eight times in three years, defeating his opponents with ease8). In 1967, Ali was 25 years old, undefeated (29 wins, no losses) and on top of the sports world. But the United States was stuck in a controversial war in Vietnam. Some people supported the war, which eventually cost more than 58,000 American lives, while others thought the United States should not be fighting in Southeast Asia. The United States did not have a volunteer military. Instead, men were drafted9) into the armed forces and were required by law to serve. Any man, even a boxing champion, could be drafted. When Ali was called to serve in 1967, however, he refused. Ali said it was against his religion to serve in the military. Boxing officials stripped10) Ali of his title and did not allow him to fight for almost four years. Ali's decision to follow his religion and his conscience11) cost him millions of dollars and several important years of his career. Later, Ali came back and won the heavyweight crown again. But he may be remembered more for following his principles than any of his boxing titles. Muhammad Ali stood up for what he thought was right even when it was not easy and cost him a lot. That's always a big deal. 你可能想知道穆罕默德·阿里做过什么了不起的事。今年6月3日，阿里去世了，享年74岁，尽管他曾是拳王，但他的最后一战距今已有近35年。 尽管如此，阿里却是一位重要人物。想理解其背后的原因，你就必须了解一下20世纪60和70年代，那是阿里作为运动员最为出名的时期。让我们回顾一下。 与今日相比，拳击在20世纪60年代更为盛行。我猜在1964年，大多数孩子都知道阿里这位最重量级拳王的名字。而现在，我怀疑只有百分之一的孩子不用上谷歌搜索就能说出谁是当今的最重量级拳王。(是英国的泰森·福里。) 因此，当阿里(当时他用的是卡修斯·克莱这个名字)在1964年2月击败桑尼·利斯顿而成为最年轻的最重量级拳王并因此震惊了世人时，他就变得举世闻名。 阿里属于十分另类的拳击手，尽管身形魁梧，脚步却十分轻快。与多数最重量级拳击手不同，阿里在拳击场内优雅地移动，几乎就像是在帆布上跳舞。 但是阿里可以打出重拳。“脚步像蝴蝶一样轻盈，出拳如蜂刺一般凶狠”，阿里和他的教练们就是这样描述这位冠军在拳击场内的风采的。 阿里也和那些乐于倾听的人说自己是最棒的。他炫耀自己在拳击场中的技巧，还夸赞自己看起来多么“迷人”。阿里是如此自负，他甚至经常能准确地预测出自己会在哪一回合将对手击倒。 阿里击败利斯顿之后，又轻而易举地击败了各路对手，在三年中八次卫冕最重量级拳王的头衔。1967年，阿里25岁，那时的他毫无败绩(29胜，0败)，成为体育界的佼佼者。 然而，当时美国正深陷于充满争议的越南战争中。一些人支持这场战争，最终这场战争令超过5.8万美国人丧生，而另一些人则认为美国不应该在东南亚作战。 美国当时并不实行志愿兵役制，相反，男人是被征召入伍的，而且根据法律必须服役。任何男人，甚至是拳击冠军，都有可能被征召入伍。 然而，当阿里在1967年被要求服兵役时，他拒绝了。他说在军队服役有悖于他的宗教信仰。 拳击官方剥夺了他的冠军头衔，并且禁止他参赛近四年之久。阿里决定遵从宗教信仰，听从自己的良知，这让他损失了数百万美元，也让他错过了拳击生涯中最重要的几年。 后来，阿里回归赛场，再次赢得了最重量级拳王的桂冠。但是他之所以被世人铭记，更多的可能是因为他能够坚持自己的原则，而不是因为他的任何一个拳击头衔。穆罕默德·阿里坚持做自己认为正确的事情，即使做到这一点极为不易，而且还让他付出了很多代价。 这永远都是了不起的事。 文章摘自：《新东方英语·中学生》杂志2016年9月号