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DavidEpstein_2014-_运动员们真的在做到更高，更快，更强吗？_
The Olympic motto is "Citius, Altius, Fortius." 尤塞恩 博尔特开始赶上他,
motto:n.座右铭,格言;箴言;
Faster, Higher, Stronger. 即更高,更快,更强。
And athletes have fulfilled that motto rapidly. 运动员们立刻执行了这种精神。
athletes:n.运动员;身强体健的人(athlete的复数形式); fulfilled:adj.感到满足的; v.实现; (fulfill的过去式和过去分词)
The winner of the 2012 Olympic marathon ran two hours and eight minutes. 2012年奥林匹克运动会马拉松冠军 花费了2小时8分钟。
Had he been racing against the winner of the 1904 Olympic marathon, he would have won by nearly an hour and a half. 将他与1904年奥林匹克运动会 的马拉松冠军进行比较, 他要快将近一个半小时。
Now we all have this feeling that we're somehow just getting better as a human race , inexorably progressing, but it's not like we've evolved into a new species in a century. 现在我们都有一种感觉, 那就是我们作为人类 已有了无可争议的进步, 但这并不意味着我们在在一个世纪内 进化成了一个新的物种。
somehow:adv.以某种方法;莫名其妙地; human race:n.人类; inexorably:adj.不可逆转的,不可阻挡的;adj.无情地;冷酷地; evolved:v.(使)逐渐形成;进化;进化形成;(evolve的过去分词和过去式) species:n.[生物]物种;种类;
So what's going on here? 所以呢？
I want to take a look at what's really behind this march of athletic progress. 我想要看看这种运动的巨大进步 背后究竟存在着什么。
take a look at:看一看;检查; athletic:adj.健壮的;体育运动的;田径运动的
In 1936, Jesse Owens held the world record in the 100 meters. 在1936年,杰西.欧文 保持了100米世界纪录。
Had Jesse Owens been racing last year in the world championships of the 100 meters, when Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt finished, 那么杰西.欧文与去年的100米 世界冠军比较呢, 当牙买加短跑运动员尤塞恩.博尔特完成的时候,
championships:n.锦标赛,冠军(championship的复数); Jamaican:adj.牙买加的;牙买加人的;n.牙买加人; sprinter:n.短跑选手; Bolt:n.螺栓; v.狼吞虎咽; v.突然;
Owens would have still had 14 feet to go. 欧文仍然还差14英尺完成。
That's a lot in sprinter land. 这在短跑上是一个很长的距离。
To give you a sense of how much it is, 为了给大家一个14英尺是多远的概念,
I want to share with you a demonstration conceived by sports scientist Ross Tucker . 我想要给大家分享一个由运动科学家罗斯.塔克 研究所得出的结论。
demonstration:n.示范;演示;论证;证明; conceived:v.构思;设想;(conceive的过去式); Tucker:n.作褶裥的人;缝褶机;(装上去的)衣领;v.使疲倦;
Now picture the stadium last year at the world championships of the 100 meters: thousands of fans waiting with baited breath to see Usain Bolt, the fastest man in history; 现在想象去年的世锦赛的 100米比赛体育场; 成千上万的粉丝屏住呼吸等待着 去观看尤塞恩 博尔特,史上跑得最快的人;
stadium:n.[体]露天大型体育场;[病]病期;[生]生长期;龄期; baited:vt.引诱;在…中放诱饵;折磨;n.饵;诱饵;vi.中途休息;
flashbulbs popping as the nine fastest men in the world coil themselves into their blocks. 如同闪光灯闪动时一样的世界上最快的九个人 在各自的跑道上做好准备。
flashbulbs:n.闪光灯泡(等于flashbulb); coil:n.盘管;螺旋管;感应圈;(一)圈;v.卷;卷曲;蜿蜒流进;
And I want you to pretend that Jesse Owens is in that race. 我想让你们假想 杰西.欧文正在这个赛场上,
Now close your eyes for a second and picture the race.
