When people talk about aquatics at the Olympics， they often think only of swimming and diving. However， to do this means missing out on the exciting competitions taking place in the synchronized swimming and water polo events.

每當(dāng)人們談起奧運(yùn)會(huì)的水上項(xiàng)目時(shí)，他們通常只想到游泳和跳水。然而，這樣就意味著我們遺漏了兩項(xiàng)激動(dòng)人心的比賽，花樣游泳和水球。

The newly-built National Aquatics Center looks set to provide one of the most spectacular venues the Olympics has ever seen. Based on the natural formation of soap bubbles， The Water Cube offers the perfect setting for the Chinese team to shine， yet only time will tell whether their performances can bring the success this venue so richly deserves.

新建成的國(guó)家水上運(yùn)動(dòng)中心似乎將呈現(xiàn)奧運(yùn)會(huì)有史以來(lái)最盛大的景觀之一。基于肥皂泡自然形狀而建的水立方可以為中國(guó)隊(duì)提供完美的設(shè)施，當(dāng)然，只有時(shí)間能告訴人們中國(guó)隊(duì)的表現(xiàn)能否取得成功，我們將拭目以待。

Swimming， of course， has been a regular feature on the Olympic programme since the Games began. As a competitive sport， it started to appear in Great Britain during the early nineteenth century. At this time， swimmers generally preferred freestyle or breaststroke when taking part in competitions， yet subsequently backstroke and butterfly have been added to the professional swimmers' repertoire.

當(dāng)然，游泳從奧運(yùn)會(huì)誕生起就是常規(guī)項(xiàng)目。游泳是競(jìng)爭(zhēng)十分激烈的項(xiàng)目，它在19世紀(jì)早期的英國(guó)誕生。那時(shí)候，游泳者通常采用自由泳或蛙泳參加比賽，后來(lái)仰泳和蝶泳也加入到職業(yè)比賽的項(xiàng)目中。

All four strokes are now very much part of the Olympic programme， and are held over distances ranging from 50m to 1500m.In the medley events， spectators see all four strokes being used in turn by a relay team， where each swimmer puts forward their preferred stroke in the quest for a team victory.

這四種泳姿現(xiàn)在已經(jīng)是奧運(yùn)比賽的重要組成部分，比賽的全程從50米到1500米不等。在混合泳項(xiàng)目中，觀眾可以看到接力隊(duì)輪流采用四種泳姿，每位選手使用各自最擅長(zhǎng)的泳姿來(lái)為團(tuán)隊(duì)取得勝利。

The Chinese were once regarded as one of the world's great swimming nations， yet the team was only able to secure one gold in Athens 2004. Luo Xuejuan performed admirably in the women's 100m， but sadly this wonderfully talented swimmer was forced into early retirement for health reasons， a blow to China's hopes for another gold in Beijing. That said， the Chinese swim team is still looking to spring a few surprises， and challenge the traditionally strong teams from America and Australia. Wu Peng is one to watch， competing in the 200m men's butterfly， and will join a host of promising Chinese swimmers hoping to channel home advantage into a genuine challenge for medals.

中國(guó)一度被看作是世界游泳強(qiáng)國(guó)，然而在2004年雅典奧運(yùn)會(huì)上中國(guó)游泳隊(duì)只獲得了一枚金牌。羅雪娟在女子100米比賽表現(xiàn)出色，為國(guó)爭(zhēng)光。然而這位才華橫溢的游泳健將由于健康原因被迫早早退役。中國(guó)在北京再奪金牌的夢(mèng)想遭受打擊。不過(guò)，中國(guó)游泳隊(duì)依然在期待奇跡的發(fā)生，她們面對(duì)來(lái)自美國(guó)和澳大利亞的強(qiáng)有力的挑戰(zhàn)。吳鵬值得期待，他是200米男子蝶泳選手，中國(guó)游泳隊(duì)極有希望能將主場(chǎng)優(yōu)勢(shì)轉(zhuǎn)化為對(duì)獎(jiǎng)牌發(fā)起的真正挑戰(zhàn)。

In contrast to its race-oriented predecessor， synchronized swimming is a more elegant affair. As one of only a few Olympic events contested solely by women， synchronized swimming involves complex routines set to music. Similar to doing gymnastics in water， the sport's origins date back to the early 1900's when water shows were popular in the United States. It was only later developed into a professional sport by Katherine Curtis， who led a group of her students in a wonderful routine at the 1933-34 Chicago \"Century of Progress\" Fair. Curtis' students drew huge cheers from the crowd and the announcer for the event coined the term \"synchronized swimming.\" with those words a beautiful sport was born.

