美國次貸危機殃及各個經(jīng)濟領(lǐng)域，股市暴跌、通貨膨脹、市場萎靡，牽一發(fā)而動全身，全球經(jīng)濟愁云慘淡，難尋出路。而環(huán)境危機的嚴重程度堪比經(jīng)濟危機，今年以來，重大自然災(zāi)害不斷，極端天氣頻頻發(fā)生，而中國更是經(jīng)歷了近年來自然災(zāi)害最為嚴重的一年，年初雪災(zāi)，年中地震。用“水深火熱”來形容2008年的生活或許并不為過。經(jīng)濟危機造成通貨膨脹，物價上漲，再加上生態(tài)環(huán)境惡化，2008年的社會矛盾更加突出。令人欣慰的是，公民的權(quán)利意識越來越強，而各國政府也愿意為人民謀福祉。

2008年即將結(jié)束，今年可謂“多事之秋”，無論是經(jīng)濟、環(huán)境，還是社會、文化，都充滿了不安定的因素。讓人不禁感嘆2008年究竟是萬劫不復(fù)，還是歷劫重生？本期文化閱讀欄目總結(jié)了2008年的熱點話題，分為經(jīng)濟篇、環(huán)境篇、社會篇、文化篇和體育篇，細數(shù)2008年的風風雨雨，回顧2008年的不安和磨難，一起在2008的年尾重新梳理一下這即將離去的一年吧。

The Year in Review – Economics

年終回顧——經(jīng)濟篇

A World in Crisis

“新一輪經(jīng)濟大蕭條”陰云籠罩全球

It was a year of nothing but gloom for the world economy. With the flickering exceptions of China and India， which continued to grow at astonishing rates， most countries took a financial pounding. The origin point was the American mortgage crisis， which rapidly blossomed into a global storm whose impact will be felt for years. Serious talk of \"a new Great Depression\" and \"the worst financial crisis in seventy years\" reflected the fear and panic that gripped the world， as business and banks once thought rock-solid crumbled overnight.

今年的全球經(jīng)濟可謂一片慘淡。除了鳳毛麟角的例外如中國和印度（其經(jīng)濟仍以驚人的速度增長），大多數(shù)國家的經(jīng)濟都受到?jīng)_擊。導(dǎo)火索是美國的次貸危機，其迅速演變?yōu)椴叭虻慕鹑陲L暴，其影響在未來數(shù)年內(nèi)都不會消退。由于那些曾被認為堅如磐石的公司和銀行一夜之間倒閉，“新一輪經(jīng)濟大蕭條”、“70年來最嚴重的經(jīng)濟危機”等不再是危言聳聽，困擾全球的恐懼和驚慌也從中可見一斑。

The economic crisis began with the collapse of the American housing bubble. Real estate prices in the US had become wildly inflated， causing banks to loan money to potential house purchasers without the ability to repay the loan， on the assumption that the value of the houses would simply continue to rise. At the beginning of the year， this bubble was popping， and American house prices began to drop in value.

經(jīng)濟危機源于美國房地產(chǎn)泡沫的破滅。由于美國房地產(chǎn)價格瘋狂上漲，許多銀行貸款給無償還能力的潛在房屋購買者，并盲目假設(shè)房價會繼續(xù)上漲。今年年初房地產(chǎn)泡沫破滅，美國房價開始下跌。

Normally this would have affected only the banks and buyers involved， but， over the last two decades， mortgages have become a form of investment purchaseable on the open market. You can buy someone's mortgage – or， normally， a package of many mortgages together – as an investment.With many oil-rich countries having more money to spend as a result of the rising cost of oil， global investment was heavily tied into the American market. Complicated financial instruments multiplied this value of this debt， and the cost when it failed， far beyond the original money involved. When these loans went bad， banks became reluctant to loan more money to each other and to businesses， causing the free flow of global credit to seize up.

