2006年VOA标准英语-Controversy over Barry Bonds' Home Run Record

By Ernest Leong
Washington, DC
08 June 2006
 
watch Bonds Controversy¹ report
 
  
  
Experts refer to baseball as a "game of numbers." Recently, Boston Red Sox pitcher² Curt³ Schilling won his 200th game and Derek Jeter of the New York Yankees collected his 2,000th hit. Impressive numbers, but another recent accomplishment⁴ dwarfs⁵ them all. Barry Bonds of the San Francisco Giants hit his 715th career home run to take second place on the all-time list. Unfortunately for Bonds, the moment was a controversial one.

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A moment of pure joy, or it should have been, as the Giants' Barry Bonds passed Babe Ruth for second on the all-time Major League Baseball home run list. Even in his hometown of San Francisco, there were mixed feelings about Bonds' achievement.

"Everybody jumped out of their seats. You know what, the whole crowd went nuts!" said one fan.

"Bonds does not deserve to be in the record book and beat Babe Ruth and Hank Aaron, who did it the right way," said another. "Right way"means without steroids.

Mel Antonen  
  
Mel Antonen, a baseball writer for USA Today, said, "Steroids give athletes an unfair advantage. They're very unhealthy." He said, "The government is very worried when baseball and football players take steroids to enhance performance; it sets a bad example."

Bonds is currently being investigated by the federal government for perjury⁶, or lying to a grand jury about possible steroid use. News reports allege⁷ Bonds used steroids, but Bonds claims he never did so knowingly.

Hank Aaron is the all-time home run king with 755 homers. Aaron reportedly said he will not be in the ballpark if, and when, Bonds passes him. 

The link between steroids and home run hitting baseball players accelerated after a player's strike in 1994, according to investigators⁸. In 1998, St. Louis Cardinal⁹ Mark McGwire and Chicago Cub¹⁰ Sammy Sosa both broke the previous single-season home run record. Questions were raised about whether their achievements were tainted¹¹ by drugs, but the two sluggers helped win back many fans. 

The increase in ballpark attendance did not go unnoticed by baseball owners. Antonen said, "The owners were allowing it [steroid use] by looking the other way because they knew that's what fans wanted."

In 2004, employees of the Bay Area Laboratory Cooperative, BALCO, were accused of distributing steroids to top athletes in several sports. Barry Bonds was among those implicated¹².

Last year, some major league players  -- McGwire and Sosa among them -- testified at a U.S. Senate hearing on steroid use in baseball. Major League Baseball Commissioner¹³ Bud Selig also testified. Selig said, "I will suspend any player who tests positive for an illegal steroid."

Baseball now has much harsher penalties for steroid use, and the league has said it is investigating the Bonds case.

 
Pete Humm 
  
Pete Humm, owner of Pete's All Stars, a sports memorabilia store in Virginia, believes Bonds' personality also figures into the debate over his achievements. "He is not a fan's player,"Humm said. "He's not friendly with the media, he's not friendly with kids."

Antonen said that Bonds, "takes all second guessing personally.  He takes the opinions of columnists¹⁴ personally when, in essence, they're just covering the game."

The doubts over Bonds and steroids have affected¹⁵ the value of Bonds-related memorabilia. Recently, experts estimated the value of Bonds' 715th home run ball to be $100 thousand. Without the steroid debate, Humm said it could have been as high as $1 million.

Babe Ruth hit 714 homers playing in the 1920s and ‘30s and helped make baseball a popular attraction. Bonds passed Ruth, but some fans want that number erased¹⁶ from baseball's record books.

