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发表于 2014-2-13 15:21:41
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第一段最后一句愣是看了英文版才明白的。
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VOX POPULI: Success and failure for teenage athletes at Sochi Olympics
Pablo Casals (1876-1973), who is generally regarded as the pre-eminent cellist of the 20th century, was once told that he played the instrument lightly, like the way a bird flies. But a comment the Spaniard made later about the observation brushes away the romantic image of a bird in flight.
Casals said he did not know how hard birds worked to be able to fly, but that he knew well he poured every effort he made with his cello. Almost without exception, lightness is a product of maximum effort, he added.
In the men’s snowboarding halfpipe event at the Sochi Winter Olympics, two Japanese teenagers, 15-year-old Ayumu Hirano and 18-year-old Taku Hiraoka, soared lightly in the air to win the silver and bronze medals, respectively. While they appear to be enjoying the sport, their medals must be the product of maximum effort, as Casals said.
Their flexible stance of moderately shouldering the expectations of those around them seems to have helped them demonstrate their ability to the fullest. Meanwhile, Sara Takanashi, 17, who finished fourth in women’s ski jumping, failed to completely fly through the air like a bird. I felt sorry for her because expectations for a medal apparently weighed too heavily on her. In the Olympics, the difference between third and fourth place is always ruthless.
Takanashi is still young and she will have another chance, people say. I think so, too. At the same time, I remember the following words: “I will never be 14 again.” The words are attributed to Tokugawa Yorinobu (1602-1671), Tokugawa Ieyasu’s 10th son, who uttered them when he was comforted that he was still young after he failed to distinguish himself in the 1615 Summer Campaign of the Siege of Osaka.
It may not be appropriate to compare Olympic competitions to a battle, but Takanashi may also be thinking that she will never be 17 again. I can only imagine the chagrin that only people who gave their all must endure when they fail. While thinking her graceful jumps must be the fruit of hard self-discipline, I wish to reward her with quiet applause.
--The Asahi Shimbun, Feb. 13 |
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