一般情況下，只有相關(guān)銀行和買家會受到影響，但是過去二十年中，按揭貸款已經(jīng)成為可以在公開市場上交易的投資項目。作為投資，你可以購買他人的按揭貸款，通常情況下是一系列、很多的按揭貸款。隨著石油價格的上漲，許多石油大國財富增加，國際投資大量涌入美國市場。復(fù)雜的金融工具使債務(wù)的價值加倍，但當其失靈時，損失要比原相關(guān)投入資金大得多。當這些貸款變成壞賬，銀行更趨保守，不愿向同行和企業(yè)借出更多的資金，導(dǎo)致國際資本的自由流動受阻。

One of the first casualties of the economic crisis was Iceland， where massive over-expansion left the country virtually bankrupt after its three largest banks went under. Markets everywhere fell drastically， with some， like the Russian stock market， crashing entirely. By November， the real economy was beginning to feel the pain， with unemployment jumping and businesses sinking.Virtually every Western nation expects to be in recession throughout 2009.

冰島是經(jīng)濟危機第一批受害國之一，三大銀行倒閉之后的高通脹率事實上已經(jīng)造成“國家破產(chǎn)”。全球股市暴跌，有些市場像俄國股市，全面崩盤。到11月，隨著失業(yè)率的飆升和公司的倒閉，實體經(jīng)濟開始感到切膚之痛。事實上歐洲所有國家都會在2009年進入經(jīng)濟衰退期。

Developing countries suffered too， as commodity prices crashed as a result of falling demand. There were a few exceptions， such as a sudden rise in the price of copper due to China's needs， which benefitted the copper-rich Zambia， a small bright spot in a dark time. Oil prices， which had risen massively during the rest of the year， reaching new heights of over $150 per barrel， dropped back to their 2007 levels of $60-70 a barrel. As easily extractable oil becomes scarcer， however， energy prices are expected to continue to rise in the next few years， extracting a stiff cost for heating， light， and petrol.

發(fā)展中國家也未能幸免于難，需求量減少造成商品價格大幅下跌。但也有一些例外，例如由于中國的需求量上升銅價突然上漲，盛產(chǎn)銅礦的贊比亞因此受益，可以說是低迷時期的一個亮點。雖然石油價格一年來不斷大幅上漲，曾創(chuàng)下每桶150美元的新高，也回落到了2007年每桶60到70美元的價格。但是，由于易開采的油田日益稀少，能源價格在今后幾年還會走高，造成采暖、照明和汽油價格陡然上漲。

China and India continued to grow， although both countries showed signs of being affected by the sudden fall in demand from Western markets. China revised her growth estimates from nearly 11% to just over 9%， and many Chinese manufacturers faced a bleak 2009 as their overseas markets disappeared. Both China and India looked to domestic markets to sustain their economies. After a rise in the strength of the US dollar， a result of investors seeking safe investments in treasury bonds， China was also expected to continue to slowly revise the value of the RMB against the dollar. .

雖然中印經(jīng)濟繼續(xù)增長，但是兩國也出現(xiàn)受到西方市場需求驟減影響的征兆。中國重新預(yù)測的增長速度從近11%降到剛過9%，此外由于海外市場的消失，中國很多制造商面臨著艱難的09年。中印兩國都希望借拉動內(nèi)需維持經(jīng)濟的發(fā)展。鑒于一些投資者尋求穩(wěn)妥轉(zhuǎn)投國債，美元走強，預(yù)計中國也將逐漸調(diào)整人民幣對美元的匯率。

The Year in Review – The Environment

年終回顧——環(huán)境篇

Hot Cruel Planet

生態(tài)能源雙危機

The world continued to get warmer， with record summer heats recorded in several countries. Global warming and climate change remained an issue of major public concern， although global warming deniers， largely without scientific credentials， continued to argue their increasingly implausible case. All the world's major climatological and scientific organisations now concur on the risk of global warming， although the rate at which it will occur is disputed. Climate change was blamed for the increasing severity of tropical storms and hurricanes. For a few days it seemed as though 2008 would see a repeat of the disastrous 2005 Hurricane Katrina which destroyed New Orleans， but the new Hurricane Gustav lost most of its impact before hitting the coast. In South-East Asia， Cyclone Nargis killed 150，000 people， and provoked an international outcry over the failure of the Myanmar government to allow foreign aid relief.