The response may be more vehement as Bonds closes in on Hank Aaron's record

1 controversy   

n.争论，辩论，争吵

参考例句：

• That is a fact beyond controversy.那是一个无可争论的事实。
• We ran the risk of becoming the butt of every controversy.我们要冒使自己在所有的纷争中都成为众矢之的的风险。

2 pitcher   

n.(有嘴和柄的)大水罐；(棒球)投手

参考例句：

• He poured the milk out of the pitcher.他从大罐中倒出牛奶。
• Any pitcher is liable to crack during a tight game.任何投手在紧张的比赛中都可能会失常。

3 curt   

adj.简短的，草率的

参考例句：

• He gave me an extremely curt answer.他对我作了极为草率的答复。
• He rapped out a series of curt commands.他大声发出了一连串简短的命令。

4 accomplishment   

n.完成，成就，（pl.）造诣，技能

参考例句：

• The series of paintings is quite an accomplishment.这一系列的绘画真是了不起的成就。
• Money will be crucial to the accomplishment of our objectives.要实现我们的目标，钱是至关重要的。

5 dwarfs   

n.侏儒，矮子（dwarf的复数形式）vt.（使）显得矮小（dwarf的第三人称单数形式）

参考例句：

• Shakespeare dwarfs other dramatists. 莎士比亚使其他剧作家相形见绌。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The new building dwarfs all the other buildings in the town. 新大楼使城里所有其他建筑物都显得矮小了。 来自辞典例句

6 perjury   

n.伪证；伪证罪

参考例句：

• You'll be punished if you procure the witness to commit perjury.如果你诱使证人作伪证，你要受罚的。
• She appeared in court on a perjury charge.她因被指控做了伪证而出庭受审。

7 allege   

vt.宣称，申述，主张，断言

参考例句：

• The newspaper reporters allege that the man was murdered but they have given no proof.新闻记者们宣称这个男人是被谋杀的，但他们没提出证据。
• Students occasionally allege illness as the reason for absence.学生时不时会称病缺课。

8 investigators   

n.调查者，审查者( investigator的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This memo could be the smoking gun that investigators have been looking for. 这份备忘录可能是调查人员一直在寻找的证据。
• The team consisted of six investigators and two secretaries. 这个团队由六个调查人员和两个秘书组成。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 cardinal   

n.(天主教的)红衣主教；adj.首要的，基本的

参考例句：

• This is a matter of cardinal significance.这是非常重要的事。
• The Cardinal coloured with vexation. 红衣主教感到恼火，脸涨得通红。

10 cub   

n.幼兽，年轻无经验的人

参考例句：

• The lion cub's mother was hunting for what she needs. 这只幼师的母亲正在捕猎。
• The cub licked the milk from its mother's breast. 这头幼兽吸吮着它妈妈的奶水。

11 tainted   

adj.腐坏的；污染的；沾污的；感染的v.使变质( taint的过去式和过去分词 )；使污染；败坏；被污染，腐坏，败坏

参考例句：

• The administration was tainted with scandal. 丑闻使得政府声名狼藉。
• He was considered tainted by association with the corrupt regime. 他因与腐败政府有牵连而名誉受损。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 implicated   

adj.密切关联的；牵涉其中的

参考例句：

• These groups are very strongly implicated in the violence. 这些组织与这起暴力事件有着极大的关联。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Having the stolen goods in his possession implicated him in the robbery. 因藏有赃物使他涉有偷盗的嫌疑。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

13 commissioner   

n.（政府厅、局、处等部门）专员，长官，委员

参考例句：

• The commissioner has issued a warrant for her arrest.专员发出了对她的逮捕令。
• He was tapped for police commissioner.他被任命为警务处长。

14 columnists   

n.专栏作家( columnist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This story will be more fodder for the gossip columnists. 这个传闻会是闲谈专栏作家的又一素材。
• The columnists coined the phrase \"to broderick\", meaning to rough up. 专栏作家们杜撰出一个新词“布罗德里克”意思是“动武”、“打架”。 来自辞典例句

15 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

16 erased   

v.擦掉( erase的过去式和过去分词 )；抹去；清除

参考例句：

• He erased the wrong answer and wrote in the right one. 他擦去了错误答案，写上了正确答案。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He removed the dogmatism from politics; he erased the party line. 他根除了政治中的教条主义，消除了政党界限。 来自《简明英汉词典》