Bang ! The gun goes off. 砰,发令枪响了。
Bang:n.猛敲; v.猛敲; v.正好;
An American sprinter jumps out to the front. 一个美国短跑运动员率先领先。
Usain Bolt starts to catch him. 尤塞恩 博尔特开始赶上他,
Usain Bolt passes him, and as the runners come to the finish, you'll hear a beep as each man crosses the line. 尤塞恩 博尔特超过了他,当每个运动员完成的时候, 你将听到每个人跨越终点线的哔哔声。
(Beeps) （哔哔)
That's the entire finish of the race. 这就是整个比赛的结束。
You can open your eyes now. 现在你可以睁开眼睛了,
That first beep was Usain Bolt. 第一名是尤塞恩 博尔特。
That last beep was Jesse Owens. 最后一名是杰西 欧文。
Listen to it again. 再听一下,
(Beeps) （哔哔）
When you think of it like that, it's not that big a difference, is it? 当你考虑的时候, 这并没有大的区别,不是吗？
And then consider that Usain Bolt started by propelling himself out of blocks down a specially fabricated carpet designed to allow him to travel as fast as humanly possible. 接下来想一下尤塞恩 博尔特 从一个支架助推自己出发 支架下有着特殊的弹性地毯 目的是为了让他在一瞬间 跑出人类最高速。
propelling:adj.推进的;n.推进;v.推动(propel的ing形式); fabricated:adj.焊接的; v.制造,组装; (fabricate的过去式和过去分词); carpet:n.地毯;v.用地毯铺(房间的)地板; humanly:adv.以人力;像人地;在人力所能及的范围;
Jesse Owens, on the other hand , ran on cinders , the ash from burnt wood, and that soft surface stole far more energy from his legs as he ran. 可是杰西.欧文, 在焚烧过的木头产生的煤渣上跑步, 在他跑步时,柔软的地面 会从他腿上偷走更多的能量。
on the other hand:另一方面; cinders:n.[冶]煤渣; v.用煤渣等铺路(cinder的三单形式);
Rather than blocks, Jesse Owens had a gardening trowel that he had to use to dig holes in the cinders to start from. 谈到起跑支点,杰西 欧文有一把园丁铲 他过去经常用来在煤渣跑道挖洞以支撑支架。
trowel:n.(园艺用的)泥铲; vt.用抹子涂抹;
Biomechanical analysis of the speed of Owens' joints shows that had been running on the same surface as Bolt, he wouldn't have been 14 feet behind, he would have been within one stride . 从生物力学上来讲, 杰西.欧文关节的速度显示他和尤塞恩 博尔特 跑过了一样多的路程。 他本不应该落后14英尺, 他应该已经往前一大步。
Biomechanical:生物力学; analysis:n.分析;分解;验定; joints:n.关节; v.接合,联合; (joint的第三人称单数和复数) stride:n.大步;步幅;进展;v.跨过;大踏步走过;跨坐在…;
Rather than the last beep, 相对于最后一名而言,
Owens would have been the second beep. 杰西.欧文本应该得到第二名。
Listen to it again. 现在再听一下。
(Beeps) （哔哔）
That's the difference track surface technology has made, and it's done it throughout the running world. 这就是不同的跑道表面科技所造成的不同, 这种差异遍及整个田径世界。
track:n.小道;足迹;车辙;轨道;v.追踪;跟踪; technology:n.技术;工艺;术语; throughout:adv.自始至终,到处;全部;prep.贯穿,遍及;
Consider a longer event. 想想一件更久远的事。
In 1954, Sir Roger Bannister became the first man to run under four minutes in the mile. 在1945年,罗杰.本尼斯特阁下 成为了第一个在四分钟内跑完一英里的人。
Roger:n.罗杰;[男名]男子名;int.明白;v.与某人性交; Bannister:n.栏杆;
Nowadays, college kids do that every year. 现在大学学生每年都这样做。
On rare occasions, a high school kid does it. 在极少的偶然下,高中生也可以做到。
As of the end of last year, 1,314 men had run under four minutes in the mile, but like Jesse Owens, 在去年年末, 在四分钟内跑完了一英里, 但就像杰西.欧文一样,
Sir Roger Bannister ran on soft cinders that stole far more energy from his legs than the synthetic tracks of today. 罗杰.本尼斯特阁下在柔软的煤渣上跑步, 这从他腿上偷去的能量要多于 今日的塑胶跑道所偷走的。
synthetic:adj.综合的;合成的,人造的;n.合成物; tracks:n.小道;足迹;车辙;轨道;v.追踪;跟踪;(track的第三人称单数和复数)
So I consulted biomechanics experts to find out how much slower it is to run on cinders than synthetic tracks, and their consensus that it's one and a half percent slower. 所以我请求生物力学专家 找出在煤渣上跑步要比塑胶跑道 多耗费多少能量, 他们的一致意见是会慢一点五个百分点。
consulted:v.咨询;请教;商议;查阅;查询;参看(consult的过去分词和过去式) biomechanics:n.生物力学;生物机械学; consensus:n.一致;舆论;合意;
So if you apply a one and a half percent slowdown conversion to every man who ran his sub-four mile on a synthetic track, this is what happens. 所以如果你假设每个人在人工跑道 跑四英里的时候会有 百分之一点五的速度变化, 这就是真相。