全球繼續(xù)變暖，一些國家的夏季氣溫再創(chuàng)新高。全球變暖和氣候變化仍然是公眾關(guān)注的熱點之一，雖然全球變暖的否定者（大多沒什么科學(xué)依據(jù)）繼續(xù)叫囂其愈發(fā)站不住腳的觀點。目前全球主要氣象和科研機構(gòu)都承認全球變暖的危害，但對其發(fā)生的速度仍存在爭議。氣候變化也被指責是引發(fā)愈發(fā)強烈的熱帶風暴和颶風的罪魁禍首。三年前重創(chuàng)新奧爾良的夢魘般的颶風“卡特里娜”似乎在今年一段時間行將重演，好在新一輪的颶風古斯塔夫在登陸前威力已經(jīng)大減。在東南亞，熱帶風暴“納爾吉斯”造成15萬人死亡，而緬甸政府拒絕國際援助的做法激起國際公憤。

China， however， had its worst year for natural disasters since the disasters of 1975-1976， which the destruction of the Banqiao Dam in flooding， followed by a series of earthquakes culminating in the devastating Tangshan quake of July 1976， killed at least three hundred thousand people. Chinese New Year saw appalling snowstorms in the south of China， freezing hundreds to death， stranding millions at railway stations as they travelled to see their family， and cutting off power to whole provinces. Worse was to follow， however， as a major earthquake struck Wenchuan， Sichuan on May 12th， killing at least 70，000 people and destroying millions of homes. The Beijing Olympics， however， provided a welcome break in air pollution for the capital's residents， after factories were closed down and traffic reduced in preparation for the event.

然而中國卻經(jīng)歷了自1975到1976年以來自然災(zāi)害最嚴重的一年，1975年由于突發(fā)洪水導(dǎo)致板橋水庫垮壩，緊接著地震頻發(fā)，包括最嚴重的1976年7月的唐山大地震，造成至少30萬人死亡。今年春節(jié)期間中國南部遭遇特大雪災(zāi)，造成數(shù)百人凍死，數(shù)百萬準備回家過年的人滯留火車站，數(shù)省斷電。但接下來更嚴重的是5月12日四川省汶川縣發(fā)生強烈地震，造成至少7萬人死亡，數(shù)百萬人無家可歸。但另一方面，在北京為了迎接奧運會關(guān)閉了很多工廠和實施交通管制之后，首都居民感到空氣質(zhì)量得到了明顯的改善。

Energy was a major concern worldwide. With growing global demand for oil， especially from China and India， and a decline in easily extractable oilfields， prices skyrocketed. A single barrel of oil cost around $40 in 2007， but nearly $120 by the middle of 2008. The economic crisis brought this back down to $60 by the end of the year， but experts expected prices to continue to rise over time. This， in turn， severely impacted the price of petrol， particularly in the United States， a highly car-dependent country where many people drive for an hour or more to reach work.

