首页
外语
计算机
考研
公务员
职业资格
财经
工程
司法
医学
专升本
自考
实用职业技能
登录
外语
"I’m SORRY. " For days that’s been about all Japan has heard from its Olympic athletes. Those were the first words uttered by a
"I’m SORRY. " For days that’s been about all Japan has heard from its Olympic athletes. Those were the first words uttered by a
admin
2011-01-02
48
问题
"I’m SORRY. " For days that’s been about all Japan has heard from its Olympic athletes. Those were the first words uttered by a young swimmer after competing in the 400-m individual-medley swimming event, a difficult exercise that takes more than minutes to complete and re-quires four different strokes. Because her event took place on the opening day of Sydney 2000, her performance was considered especially significant for the fortunes of the nation. But with all of Japan watching, Yasuko Tajima fell short. Never mind that she earned a silver medal. "How disappointing," she said. "Next time I will win the gold.”
There is a unique form of pressure on Japan’s athletes. Competitors from every country face enormous expectations to win, to make the years of hard work and training pay off, to achieve greatness on the preeminent world stage. American cyclist Lance Armstrong, winner of two consecutive Tour de France races after surviving a contest with cancer, noted last week that, "If I loses the Olympics, they’ll say, ’I thought he was supposed to be a good cyclist." "But whereas failure to win gold might cost Americans a fat endorsement contract, for Japanese a disappointing performance is even more disastrous, as individual failure is somehow wrapped up with a sense of national identity. "For non-Japanese, it’s very peculiar for athletes to say they are sorry. "says Mitsunori Urushibara, a professor of sports philosophy at Shikoku Gakuin University. "Failure is never just an individual matter in Japan. Athletes always face the terror of being excommunicated from the group."
Understanding the culture in which Japanese athletes compete makes watching their defeats all the more painful. The agony of gymnast Naoya Tsukahara, whose hopes for an individual all-a-round medal were dashed last Wednesday when he inexplicably fell off the pommel horse, was obvious as he seemed to sleepwalk through his other events. His body was limp, his expression blank. "I didn’t want to disgrace my nation," he said. Another young swimmer, Tomoko Hagiwara, climbed out of the pool after finishing seventh in her 200-m individual-medley qualifying heat last Monday, her shoulders hanging downward, her head tilted downward. "What was the cause of your poor performance?" snapped a reporter for NHK, the national TV network. Hagiwara answered that she didn’t shift smoothly between strokes and that her turns were poor. "Please remember those points and try to do better in the next race," the reporter lectured: "You feel as if everyone in Japan feels ashamed of you, "former Olympic swimmer Hiroko Nagasaki commented on a Fuji TV broadcast.
A memory that still haunts many in Japan is that of Kokichi Tsuburaya, the marathon runner who finished third at the 1964 Tokyo Games. Four years later, while in training for the Mexico City Olympics, Tsuburaya killed himself by cutting his wrist in his dormitory. He was found holding his bronze medal. "I remember Tsuburaya’s comments before he committed suicide," follow marathoner Kenji Kimihara told the Nikkan Sports newspaper this year. "He said ’I committed an inexcusable mistake in front of the Japanese people. I have to beg their pardon by running and hoisting the Hinomam [national flag] in Mexico."
The media are partly responsible for the pressure, but they reflect the general attitudes of the population. And the nation’s fans don’t seem to be having much fun. Last week, hundreds of Japanese endured a horrific schedule to watch their team battle Brazil in soccer. They took a nine hour flight from Osaka to Brisbane, traveled by bus to the stadium, dutifully watched the game and left immediately for the airport for the return trip to Osaka. They were home in time for work the next morning. "They got there and acted like the cheering was compulsory," says Urushibara. "They didn’t seem to really enjoy the game. It is work. It is what members of the group do."