apply:v.申请;涂,敷;应用;适用;请求; slowdown:n.减速;怠工;降低速度; conversion:n.转换;变换;[金融]兑换;改变信仰;
Only 530 are left. 只剩下530人了。
If you look at it from that perspective , fewer than ten new men per [year] 如果你从这个角度来看, 从罗杰.本尼斯特阁下开始,
perspective:n.观点;远景;透视图;adj.透视的;
have joined the sub-four mile club since Sir Roger Bannister. 每年只有不到10个人 加入这个四分钟跑完一英里的行列。
Now, 530 is a lot more than one, and that's partly because there are many more people training today and they're training more intelligently . 530人当然是远远多于一个人的, 部分原因在于现代更多的人 可以接受训练并且训练方法更加科学合理。
intelligently:adv.聪明地,明智地;
Even college kids are professional in their training compared to Sir Roger Bannister, who trained for 45 minutes at a time while he ditched gynecology lectures in med school. 比较于罗杰.本尼斯特阁下, 在医药学校学习妇科医学时 一次训练45分钟, 甚至连大学生都要比他训练得更加专业。
professional:adj.专业的;职业的;职业性的;n.专业人员;职业运动员; compared:adj.比较的,对照的; v.相比; (compare的过去式和过去分词) ditched:v.摆脱;抛弃;丢弃;迫降;(ditch的过去分词和过去式) gynecology:n.妇科学,妇科医学;
And that guy who won the 1904 Olympic marathon in three in a half hours, that guy was drinking rat poison and brandy while he ran along the course. 有一个用了三个半小时赢得 1904年的马拉松冠军的人, 他在沿着跑道跑步时, 正在引用老鼠药和白兰地。
brandy:n.白兰地(酒);一杯白兰地;v.在…中加白兰地酒;把…在白兰地酒中浸泡;
That was his idea of a performance-enhancing drug. 这就是他关于兴奋剂的概念。
(Laughter) （笑声）
Clearly, athletes have gotten more savvy about performance-enhancing drugs as well, and that's made a difference in some sports at some times, but technology has made a difference in all sports, from faster skis to lighter shoes. 清晰可见的是,运动员们也已经得到了 更多关于兴奋剂的知识。 这有时会使一些运动产生不同, 但是科技已经在所有运动上造就了不同, 从更快的滑雪板到更轻的鞋子。
savvy:n.悟性;理解能力;懂行(的人);v.理解;懂;vi.理解;知道;
Take a look at the record for the 100-meter freestyle swim. 让我们来看一下100米自由泳的记录。
freestyle:n.自由式;adj.自由式的;adv.自由地;随心所欲地;
The record is always trending downward , but it's punctuated by these steep cliffs . 这些记录总是趋向于下降, 但总会被一些陡峭的“斜坡”打断。
trending:n.[统计]趋势;v.伸向;趋向;(trend的现在分词) downward:adj.下降的;向下的;adv.同"downwards"; punctuated:vt.不时打断;强调;加标点于;vi.加标点; steep:adj.陡峭的;不合理的;夸大的;急剧升降的;v.泡;浸;使…充满;n.峭壁;浸渍; cliffs:n.(常指海洋边的)悬崖,峭壁;(cliff的复数)
This first cliff, in 1956, is the introduction of the flip turn. 第一个陡坡,是在1956年, 翻转式跳水的普及。
flip:n.浏览;空翻;轻抛;捻掷;v.迅速翻动;按(开关);按(按钮);开(或关)(机器等);
Rather than stopping and turning around, athletes could somersault under the water and get going right away in the opposite direction. 相比于停下来再转身, 运动员们可以翻转入水 并且在相反的方向立刻前进。
somersault:vi.翻筋斗;n.筋斗;(意见,观点,态度等)180度的转变; right away:立刻;
This second cliff, the introduction of gutters on the side of the pool that allows water to splash off, rather than becoming turbulence that impedes the swimmers as they race. 第二个陡坡,是游泳池边 排水沟的普及, 这允许水随意溅出, 而不是变成在比赛时阻碍运动员 的涡流。
gutters:n.水沟,水槽(gutter的复数形式); v.开沟于…; on the side of:拥护…;站在…一边;赞助; splash:v.溅,泼;用...使液体飞溅;n.飞溅的水;污点;卖弄; turbulence:n.骚乱,动荡;[流]湍流;狂暴; impedes:vt.阻碍;妨碍;阻止; swimmers:n.游泳者(swimmer的复数形式);白色有光绒面呢;
This final cliff, the introduction of full-body and low-friction swimsuits . 最后一个陡坡, 是全身式低摩擦力泳衣 的普及。
full-body:全身的; swimsuits:n.游泳衣(swimsuit的复数);
Throughout sports, technology has changed the face of performance . 纵观运动史,科技已经改变了其面貌。
performance:n.性能;表现;业绩;表演;
In 1972, Eddy Merckx set the record for the longest distance cycled in one hour at 30 miles, 3,774 feet. 在1972年, 埃迪.麦克莱斯打破了 一小时骑行最长距离的记录, 1小时骑行30英里,3774英尺。
Eddy:n.涡流;漩涡;逆流;vi.旋转;起漩涡;vt.使…起漩涡;
Now that record improved and improved as bicycles improved and became more aerodynamic all the way until 1996, when it was set at 35 miles, 1,531 feet, nearly five miles farther than Eddy Merckx cycled in 1972. 现在这个记录随着自行车对于空气动力学的发展 一直在提升。 自始至终直到1996年, 记录是35英里,1531英尺, 将近比埃迪 麦克莱斯在1972年取得的成绩 多了5英里。