能源還是全球焦點之一。隨著全球石油需求量不斷增加，尤其是中國和印度，以及易開采油田的減少，油價飆升。2007年石油價格僅約為40美元一桶，2008年中期猛增到近120美元。雖然由于經(jīng)濟危機年底的油價回落到60美元，但是專家預(yù)計一段時間以后油價還會繼續(xù)上漲。汽油價格因此受到嚴重影響，尤其是在高度依賴汽車的美國，許多美國人都開車一小時甚至更久去上班。

As a result， energy was an important issue in the American Presidential election， with the McCain campaign promising more drilling in environmentally protected areas， and the Obama campaign focusing on renewable energy and avoiding wastage. Worldwide， politicians sought to promote renewable energy， with Germany's Angela Merkel leading the way – 10% of German energy is now generated from renewable sources such as wind power， with the figure planned to rise to 50% by 2050. There was a new interest in nuclear energy， seen as a clean， relatively cheap way to generate power， but concerns over safety， and memories of the Chernobyl disaster which poisoned a large swathe of Ukraine in 1986， meant that public enthusiasm for new nuclear power stations remained very low. 因此，能源問題也成為美國總統(tǒng)大選的重要議題之一，麥凱恩陣營許諾開采更多環(huán)境保護區(qū)，而奧巴馬陣營則致力于可再生能源和避免浪費。世界許多政治家都力在促進可再生能源的利用，德國總理安格拉#8226;默克爾是其中的佼佼者，目前德國10%的能源都來自于可再生能源，例如風能，預(yù)計在2050年會達到50%。核能作為清潔，相對廉價的能源也重新為人們所關(guān)注，但是考慮到安全問題，特別是1986年造成烏克蘭大片地區(qū)污染的切爾諾貝利核泄露的前車之鑒，使公眾對于建立新的核電站依舊沒什么熱情。

The Year in Review – Society

年終回顧——社會篇

Fears and Hopes

民生問題嚴峻 生活更趨保守

Economic hardship and environmental fears both impacted on everyday life this year， forcing people to become more cautious in their spending habits， but also causing an upswing in left-wing views. People reported feeling a greater sense of local community as a result of hardship， and commitment to universal healthcare and education remained strong. The internet continued to play an ever greater role in everyday life， with one survey finding that nearly three-quarters of respondents in the USA spent more than an hour online every day. Online relationships also became increasingly accepted as a way of meeting people.

經(jīng)濟低迷和環(huán)境恐慌雙雙影響了今年的日常生活，人們的消費習(xí)慣更趨保守，左翼觀點開始升溫。由于經(jīng)濟危機，人們感到當?shù)厣鐓^(qū)關(guān)系變得更緊密，同時很多人希望政府確保繼續(xù)實施免費的醫(yī)療和教育制度。網(wǎng)絡(luò)繼續(xù)在日常生活中扮演愈加重要的角色，調(diào)查顯示美國近四分之三的受訪者每天上網(wǎng)時間超過一小時。網(wǎng)絡(luò)關(guān)系作為結(jié)識他人的方式也漸漸為人們所接受。

Anti-immigration fears in both the USA and Europe， stirred by right-wing journalism in both countries， grew. In America， these were mostly fueled by fears of Hispanic immigration from Central and South America. The USA-Mexico border has long been a focus for clashes between locals and illegal immigrants， but the American economy is heavily dependant on cheap， often illegal， migrant labour. In Europe the debate focused on refugees， Muslim immigrants， and， in Eastern Europe， Rroma (gypsies)， the last group the victims of long standing prejudices. Several European countries， including the UK， tightened their immigration laws as a result of public pressure. Attacks on minorities， including Rroma and Jews， increased throughout Europe.

由于美國和歐洲新聞界右翼勢力的煽動，兩地區(qū)的反移民情緒有所升溫。在美國，這種恐慌大多是由來自中南美洲的拉美移民引起的。長期以來，美墨邊境一直是美國當?shù)鼐用窈屯鈦矸欠ㄒ泼竦拿芗械貐^(qū)，但是美國經(jīng)濟又很大程度上依賴廉價、大多是非法移民的勞工。歐洲的矛盾焦點則集中于難民、穆斯林移民、東歐的吉普賽人（民族偏見的長期受害者）。包括英國在內(nèi)的一些歐洲國家迫于公眾壓力，進一步收緊移民政策。歐洲地區(qū)針對少數(shù)民族的攻擊（包括吉普賽人和猶太人）有所增加。

