Lesson 21 Daniel Mendoza
丹尼尔.门多萨
Listen to the tape then answer the question below.
听录音,然后回答以下问题。
How many unsuccessful attempts did Mendoza make before becoming Champion of all England
Boxing matches were very popular in England two hundred years ago. In those days, boxers fought with bare fists for prize money. Because of this, they were known as 'prizefighters'. However, boxing was very crude, for these were no rules and a prizefighter could be seriously injured or even killed during a match.
1. bare 赤裸的;裸露的
barely 几乎不;勉强
拓展:naked/bald
2. fist 拳头
拓展:wrist手腕/waist腰部/hip臀部/elbow肘部/brow眉毛,额/jaw下巴
3. crude 粗鲁的;未加工的;粗糙的
相当于rude
One of the most colourful figures in boxing history was Daniel Mendoza, who was born in 1764. The use of gloves was not introduced until 1860, when the Marquis of Queensberry drew up the first set of rules. Though he was technically a prizefighter, Mendoza did much to change crude prizefighting into a sport, for he brought science to the game. In this day, Mendoza enjoyed tremendous popularity. He was adored by rich and poor alike.
4. draw up 1)起草,草拟(draft/drift) 2)停止 3)赶上(with)
5. set
a set of 一套;一组
set on sb/come at sb/turn on sb攻击某人
set in季节等的来临/be set in以……为背景
set aside 把……放一边;留出/put aside
set out 陈述;着手做
set about/go about着手做
set sb up 出卖某人
6. technically adv. 技术上地;严格根据法律意义地
拓展:technique 技巧,技术;方法
technician 技师,技术员
7. in one’s day 在某人全盛时期
8. enjoy popularity=become popular
Mendoza rose to fame swiftly after a boxing match when he was only fourteen years old. This attracted the attention of Richard Humphries who was then the most eminent boxer in England. He offered to train Mendoza and his young pupil was quick to learn. In fact, Mendoza soon became so successful that Humphries turned against him. The two men quarrelled bitterly and it was clear that the argument could only be settled by a fight. A match was held at Stilton, where both men fought for an hour. The public bet a great deal of money on Mendoza, but he was defeated. Mendoza met Humphries in the ring on a later occasion and he lost for a second time. It was not until his third match in 1790 that he finally beat Humphries and became Champion of England. Meanwhile, he founded a highly successful Academy and even Lord Byron became one of his pupils. He earned enormous sums of money and was paid as much as $100 for a single appear one of his pupils. Despite this, he was so extravagant that he was always in debt. After he was defeated by a boxer called Gentleman Jackson, he was quickly forgotten. He was sent to prison for failing to pay his debts and died in poverty in 1836.
9. rise to fame 成名
拓展: frame 结构;框架; 制定;陷害(frame up)
近义词:reputation
10. swiftly 快速地
拓展:promptly 迅速地;敏捷地
11. turn
turn ... on使……感兴趣
turn around 好转
turn in 上交
turn over 移交;翻转
turn off 使厌恶
turn down拒绝
turn up/show up 出现
12. bitterly 痛苦地;及其地;刺骨地
bitter 痛苦的;有苦味的
13. settle
settle for勉强接受
settle down 定居下来
14. deal
It’s a deal/That’s a deal
a rough deal不公平的待遇
15. found 建立
foundation 基础
lay a solid foundation for
16. a sum of 一笔
in sum 总而言之
sum up 总结
summary 总结,摘要
summarize 总结,摘要,概述
17. poverty 贫穷;短缺
time poverty=lack/shortage of time
New words and expressions 生词和短语
Boxing
n. 拳击
boxer
n. 拳击手
bare
adj. 赤裸的
prizefighter
n. 职业拳击手(尤指古时赤手拳击手)
crude
adj. 粗野的
marquis
n. 侯爵
technically
adv. 严格根据法律意义地
science
n. 科学
popularity
n. 名望
adore
v. 崇拜,爱戴
alike
adv. 一样地
fame
n. 名声
eminent
adj. 著名的,杰出的
bitterly
adv. 厉害地
bet
v. 打赌
academy
n. 专业学校
extravagant
adj. 浪费的,奢移的
poverty
n. 贫困
参考译文
两百年前,拳击比赛在英国非常盛行。当时,拳击手们不戴手套,为争夺奖金而搏斗。因此,他们被称作“职业拳击手”。不过,拳击是十分野蛮的,因为当时没有任何比赛规则,职业拳击手有可能在比赛中受重伤,甚至丧命。
拳击史上最引人注目的人物之一是丹尼尔.门多萨,他生于1764年。1860年昆斯伯里侯爵第一次为拳击比赛制定了规则,拳击比赛这才用上了手套。虽然门多萨严格来讲不过是个职业拳击手,但在把这种粗野的拳击变成一种体育运动方面,他作出了重大贡献。是他把科学引进了这项运动。门多萨在的全盛时期深受大家欢迎,无论是富人还是穷人都对他祟拜备至。
门多萨在14岁时参加一场拳击赛后一举成名。这引起当时英国拳坛名将理查德.汉弗莱斯的注意。他主动提出教授门多萨,而年少的门多萨一学就会。事实上,门多萨不久便名声大振,致使汉弗莱斯与他反目为敌。两个人争吵不休,显而易见,只有较量一番才能解决问题。于是两人在斯蒂尔顿设下赛场,厮打了一个小时。公众把大笔赌注下到了门多萨身上,但他却输了。后来,门多萨与汉弗莱斯再次在拳击场上较量,门多萨又输了一场。直到1790年他们第3次对垒,门多萨才终于击败汉弗莱斯,成了全英拳击冠军。同时,他建立了一所拳击学校,办得很成功,连拜伦勋爵也成了他的学生。门多萨挣来大笔大笔的钱,一次出场费就多可达100英镑。尽管收入不少,但他挥霍无度,经常债台高筑。他在被一个叫杰克逊绅士的拳击手击败后很快被遗忘。他因无力还债而被捕入狱,最后于1836年在贫困中死去。
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