Sadly, even when an athlete lives up to expectations, the demanding drum-beat for victory doesn’t cease. On opening day, Tadahiro Nomura won a gold medal in judo in impressive fashion by "dropping" his opponent in just 14 seconds. It was his second Olympic victory, but Nomura had little chance to savor the moment. "What about 2004?" a reporter asked seconds after his victory. No one could blame the quiet champion if he felt like folding up his judo jacket and never putting it back on again.
What do the examples in Para. 3 & 4 mean?
选项
A、Japanese athletes are too ambitious.
B、Olympic games do more harm than good.
C、The peculiar Japanese culture should be replaced.
D、Japanese athletes regard their failures as their national disgrace and are under great pressure.
答案
D
解析
该题问:第三、四段的例子意味着什么?从第三段的 You feel as if everyone in Japan feels ashamed of you 和第四段的 he said, "I committed an inexcusable mistake in front of the Japanese people.I have to beg their pardon by running and hoisting the Hinomarn [national flag] in Mexico 中可以看出D项(认为他们的失败是他们国家的羞耻的运动员处于极大的压力下)是正确的。A项意为“日本的运动员太有野心”,不是本文的主旨。B项意为“奥林匹克运动带来的危害大于益处”,这也是错误的判断。C项意为“古怪的日本文化应该被取代”,这也不是本文的主旨。
转载请注明原文地址:https://kaotiyun.com/show/6DeO777K
0
专业英语八级
相关试题推荐
IntroductiontoM.deI’AubepineM.deI’Aubepineisunknowntomanyofhiscountrymen,aswellastothestudentsoffore
Thefemalesofourclosestprimaterelatives,thechimpanzees,arenotexactlyparagonsofsexualprobity.ArecentDNAstudyof
Allovertheworldmenandwomenandboysandgirlsenjoysports.Sportshelppeopletolivehappilyaswellaskeepfit.Today
A、economicglobalizationB、legalprofessioninthecontextofglobalizationC、legalprofessionD、economicmattersinthecontext
AtypicalfeatureoftheEnglishVictorianliteratureisthatwritersbecamesocialandmoral_______,exposingallkindsofso
ACareerinAccountingAsafieldofstudyandwork,accountingisexpandingthroughouttheworld.Ajobinaccountingpromi
WhoisfamousforhishistoricalnovelofRobRoy?
BritishPrimeMinisterTonyBlairbelongsto______.
A、AccordingtothemovementandvibrationsofhotgassesB、ThetradewindsblowonEarthC、TheriversD、Thesoundtravelthrough
Backin1985,ViktorCherkashinwasaseniorKGBofficerattheSovietEmbassyinWashington.Intheshadowyworldofespionage,
随机试题
给定程序MODll.C中函数fun的功能是:统计substr所指子字符串在str所指字符串中出现的次数。例如,若字符串为aaaslkaaas,子字符串为as,则应输出2。请改正程序中的错误,使它能计算出正确的结果。注意:不要改动main函数,不得增
小李在推销某饮料时说:这种饮料含有一些人体必需的营养成分,所以不喝这种饮料就会缺乏这些必需的营养。以下哪项最能削弱小李的推销?
我国公务员录用的资格条件。
《李将军列传》一文中,交代李广被迫自杀的战争是“随卫青击匈奴之战”。()
注射剂中,吐温-80常用作
A.快速充盈期B.等容舒张期C.缓慢射血期D.快速射血期E.等容收缩期容积快速增大为()
善于清心胃实火而除烦.止呕的药物是
营销部王华的病假天数修改为2天,请重新计算“销售人员”工资表数据。
该校教师最多的是哪一年?( )哪一年中年男教师的增长幅度最大?( )
为真诚答谢【155】大英语学习者对本社【156】版的词典的厚爱,本社在暑期【157】展“打好英语学习基本功,英文词典伴您行”活动,凡在活动期【158】购买我社精品词典——《当代高级英语辞典》、《英汉多功能词典》的【159】者,均可获赠方便实用的环【160】
最新回复
(
0
)