2008 saw strides forward for homosexual rights， as Hungary and Norway both passed laws allowing same-sex marriage， and several other countries instituted civil unions. In America， the Californian Supreme Court held that forbidding same-sex couples to marry violated their civil rights， following the same principals held in the striking down of laws forbidding interracial marriage. Connecticut passed laws allowing same-sex marriage in October， while Massachusetts had already done so in 2003. Right-wing and fundamentalist Christian opposition remained strong. Many gay men and women in long-term relationships immediately seized on the chance to legalize their relationships， including Japanese-American actor George Takei， famous for his role in Star Trek.

2008年同性戀者的權(quán)利得到了長足的發(fā)展，匈牙利和挪威兩國通過法律允許同性婚姻，其他一些國家也開始允許民事結(jié)合。美國加州最高法院裁定禁止同性戀情侶結(jié)婚違憲，與廢除禁止跨族婚姻的法律遵循了相同的原則?？的腋裰?0月通過法案允許同性婚姻，而馬薩諸塞州在03年就已經(jīng)允許同性婚姻。右翼和正統(tǒng)派基督教教徒仍舊強烈反對同性婚姻。許多關(guān)系已經(jīng)穩(wěn)定的男女同性戀者立即抓住機會，使雙方的關(guān)系合法化，包括日裔美籍演員竹井喬治（因出演《星艦迷航》而知名）。

China produced an ever-growing army of college graduates this year， but there were complaints of an absence of high-level jobs for the new workforce to fill. Unemployment remained a problem throughout the country， and concerns continue to be raised about the relative imbalance of girls and boys among the younger generation， with some surveys finding as many as 122 boys for every 100 girls. Worries about an aging population and the gender imbalance may change the specifics of the one-child policy in the future. More happily， a universal health insurance scheme was introduced， with the aim of covering the entire population by 2020.

中國今年的高校畢業(yè)大軍仍在繼續(xù)壯大，但適合新進勞動力的高端職位的缺失也引發(fā)了畢業(yè)生的抱怨。失業(yè)仍然是困擾這個國家的難題之一，而年輕一代男女比例失衡仍然備受關(guān)注。調(diào)查顯示男女生比例約為122:100。關(guān)于老齡化和性別失調(diào)的擔憂或許在將來會改變獨生子女政策的具體措施。但讓人欣慰的是，一項全民醫(yī)療保險計劃已經(jīng)啟動，力求于2020年在全國范圍內(nèi)實施。

The Year in Review – Culture

年終回顧——文化篇

Worldwide Adventures

英雄動畫各顯神通 眾星隕落卻添悲情

After a series of highly successful， long， artistic movies in 2007， 2008 seemed to be a return to a more populist series of adventure films. Most successful were two superhero movies， The Dark Knight and Iron Man， as well as Pixar's touching story of a lost robot cleaning up an abandoned Earth， Wall-E. The hilarious comic adventure Kung Fu Panda scored highly with audiences all over the world， particular in Asia.

不同于一系列夠冗長夠賣座的文藝片當?shù)赖?7年，08年似乎傾心于更加大眾化的驚險片。最搶眼的要算兩部超級英雄電影：《黑暗騎士》和《鋼鐵俠》，皮克斯出品的《機器人總動員》也不賴：一個迷茫的機器人清理被人類遺棄的地球的感人故事。滑稽搞笑的功夫動畫《功夫熊貓》可謂“名滿天下”，尤其是在亞洲地區(qū)。

The year also saw the return of pulp hero Indiana Jones (played by Harrison Ford)， the star of a massively popular trilogy of earlier movies directed by Steven Spielberg and produced by Star Wars filmmaker George Lucas. However， many fans were disappointed with the fourth film in the series， Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. In Asia， the first part of the Chinese epic Red Cliff wowed audiences， but failed to score with a Western audience who found the slow pace and assumed knowledge of early Chinese history tedious.

