【英语时差8，16】谈谈拳击

 Mike: Hi, Amanda. Why don't you sit down and watch this boxing match on TV? It's a championship fight.

Amanda: No way, Mike. I hate boxing! I don't understand why people enjoy watching two grown men beat the living daylights out of each other. Aren't we supposed to be living in a more civilized¹ world now? Are we barbarians²? Does violence ever solve anything?

Mike: Now that you put it that way, I'm not sure what to think. All I know is that there's something moving about watching two guys struggling against each other with every last ounce of strength－fighting through the pain and the fatigue³, getting back up once they've been knocked down.

Amanda: But it's so horrible to watch! Why can't they struggle against each other with their minds instead of just using their brute⁴ strength?

Mike: Maybe you'd like this new sport called "chessboxing," then. Competitors alternate between four-minute rounds of chess and three-minute rounds of boxing. Whoever gets a knockout or a checkmate first wins－it's the ultimate combination of brain and brawn⁵!

Amanda: That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard of ... yet it's also strangely brilliant.

Mike: I know. I've already decided⁶ to start training－I want to represent Taiwan if this ever becomes an Olympic sport!

1 civilized   

a.有教养的，文雅的

参考例句：

• Racism is abhorrent to a civilized society. 文明社会憎恶种族主义。
• rising crime in our so-called civilized societies 在我们所谓文明社会中日益增多的犯罪行为

2 barbarians   

n.野蛮人( barbarian的名词复数 )；外国人；粗野的人；无教养的人

参考例句：

• The ancient city of Rome fell under the iron hooves of the barbarians. 古罗马城在蛮族的铁蹄下沦陷了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• It conquered its conquerors, the barbarians. 它战胜了征服者——蛮族。 来自英汉非文学 - 历史

3 fatigue   

n.疲劳，劳累

参考例句：

• The old lady can't bear the fatigue of a long journey.这位老妇人不能忍受长途旅行的疲劳。
• I have got over my weakness and fatigue.我已从虚弱和疲劳中恢复过来了。

4 brute   

n.野兽，兽性

参考例句：

• The aggressor troops are not many degrees removed from the brute.侵略军简直象一群野兽。
• That dog is a dangerous brute.It bites people.那条狗是危险的畜牲，它咬人。

5 brawn   

n.体力

参考例句：

• In this job you need both brains and brawn.做这份工作既劳神又费力。
• They relied on brains rather than brawn.他们靠的是脑力，而不是体力。

6 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。