與之前的游泳追求競(jìng)速不同，花樣游泳更加優(yōu)雅。作為奧運(yùn)會(huì)僅有的幾個(gè)只有女子選手參加的項(xiàng)目，花樣游泳是根據(jù)音樂(lè)編排的復(fù)雜動(dòng)作，這和在水中做體操相似?；佑斡镜钠鹪匆匪莸?0世紀(jì)初，當(dāng)時(shí)水上表演在美國(guó)很風(fēng)靡。后來(lái)由凱瑟琳#8226;柯蒂斯發(fā)展成為一項(xiàng)職業(yè)運(yùn)動(dòng)，她帶領(lǐng)著她的一群學(xué)生在1933-1934年芝加哥“進(jìn)步的世紀(jì)”展會(huì)上有著出色的表演。柯蒂斯的學(xué)生引起了人群的歡呼，比賽的廣播員創(chuàng)造了一個(gè)新的詞匯“花樣游泳”，于是一項(xiàng)美麗的運(yùn)動(dòng)誕生了。

Although synchronized swimming originally appeared at the 1984 Olympics in its solo and duet forms， by the time Sydney 2000 came around， an 8-person team event had been added to the programme. In Beijing， all eyes will be fixed on the glamorous Chinese twins Jiang Tingting and Jiang Wenwen. Although these young swimmers require an exceptional performance to challenge the dominant Russians for gold， their undoubted talent will attract a lot of attention this summer. Modest almost to a fault， the twins' encouraging performance at the recent Asian Games was China's best ever showing in the sport， and China's synchronized swimmers will all be looking to build on that achievement this summer.

盡管這項(xiàng)比賽只是在1984年奧運(yùn)會(huì)上以獨(dú)奏和二重奏的形式出現(xiàn)，但在2000年悉尼奧運(yùn)會(huì)到來(lái)之際，由8名選手組成的隊(duì)伍參與到比賽中。在北京，所有人關(guān)注的目光都聚焦到迷人的中國(guó)孿生姐妹蔣婷婷、蔣文文上。盡管這些年輕選手需要特別出色的發(fā)揮來(lái)挑戰(zhàn)俄羅斯的金牌霸主地位，她們的才華無(wú)疑會(huì)在今年夏天引起人們的關(guān)注。她們不用過(guò)分謙虛，這對(duì)姐妹花在最近的亞運(yùn)會(huì)上有著振奮人心的表現(xiàn)，也是中國(guó)在該項(xiàng)運(yùn)動(dòng)上的最好表現(xiàn)，中國(guó)花樣游泳選手期待在今年夏天取得更大的成績(jī)。

Water polo is undoubtedly the least well-known of the aquatic events. The sport itself actually developed in Europe and the United States from softball water polo. This was an extremely rough sport that used to be played with a pig's bladder. It was similar to the more standard game of polo， apart from the fact players \"rode\" wooden barrels instead of horses， and for this reason the sport gained its name. Of course， nowadays， the sport is a highly competitive affair in which teams pass and throw a ball with their hands hoping to land it in the opposing team's goal.

水球無(wú)疑是最不為人所知的水上項(xiàng)目。這項(xiàng)運(yùn)動(dòng)本身實(shí)際上是從歐美的水上壘球發(fā)展而來(lái)。這曾經(jīng)是人們用豬的膀胱作球進(jìn)行的極度野蠻的一項(xiàng)運(yùn)動(dòng)。這與更標(biāo)準(zhǔn)的馬球相似，除了選手“騎”在木桶上而不是馬背上。這項(xiàng)運(yùn)動(dòng)就由此得名。當(dāng)然，目前，該運(yùn)動(dòng)競(jìng)爭(zhēng)已經(jīng)十分激烈，水球隊(duì)通過(guò)用手傳球和拋球來(lái)爭(zhēng)取把球投進(jìn)對(duì)方球門。

The sport only recently appeared in China， and the team itself was only assembled in 2003. With so little history in the event， it seems unlikely the men's team will overcome the \"group of death\" they find themselves in， which includes world champions Croatia and strong teams from Italy， Germany， Serbia and the U.S.A. The Chinese women， however， have a chance to make some progress in this event， and a good performance could be just what the sport needs to inspire a future generation of Chinese stars.