硬漢印第安納#8226;瓊斯（哈里森#8226;福特飾演）也在今年重回大銀幕，這位硬漢是先前大受歡迎、由斯蒂芬#8226;斯皮爾伯格導(dǎo)演、喬治#8226;盧卡斯（星戰(zhàn)導(dǎo)演）制片的三部曲中的主角。但是很多粉絲卻對這一系列電影的第四集《奪寶奇兵4：水晶頭骨》感到很失望。中國史詩巨作《赤壁（上）》讓亞洲觀眾贊嘆不已，但是西方觀眾卻不怎么感冒，拖沓的情節(jié)和虛構(gòu)的中國古代歷史內(nèi)容讓他們覺得很無趣。

Musically， there were few spectacular breakthroughs by newcomers; instead， the top albums of the year were by old standbys like Coldplay. British pop singer Leona Lewis continued to score hits worldwide with numbers such as Bleeding Love.

音樂方面，新人沒有什么大的突破，相反，年度最佳專輯都是由像“酷玩”這樣的老牌音樂人帶來的。英國流行小天后麗安娜#8226;劉易斯繼續(xù)憑借《流血的愛》此類單曲在全球各地連創(chuàng)銷售記錄。

In literature， the second ManAsian Booker Prize， recognizing major works of modern Asian literature untranslated into English， was due to be awarded in late October. Chinese competitors included Mo Yan's Life and Death Are Wearing Me Out， Yu Hua's Brothers， Han Dong's Banished! and Murong Xuecung's Leave Me Alone， Chengdu. The previous winner was Jiang Rong (a pseudonym for Lu Jiamin)'s powerful Chinese novel Wolf Totem， about a young man exiled to Inner Mongolia during the Cultural Revolution.

文學(xué)方面，第二屆曼氏亞洲文學(xué)獎定于十月下旬揭曉獲獎作品，該獎項旨在表彰尚無英文版的亞洲當代優(yōu)秀文學(xué)作品。入選的中國作品包括莫言的《生死疲勞》、余華的《兄弟》、韓東的《扎根》和慕容雪村的《成都，今夜請將我遺忘》。首屆獲獎作品是中國作家姜戎（呂嘉民的筆名）頗有影響力的作品《狼圖騰》，是關(guān)于文革期間下放到內(nèi)蒙地區(qū)的一個知青的故事。

The Nobel Prize for Literature went to the French author Jean-Marie Gustave Le Clezio， normally known by his initials as JMG Le Clezio. Le Clezio， born in 1940， initially became well-known for experimental， insular novels that focused on mental breakdowns and altered states of mind.After spending time in Central America in the 1970s， his breakthrough novel， 1980's Desert， marked a second phase in his career; lyrical adventures in forbidding landscapes and the subtle interaction with forgotten cultures.

諾貝爾文學(xué)獎的桂冠最終由法國作家讓#8226;馬瑞爾#8226;古斯塔夫#8226;勒#8226;克萊齊奧摘得，他的縮寫名JMG勒#8226;克萊齊奧更為人所知，出生于1940年的勒#8226;克萊齊奧早期以實驗性和孤僻性題材的作品見長，探索的主題是精神崩潰和瘋癲的狀態(tài)。20世紀70年他曾旅居中美洲；他的突破性作品是80年的《沙漠》，標志著他寫作生涯的第二個階段：主人公在令人望而生畏的地方展開充滿詩意的歷險和其與失落文明之間微妙的交流。