improved:adj.改良的:v.改进:改善(improve的过去分词和过去式) aerodynamic:adj.空气动力学的,[航]航空动力学的;
But then in 2000, the International Cycling Union decreed that anyone who wanted to hold that record had to do so with essentially the same equipment that Eddy Merckx used in 1972. 但是接下来在2000年,国际自行车协会 颁布条例:任何想要打破记录的人 都需要使用相同的基础设备, 就像埃迪.麦克莱斯在1972年使用的一样。
decreed:adj.任命的;v.颁布法令(decree的过去式); essentially:adv.本质上;本来;
Where does the record stand today? 今天的世界记录呢？
30 miles, 4,657 feet, a grand total of 883 feet farther than Eddy Merckx cycled more than four decades ago. 30英里,4657英尺, 整整比40年前 埃迪 麦克莱斯的记录 多出883英尺。
grand total:n.总计;共计;
Essentially the entire improvement in this record was due to technology. 基本上来说,在世界纪录上取得的所有进步 都是因为科技。
improvement:n.改进,改善;
Still, technology isn't the only thing pushing athletes forward. 但科技仍然不是推动运动进步的唯一因素。
While indeed we haven't evolved into a new species in a century, the gene pool within competitive sports most certainly has changed. 我们确实没有在一个世纪内进化成 一个新物种, 但竞技运动内的基因库 大部分确实已经改变了。
gene pool:n.基因库(某物种的全部基因); competitive:adj.竞争的;比赛的;求胜心切的;
In the early half of the 20th century, physical education instructors and coaches had the idea that the average body type was the best for all athletic endeavors : medium height, medium weight, no matter the sport. 在20世纪上半叶, 体育教师和教练都认为 匀称的体型对于所有运动来说 是最好的; 中等身高,中等体重,无论什么运动。
physical education:n.[体]体育教学; instructors:n.教练;讲师;指导书(instructor的复数); endeavors:尽力; medium:n.(传播信息的)媒介;手段;工具;方法;adj.中等的;中号的;
And this showed in athletes' bodies. 这体现在运动员的身体上。
In the 1920s, the average elite high-jumper and average elite shot-putter were the same exact size. 在20世纪20年代,跳高运动员的平均身高 和铅球运动员是一样的。
elite:n.精英;精华;杰出人物; shot-putter:n.推铅球者;铅球选手;
But as that idea started to fade away , as sports scientists and coaches realized that rather than the average body type, you want highly specialized bodies that fit into certain athletic niches , a form of artificial selection took place, a self-sorting for bodies that fit certain sports, and athletes' bodies became more different from one another. 但是这种见解逐渐消失了, 在运动学家和教练们了解到 比起平均的身形, 你更需要高度专业的体型 来吻合特定运动的框架, 一份特定选项的标准出现了, 一份为适合特定运动的体型排序, 运动员的体型就变得和其他运动员更加不同了。
fade away:逐渐消失; highly:adv.高度地;非常;非常赞许地; specialized:adj.专业的; v.专门研究(或从事); (specialize的过去式和过去分词) niches:n.[生态]生态位; v.把…放置在壁龛中; artificial:adj.人造的;仿造的;虚伪的;非原产地的;武断的; selection:n.选择;选拔;挑选;被挑选的人(或物);
Today, rather than the same size as the average elite high jumper, the average elite shot-putter is two and a half inches taller and 130 pounds heavier. 在今天,相比于同样规格的跳高运动员的平均体型, 铅球运动员的平均体型 要高二点五英寸 并且重130磅。
And this happened throughout the sports world. 这在整个运动界都是存在的。
In fact, if you plot on a height versus mass graph one data point for each of two dozen sports in the first half of the 20th century, it looks like this. 事实上,如果你标出一个高度和重量的坐标 也就是24种运动对应一个点的数据 在20世纪上半叶,看起来就像这样。
plot:n.情节;阴谋;布局;小块土地;v.密谋;暗中策划;(在地图上)标出;绘制(图表); versus:prep.对;与...相对;对抗; mass:n.块,团; adj.群众的,民众的; v.聚集起来,聚集;
There's some dispersal , but it's kind of grouped around that average body type. 非常稀疏, 但这近乎于聚合在平均体型周围。
dispersal:n.分散;传播;散布;疏散;消失;
Then that idea started to go away, and at the same time , digital technology -- first radio, then television and the Internet -- gave millions, or in some cases billions, of people a ticket to consume elite sports performance. 之后这种见解逐渐消失, 与此同时,数字科技-- 首先是收音机,然后是电视和网络-- 给予百万,甚至十余亿人 一张“票”去观看运动比赛。