水球運(yùn)動(dòng)只是最近才在中國(guó)興起，中國(guó)水球隊(duì)在2003年剛剛成立。由于該項(xiàng)目的歷史很短，中國(guó)男隊(duì)看上去似乎很難突破他們所在的“死亡之組”，該組有世界冠軍克羅地亞隊(duì)和世界勁旅意大利、德國(guó)、塞爾維亞以及美國(guó)隊(duì)。而中國(guó)女隊(duì)有機(jī)會(huì)在該項(xiàng)目上取得一些進(jìn)步，他們需要用良好的表現(xiàn)鼓舞未來(lái)一代的中國(guó)新星們。

The last awake sport， diving， as everyone knows， is a completely different affair from the other aquatic events. Anything less than multiple golds will be a big disappointment to Chinese fans. Diving in the springboard and platform events has been an integral part of the Games since 1908， and over time， divers have put together increasingly sophisticated routines， attempting ever more complex turns and somersaults in their search for that perfect score. Greater variety has also added interest， where divers launch themselves from varying heights of 3 to 10 meters， or seek to synchronize complex routines with a team-mate diving next to them.

最后一個(gè)激動(dòng)人心的項(xiàng)目是跳水，對(duì)中國(guó)隊(duì)而言，除了得到金牌，其余的結(jié)果都會(huì)令人失望。在跳板和跳臺(tái)上進(jìn)行的跳水比賽自1908年奧運(yùn)會(huì)開(kāi)始就是其中的組成部分。隨著時(shí)間的過(guò)去，跳水運(yùn)動(dòng)員開(kāi)始運(yùn)用越來(lái)越復(fù)雜的動(dòng)作，試圖用更高難度的旋轉(zhuǎn)和翻轉(zhuǎn)來(lái)博取完美的得分。各種各樣的比賽項(xiàng)目也增加了其樂(lè)趣，跳水選手們參加的比賽從3米板到10米臺(tái)，或者在雙人跳中同步完成復(fù)雜的動(dòng)作。

The Chinese diving squad has dominated the sport for years， and in Beijing， these phenomenal athletes seem certain to impress the crowds once more. Wang Feng and Qin Kai are undoubtedly the hot favorites in the men's 3 meter springboard event. So too are their teammates Jia Tong and Chen Ruolin in the women's events. Athens Olympic champions Peng Bo， Hu Jia and Yang Jinghui should also hopefully compete this summer after periods of absence through injury.\"Diving queen\"， Guo Jingjing， will also be there， as will Olympic champions Wu Minxia and Li Ting， and this formidable squad is now tipped even to surpass China’s outstanding achievements in Athens

中國(guó)跳水隊(duì)統(tǒng)治該項(xiàng)目已經(jīng)多年，在北京，這些聲名顯赫的運(yùn)動(dòng)員看上去將再次讓人們記住他們。王峰和秦凱無(wú)疑是男子三米板的奪標(biāo)熱門。他們的隊(duì)友賈童、陳若琳在女子項(xiàng)目上也有奪金優(yōu)勢(shì)。雅典奧運(yùn)會(huì)冠軍彭勃、胡佳和楊景輝在傷愈復(fù)出后也應(yīng)在今夏爭(zhēng)取金牌。“跳水皇后”郭晶晶也會(huì)出現(xiàn)在北京，加上奧運(yùn)會(huì)冠軍吳敏霞和李婷，這個(gè)令人敬畏的陣容有望在北京取得比在雅典更出色的成績(jī)。

Expectations are running high in all four aquatics events; there is so much to look forward to down at the Water Cube this summer， we would all be fools to miss out on what promises to be one of the highlight of the Games this year.

人們對(duì)于這四項(xiàng)水上比賽充滿期望。今夏在水立方有許多值得我們期待的比賽，這很有可能是今年奧運(yùn)會(huì)的高潮項(xiàng)目之一，聰明人都不會(huì)錯(cuò)過(guò)吧！

Quiz

Use information from the article to complete the sentences below.

1. Many people call the National Aquatics Center ______________.

2. The event where China has the best chance of winning gold is _______.

3. Swimmers first started to compete properly in _______ _______.

4. The strokes that will be on display at the Olympics swimming competition will be: _______， _______， _______ and _______.

5. _______ _______ is one of the only sports to be contested solely by _______.

6. Without the efforts of one American， _______ _______， Jiang Tingting and Jiang Wenwen may not have had the chance to compete in Beijing.

7. Early forms of water polo saw players riding around on _______ _______.

8. On past form， the best water polo team in the world is _______.

9. Divers jump into the water from either a _______ or a _______.

10. Guo Jingjing has been so successful that she now has the nickname of _______ _______.