Finally， Nobel-winner and former Soviet dissident Alexander Solzhenitsyn， whose works on the Gulag exposed the horrors of the Siberian prison camps to the outside world， died at the age of 90， having returned to his homeland of Russia after being expelled in 1974. British science-fiction author Arthur C. Clarke， known for his cooperation with Stanley Kubrick in 2001: A Space Odyssey died in his adopted home of Sri Lanka on March 19th， aged 91. Gary Gygax， the creator of the role-playing game Dungeons and Dragons， the foundation of modern tabletop and computer RPGs， also died in March， aged 69. American actor Charlton Heston， known both for his many movie roles and his strong support of gun rights， died aged 84. The year was also marked by the tragically young death of the Australian actor Heath Ledger， at only 29， of a sleeping pill overdose; Ledger， who won acclaim in both Brokeback Mountain and The Dark Knight， was considered by critics to have the potential to be one of the greatest actors of his generation.

最后，諾貝爾獎得主、前蘇聯(lián)異議分子亞歷山大#8226;索爾仁尼琴去世，享年90歲，他關(guān)于“古拉格”的一系列作品向外界揭露了西伯利亞集中營里的駭人行徑，他在1974年被驅(qū)逐出境，1994年才得以返回祖國俄國。英國科幻大師阿瑟#8226;C#8226;克拉克于3月19日在位于斯里蘭卡寄居的家中去世，享年91歲，他因與導(dǎo)演斯坦利#8226;庫布里克合作電影《2001：太空漫游》而享有盛譽。角色扮演游戲DD（《龍與地下城》）之父加里#8226;吉蓋克斯也于三月去世，享年69歲，DD可謂現(xiàn)代桌上和電腦角色扮演游戲的基石。以眾多熒幕角色和堅決悍衛(wèi)槍支擁有權(quán)著稱的美國演員查爾頓#8226;赫斯頓辭世，享年84歲。澳籍演員希斯#8226;萊杰的英年早逝也為今年增添了濃重的悲情色彩，希斯#8226;萊杰年僅29歲，由于安眠藥服用過量意外身亡；萊杰憑借《斷背山》和《黑暗騎士》兩部影片而廣受贊譽，評論家認為他有潛力成為同代中最杰出的演員之一。

The Year in Review – Sport

年終回顧——體育篇

China's Triumphs

中國稱霸奧運會 眾星閃耀體育年

The big sporting event of 2008 was， of course， the Beijing Olympics. China stunned the world with her magnificent opening ceremony， featuring thousands of performers， billion-dollar special effects， and a virtuoso final torch-lighting by veteran gymnast Li Ning. The hosts went on to top the medals table， winning no less than 51 gold medals – just over half of their total haul of a hundred medals. Weightlifting， diving， and gymnastics， in particular， were totally dominated by Chinese athletes.

08年的體育盛事無疑當屬北京奧運會。精美絕倫的開幕式令世界目瞪口呆：數(shù)千名表演者，重金打造的特效，體操王子李寧帶來的精彩的點火方式。東道主傲視獎牌榜，贏得了51枚金牌——剛好過其百枚獎牌的一半。尤其是在舉重、跳水和體操三項賽事中，中國運動員獨領(lǐng)風騷。

America pressed close on China's heels， though， scoring more medals overall and it was an American， however， who was the star of the Olympics. Swimmer Michael Phelps， from Baltimore， smashed previous records by winning no fewer than eight single gold medal titles， a score never achieved beforehand. Phelps also set world records in seven of these events. Controversy stalked the Chinese gymnastics victory， meanwhile， as the winning team included two girls who many believed to be under the minimum age requirement of 16. The losing American coach， Bela Kun， registered an official complaint， but the IOC ruled in favour of the Chinese.