at the same time:同时;另一方面;与此同时; digital:adj.数字的;手指的;n.数字;键; consume:v.消耗;吃;毁灭;烧毁;
The financial incentives and fame and glory afforded elite athletes skyrocketed , and it tipped toward the tiny upper echelon of performance. 经济诱因,名誉和荣誉使得运动员突飞猛进, 并且在运动中制造了一个微小的上升梯队。
financial:adj.金融的;财政的,财务的; incentives:n.激励;奖励;诱因(incentive的复数形式);奖励措施; afforded:vt.给予,提供;买得起; skyrocketed:n.流星烟火;冲天火箭;vi.飞涨,突然高升;vt.使…猛然上涨; tipped:v.倾斜;倒出;倾倒;轻触;轻碰;(tip的过去分词和过去式) upper:adj.上面的;内陆的;n.靴面;兴奋剂; echelon:n.梯形;梯次编队;梯阵;阶层;vi.形成梯队;vt.排成梯队;
It accelerated the artificial selection for specialized bodies. 它加速了对于特定体型的人工选择。
accelerated:v.(使)加速;加速;加快(accelerate的过去分词和过去式)
And if you plot a data point for these same two dozen sports today, it looks like this. 如果为24种相似的运动假设一个数据点, 看起来像这样。
The athletes' bodies have gotten much more different from one another. 运动员的体型已经变得 与其他种类的运动员们非常不同。
And because this chart looks like the charts that show the expanding universe, with the galaxies flying away from one another, the scientists who discovered it call it "The Big Bang of Body Types." 因为这个图表看起来很像另外一个图表, 那个图标显示了扩张的宇宙, 和行星从另外的行星飞出, 发现这个现象的科学家叫它 “体型种类大爆炸。”
expanding:v.扩大,增加,增强细谈;详述;(expand的现在分词) galaxies:n.银河; (galaxy的复数)
In sports where height is prized, like basketball, the tall athletes got taller. 在强调身高的运动里,例如篮球, 很高的运动员变得更高。
In 1983, the National Basketball Association signed a groundbreaking agreement making players partners in the league , entitled to shares of ticket revenues and television contracts . 在1983年,国家篮球协会 签署了一个突破性的文件, 使得运动员在联盟里合伙, 称作门票所得和电视合约 的分享。
Association:n.协会;关联;联想;交往; groundbreaking:adj.开创性的;创新的;革新的 league:n.联赛;联盟;协会;种类;v.(使)结盟;(使)联合[团结];一鼻孔出气;组成联盟; entitled:v.使享有权利;使符合资格;给…命名;(entitle的过去分词和过去式) revenues:n.[会计]收入;税收;[会计]收益;营业收入(revenue的复数形式); contracts:n.[经]合同; v.使收缩;
Suddenly, anybody who could be an NBA player wanted to be, and teams started scouring the globe for the bodies that could help them win championships. 突然,任何有潜力当球员的人 都想进入NBA, 球队开始走遍世界 去寻找可以帮他们赢得冠军的球员。
scouring:v.搜寻,搜查;擦净;冲刷成;(scour的现在分词)
Almost overnight , the proportion of men in the NBA who are at least seven feet tall doubled to 10 percent. 几乎一夜之间, NBA的人员比例中 七英尺身高的人 翻了两倍直到百分之十。
overnight:adj.夜间的; v.在夜间; n.(美)前一天的晚上; proportion:n.比例;部分;份额;均衡;v.摊派;使相称;
Today, one in 10 men in the NBA is at least seven feet tall, but a seven-foot-tall man is incredibly rare in the general population -- so rare that if you know an American man between the ages of 20 and 40 who is at least seven feet tall, there's a 17 percent chance he's in the NBA right now. 今天,NBA里十个人中就有一个人 至少七英尺高, 但是一个七英尺高的人在普遍人口中 是不可思议地稀少 -- 稀少到以至于如果你认识一个美国人 年龄在20岁到40岁 身高至少七英尺, 那么有百分之17的几率 他就在NBA里。
incredibly:adv.难以置信地;非常地; in the general:通常,一般;
(Laughter) （笑声）
That is, find six honest seven footers , one is in the NBA right now. 所以如果有六个刚好身高七英尺的人, 其中一个现在就在NBA。
footers:n.页脚;脚注;步行者(footer的复数);
And that's not the only way that NBA players' bodies are unique . 并不仅仅是NBA球员体型特别。
unique:adj.独特的,稀罕的;[数]唯一的;n.独一无二的人或物;
This is Leonardo da Vinci's "Vitruvian Man," 这是莱昂纳多.达芬奇的“维特鲁威人,”
the ideal proportions , with arm span equal to height. 黄金比例, 臂展等于身高。
proportions:n.[数]比例;大小(proportion的复数形式); span:n.持续时间; v.持续;
My arm span is exactly equal to my height. 我的臂展确实等同于身高。
Yours is probably very nearly so. 你们的或许也一样。
But not the average NBA player. 但这不是NBA球员的平均数据。
The average NBA player is a shade under 6'7", with arms that are seven feet long. NBA球员的平均数据是六英尺七英寸高, 臂展七英尺长。
shade:n.阴凉处;色度;灯罩;背阴;v.给…遮挡(光线);加灯罩;把…涂暗;画阴影;