但是美國緊隨中國，贏得的獎牌總數(shù)更多，而且是一位美國人成為了奧林匹克之星。來自巴爾的摩的游泳選手菲爾普斯打破原記錄，勇奪八金，成為史上第一人。八場比賽菲爾普斯創(chuàng)造了七項世界紀錄。同時中國體操隊的勝利引發(fā)了爭議，因為許多人認為獲勝隊伍中的兩位女孩不足最低參賽年齡16歲。惜敗的美國教練貝拉#8226;庫恩提出官方申訴，但是國際奧委會站在了中國這邊。

The Jamaican athlete Usain Bolt was the other big star of the Games. Now the world's fastest man， Bolt won both the 100 and 200 metre events， as well as the 4x100 men's relay with the rest of the Jamaican team – and set new world records in all three events. The tall， cheerful athlete celebrated his 100 m victory by slapping his chest as he hit the finish line， which his coach complained cost him microseconds that could have made his record even more impressive!

牙買加運動員烏塞恩#8226;博爾特是本屆奧運會另一顆耀眼的明星。這位目前世界上速度最快的人不僅贏得了男子100米和200米決賽，還與隊友共同摘得了4x100男子接力賽的金牌，并在三項賽事中都創(chuàng)造了新的世界記錄。這位高大爽朗的運動員為了慶祝勝利拍著胸脯沖過100米終點線，他的教練抱怨說這浪費了他幾微秒，要不然他的記錄會更驚人！

In other news， 2008 saw one of the greatest tennis matches of all time in a nail-biting five set Wimbledon final between Rafael Nadal， from Spain， and Roger Federer， from Switzerland. The lethally efficient Federer had won Wimbledon for no fewer than five years in a row， and had a long-running rivalry with Nadal， who he had beaten in most of their previous encounters. This time the Spaniard came out on top， defeating Federer in a hard-fought and brilliantly played match to claim his first Wimbledon title and complete his career Grand Slam of all four Men's Single's titles. In the last five years， out of the twenty titles available， Federer has now won 12 and Nadel 5， between them closing virtually all competitors out of the top ranks.

其它方面，08年還有史上最精彩的網(wǎng)球比賽，來自西班牙的拉斐爾#8226;納達爾和來自瑞士的羅杰#8226;費德勒在溫網(wǎng)決賽上上演了五局巔峰對決。無敵天王費德勒已經(jīng)連續(xù)五次摘得溫網(wǎng)桂冠，與納達爾也是老對頭，在以往的較量中，費天王多次取勝。但這次這位西班牙小伙子占了上風，經(jīng)過一番苦戰(zhàn)，打敗了費德勒，精湛的球技幫他贏得了第一個溫網(wǎng)冠軍，也使他最終獲得了大滿貫賽所有四項男單賽事的冠軍。過去五年內(nèi)產(chǎn)生的二十個冠軍頭銜中，費德勒贏了十二個，納達爾贏了五個，二人幾乎霸占了所有的重量級獎項。

In football， the European Championship， held every four years and considered inferior only to the World Cup， was won by Spain with a 1-0 victory over Germany in the final. Greece， the surprise winners in 2004， were defeated early on， and England， normally a footballing power， failed even to qualify for the tournament. In American sport， meanwhile， the Boston Celtics won the NBA title in a four-two victory over the Los Angeles Lakers. The most popular single event was the Super Bowl XLII (the 42nd Super Bowl)， held in February， which attracted a record fourteen million viewers and was won， in a surprising upset， by the New York Giants. The losing New England Patriots had taken three out of five of the previous titles， leading many to expect another victory this year.

足球方面，歐洲杯決賽上西班牙隊以一比零戰(zhàn)勝德國隊，奪得冠軍；歐洲杯每四年舉行一次，地位僅次于世界杯。04年的黑馬冠軍希臘隊早早出局；而傳統(tǒng)強隊英格蘭隊甚至都沒取得參賽資格。與此同時美國方面，波斯頓凱爾特人隊以四比二打敗洛杉磯湖人隊贏得NBA冠軍。最火的一場賽事要數(shù)二月舉行的第四十二屆超級碗大賽，吸引了破紀錄的140萬觀眾，紐約巨人隊卻意外獲勝。戰(zhàn)敗的新英格蘭愛國者隊前五屆比賽贏了三次，很多人以為今年它還會取勝。