Not only are NBA players ridiculously tall, they are ludicrously long. 他们不仅难以置信地高, 他们还极端地”长“。
ridiculously:adv.可笑地;荒谬地; ludicrously:adv.滑稽地;荒唐地;
Had Leonardo wanted to draw the Vitruvian NBA Player, he would have needed a rectangle and an ellipse , not a circle and a square. 如果莱昂纳多达芬奇想要画 维特鲁威NBA球员的话, 他将需要一个矩形和一个椭圆形, 而不是一个圆形和一个正方形。
rectangle:n.矩形;长方形; ellipse:n.[数]椭圆形,[数]椭圆;
So in sports where large size is prized, the large athletes have gotten larger. 所以在巨大体格占优势的运动中, ”巨大“的运动员变得越来越”巨大“。
Conversely , in sports where diminutive stature is an advantage , the small athletes got smaller. 相反的是,在微小身材占优势的运动中, 很矮的运动员们变得更矮了。
Conversely:adv.相反地; diminutive:adj.小的,小型的,微小的;n.爱称;指小词;身材极小的人; stature:n.身高,身材;(精神,道德等的)高度; advantage:n.有利条件:优势:优点:
The average elite female gymnast shrunk from 5'3" to 4'9" on average over the last 30 years, all the better for their power-to-weight ratio and for spinning in the air. 女子体操的平均数据 在过去30年中, 从5英尺3英寸缩小到了四英尺九英寸, 这样有益于他们的能量-体重比率 和在空气中旋转。
female:adj.女性的;雌性的;柔弱的,柔和的;n.女人;[动]雌性动物; gymnast:n.体操运动员; shrunk:v.收缩(shrink的过去分词); spinning:n.纺纱(手艺):纺线v.(使)旋转:纺线:纺纱;(spin的现在分词)
And while the large got larger and the small got smaller, the weird got weirder . 在大的更大 和小的更小的同时, 奇怪的变得更奇怪。
weirder:怪诞的(weird的比较级);神秘而可怕的;超然的;古怪的;
The average length of the forearm of a water polo player in relation to their total arm got longer, all the better for a forceful throwing whip . 游泳运动员 的平均前臂长度 相对于他们的整个手臂变得更长了, 这有益于强有力的滑动。
forearm:n.前臂;v.预先武装;准备; water polo:n.[体]水球; forceful:adj.强有力的;有说服力的;坚强的; whip:n.鞭子; v.鞭打;
And as the large got larger, small got smaller, and the weird weirder. 在大的更大的同时, 小的更小,奇怪的更奇怪。
In swimming, the ideal body type is a long torso and short legs. 在游泳中,理想体型 是修长的躯干和短腿。
torso:n.躯干;裸体躯干雕像;未完成的作品;残缺不全的东西;
It's like the long hull of a canoe for speed over the water. 就像独木舟的修长船身一样 是为了水中的速度。
hull:n.船体;船身;v.剥去(豌豆、大豆等的)外壳;摘掉(草莓的)花萼; canoe:n.独木舟;轻舟;vi.乘独木舟;vt.用独木舟运;
And the opposite is advantageous in running. 同时把这反过来就在跑步中占优势。
advantageous:adj.有利的;有益的;
You want long legs and a short torso. 你需要修长的腿和短的躯干。
And this shows in athletes' bodies today. 这展示了现在运动员的体型。
Here you see Michael Phelps, the greatest swimmer in history, standing next to Hicham El Guerrouj, the world record holder in the mile. 这里你看到迈克.菲尔普斯, 历史上最伟大的游泳运动员, 就站在希查姆.艾尔.奎罗伊的旁边, 一英里世界纪录的保持者。
record holder:n.纪录保持者;
These men are seven inches different in height, but because of the body types advantaged in their sports, they wear the same length pants. 这些人在身高上有七英寸的差距, 但是由于在他们运动内 的优势体型, 他们都穿着一样长的裤子。
advantaged:adj.得天独厚的;有利的;占有利位置的;v.有利于(advantage的过去式);
Seven inches difference in height, these men have the same length legs. 七英寸的身高差距, 这些人有一样长的腿。
Now in some cases, the search for bodies that could push athletic performance forward ended up introducing into the competitive world populations of people that weren't previously competing at all, like Kenyan distance runners. 现在在一些事例里,对于 可以推进运动的体型的搜索 告终于竞争世界人口中之前 从来没有受过训练的人的推广, 就像肯尼亚长跑运动员。
previously:adv.先前;以前; competing:adj.相互冲突的;相互矛盾的;v.竞争;对抗;参加比赛;(compete的现在分词)
We think of Kenyans as being great marathoners . 我们认为肯尼亚人是好的马拉松选手。
marathoners:n.马拉松运动员;
Kenyans think of the Kalenjin tribe as being great marathoners. 肯尼亚人认为卡伦津部落 是好的马拉松选手。
tribe:n.部落;族;宗族;一伙;
The Kalenjin make up just 12 percent of the Kenyan population but the vast majority of elite runners. 卡伦津仅仅占据肯尼亚 百分之十二的人口 但却有着大多数的长跑运动员。
majority:n.大部分:大多数:多数票:成年人:
And they happen, on average, to have a certain unique physiology : legs that are very long and very thin at their extremity , and this is because they have their ancestry at very low latitude in a very hot and dry climate, and an evolutionary adaptation to that is limbs that are very long and very thin at the extremity for cooling purposes. 他们在平均体型上, 都有着非常独特的生理特征: 极端长 和瘦的腿, 这是因为他们的祖先 生活在很低的纬度, 和非常燥热的气候下, 和一种进化性的适应: 以降温为目的的 极端长和瘦 的腿。
physiology:n.生理学;生理机能; extremity:n.极端;绝境;非常手段;手足; ancestry:n.祖先;血统; latitude:n.纬度;界限;活动范围; evolutionary:adj.进化的;发展的;渐进的; adaptation:n.适应;改编;改编本,改写本; limbs:n.[解剖]四肢(limb的复数);
It's the same reason that a radiator has long coils , to increase surface area compared to volume to let heat out, and because the leg is like a pendulum , the longer and thinner it is at the extremity, the more energy-efficient it is to swing. 这与散热器有很长的线圈 去增加相对于体积的表面积 而使热量散出是同样的原因, 因为腿就像一个钟摆, 更长和更细, 摇摆就有更多的能量效率。
radiator:n.散热器;暖气片;辐射体; coils:n.[电]线圈(coil的复数);卷; volume:n.体积;容积;音量;响度;一册;合订本 pendulum:n.钟摆;摇锤;摇摆不定的事态; energy-efficient:adj.节能的,节约能源的;高能效的;
To put Kalenjin running success in perspective, consider that 17 American men in history have run faster than two hours and 10 minutes in the marathon. 把卡伦津在长跑上的成功放远一点, 考虑一下历史下十七个在 两小时十分钟内完成马拉松 的美国人。
That's a four-minute-and-58-second-per-mile pace. 他们的速度是四分五十八秒一英里。
Thirty-two Kalenjin men did that last October. 三十二个卡伦津人去年十月做到了这一点。
(Laughter) （笑声）
That's from a source population the size of metropolitan Atlanta . 这来自一个关于大都会亚特兰大 的人口数量资料。
source:n.来源;水源;原始资料; metropolitan:adj.大都市的;大主教辖区的;宗主国的;n.大城市人;大主教;宗主国的公民; Atlanta:n.亚特兰大(美国城市);
Still, even changing technology and the changing gene pool in sports don't account for all of the changes in performance. 甚至科技的改变和 基因池的改变在运动的改变中 依然不是全部的因素。
account for:对…负有责任;对…做出解释;说明…的原因;导致;(比例)占;
Athletes have a different mindset than they once did. 运动员们会有与前一次不同的心态。
mindset:n.心态;倾向;习惯;精神状态;
Have you ever seen in a movie when someone gets an electrical shock and they're thrown across a room? 你看过一个人被 电击并被弹过 整个房间里的电影吗？
electrical:adj.有关电的;电气科学的;
There's no explosion there. 没有爆炸。
explosion:n.爆炸;爆发;激增;
What's happening when that happens is that the electrical impulse is causing all their muscle fibers to twitch at once, and they're throwing themselves across the room. 当电力的脉动 促使他们的肌肉纤维 颤动到两倍, 他们会自己把自己弹出去。
impulse:n.冲动;[电子]脉冲;刺激;神经冲动;推动力;v.推动; muscle:n.肌肉;力量;v.加强;使劲搬动;使劲挤出; fibers:n.纤维(fiber的复数); twitch:n.抽搐;抽动;痉挛;阵痛;vi.抽搐;抽动;阵痛;vt.使抽动;攫取;猛拉;
They're essentially jumping. 本质上而言他们是在跳跃。
That's the power that's contained in the human body. 这就是人类体内 所蕴含的能量。
But normally we can't access nearly all of it. 但是通常而言我们不能全部全部。
normally:adv.正常地;通常地,一般地;
Our brain acts as a limiter , preventing us from accessing all of our physical resources , because we might hurt ourselves, tearing tendons or ligaments . 我们的大脑如同一个限制器一般, 阻止我们动用全部的生理能量, 因为我们或许会伤到自己, 撕裂肌腱或者韧带。
limiter:n.限制器;限制物; resources:n.[计][环境]资源; v.向…提供资金(resource的第三人称单数); tendons:n.肌腱,[解剖]腱;蹄筋(tendon的复数); ligaments:n.[解剖]韧带(ligament的复数);
But the more we learn about how that limiter functions, the more we learn how we can push it back just a bit, in some cases by convincing the brain that the body won't be in mortal danger by pushing harder. 但是我们对于这个限制器如何运行知道得越多, 我们就对如何把它逆转一点 知道得越多, 例如通过以身体不会受伤 来说服大脑 达到逆转更多的目的。
convincing:adj.令人信服的; v.使确信; (convince的现在分词) mortal:adj.凡人的;致死的;终有一死的;不共戴天的;n.人类,凡人;
Endurance and ultra-endurance sports serve as a great example. 持续性运动和长时间持续性运动 在这里作为例子。
Endurance:n.忍耐力;忍耐;持久;耐久;
Ultra-endurance was once thought to be harmful to human health, but now we realize that we have all these traits that are perfect for ultra-endurance: no body fur and a glut of sweat glands that keep us cool while running; 长时间持续性运动曾被认为会对人的健康 造成伤害, 但是现在我们意识到 我们有这些可以完美适应 长时间持续性运动的特征: 没有体毛和众多的汗腺 在跑步时保持降温;
traits:n.特性,特质,性格(trait的复数); glut:vt.使…充满;使…吃饱;过多供应;vi.吃得过多;n.(商品)供过于求;大量; glands:n.腺体(gland的复数);气封;
narrow waists and long legs compared to our frames; large surface area of joints for shock absorption . 纤细的腰和长腿作为我们的结构; 更大的关节表面积为了吸收震动。
narrow:adj.狭窄的; v.使窄小; n.峡谷; (场所,物品等的)狭窄部分; waists:n.腰,腰部; absorption:n.吸收;全神贯注,专心致志;
We have an arch in our foot that acts like a spring, short toes that are better for pushing off than for grasping tree limbs, and when we run, we can turn our torso and our shoulders like this while keeping our heads straight. 我们的脚上有一个类似于弹簧的拱, 短的脚趾对于抓住树干而言更适合 蹬出, 并且在我们奔跑时, 我们可以转动我们的身体和肩膀 如同保持头部向前一样。
arch:n.拱;拱门;足背;拱形;v.成弓形;呈拱形覆盖;adj.调皮的;淘气的 toes:n.脚趾;足尖部;有…脚趾的;v.用脚尖走;(toe的第三人称单数和复数) grasping:adj.贪婪的;紧紧抓住的;v.理解,领会;抓紧,抓牢;(grasp的现在分词形式)
Our primate cousins can't do that. 我们的灵长类表亲们不能做到。
primate:n.大主教;灵长类的动物;首领;adj.灵长目动物的;首要的;
They have to run like this. 他们需要像这样奔跑。
And we have big old butt muscles that keep us upright while running. 而且我们有着大块的臀部肌肉 在奔跑时让我们保持笔直向前。
butt:n.屁股;烟头;笑柄;靶垛;粗大的一端;v.以头抵撞;碰撞; muscles:n.肌肉(muscle的复数); upright:n.立柱;adj.直立的;挺直的;竖直的;垂直的;adv.竖立着;垂直着;
Have you ever looked at an ape's butt? 你曾经看过一只古猿的臀部吗？
They have no buns because they don't run upright. 他们没有臀丘因为他们不是笔直向前奔跑。
buns:n.小圆甜蛋糕;小圆甜饼;(bun的复数)
And as athletes have realized that we're perfectly suited for ultra-endurance, they've taken on feats that would have been unthinkable before, athletes like Spanish endurance racer Kílian Jornet. 当运动员们理解到 我们完美适应长时间持续性运动, 他们展示出在以前不可思议 的技巧, 就如同西班牙长跑运动员克里安.琼尼特。
feats:n.功勋(feat的复数);特技; unthinkable:adj.不能想象的;过分的; racer:n.比赛者;比赛用的汽车;
Here's Kílian running up the Matterhorn. 这里是克里安.琼尼特在马拉松比赛上。
(Laughter) （笑声）
With a sweatshirt there tied around his waist. 在他腰上缠着一条运动衫。
sweatshirt:n.运动衫;T-恤衫;
It's so steep he can't even run here. 这里非常陡峭,他甚至不能到达。
He's pulling up on a rope. 他正在拉起一根绳子。
This is a vertical ascent of more than 8,000 feet, and Kílian went up and down in under three hours. 这里垂直上升 超过8000英尺, 克里安在三小时之内 从上到下。
vertical:n.垂直线;垂直位置;adj.竖的;垂直的;直立的;纵向的; ascent:n.上升;上坡路;登高;
Amazing. 令人惊奇。
And talented though he is, 尽管他是如此地天资出众,
Kílian is not a physiological freak . 克里安并不是一个生理上的怪胎。
physiological:adj.生理学的,生理的; freak:n.怪人,怪事;畸形人;反复无常;adj.奇异的,反常的;
Now that he has done this, other athletes will follow, just as other athletes followed after Sir Roger Bannister ran under four minutes in the mile. 现在他做到了, 其他运动员也跟随着, 就像其他运动员跟随在 罗杰.本尼斯特之后 在四分钟内跑完一英里。
Changing technology, changing genes , and a changing mindset. 变化的科技,变化的基因, 以及变化的精神状态。
genes:n.基因;(gene的复数)
Innovation in sports, whether that's new track surfaces or new swimming techniques , the democratization of sport, the spread to new bodies and to new populations around the world, and imagination in sport, an understanding of what the human body is truly capable of, have conspired to make athletes stronger, faster, bolder , and better than ever. 运动上的改革, 无论是新的跑道表面 或是新的游泳科技, 运动的民主化, 对于新体型和新的人口 在世界上的传播, 运动中的展望, 对于人体极限 的理解, 对使运动员比以往更强, 更快,更无畏,甚至更好 的策划。
Innovation:n.创新,革新;新方法; techniques:n.技巧;技艺;工艺;技术;(technique的复数) democratization:n.民主化; imagination:n.想象;想象力;创造力;想象的事物; capable:adj.能干的,能胜任的;有才华的; conspired:v.密谋;图谋;阴谋;(conspire的过去分词和过去式) bolder:adj.突出的;大胆的;更粗;(bold的比较级)
Thank you very much. 非常感谢。
(Applause) (掌声)