1、【精品文檔】如有侵權(quán)，請(qǐng)聯(lián)系網(wǎng)站刪除，僅供學(xué)習(xí)與交流Unit 5 Athletes新編大學(xué)英語(yǔ)第二版第四冊(cè)課文翻譯.精品文檔.Unit 5 AthletesAthletes Should Be Role ModelsI love Charles Barkley like a brother, and except for the times when we're hanging and pushing each other under the boards in games between my team, the Utah Jazz, and his, the Phoenix Sun

2、s, we're great friends. We don't necessarily like the same things: Charles loves golf so much he would play at halftime if he could, but I think a golf course is a waste of good pasture-land. One of the reasons we get along so well, though, is that we both say what's on our minds without

3、 worrying about what other people are going to thinkwhich means we disagree from time to time. Here's an example of what I mean: I disagree with what Charles says in his Nike commercial, the one in which he insists, "I am not a role model." Charles, you can deny being a role model all

4、you want, but I don't think it's your decision to make. We don't choose to be role models, we are chosen. Our only choice is whether to be a good role model or a bad one. I don't think we can accept all the glory and the money that comes with being a famous athlete and not accept the

5、 responsibility of being a role model, of knowing that kids and even some adults are watching us and looking for us to set an example. I mean, why do we get endorsements in the first place? Because there are people who will follow our lead and buy a certain sneaker or cereal because we use it. I lov

6、e being a role model, and I try to be a positive one. That doesn't mean I always succeed. I'm no saint. I make mistakes, and sometimes I do childish things. And I don't always wake up in a great, role-model mood. There are days when I don't want to pose for a picture with every fan I

7、 run into, when I don't feel like picking up babies and giving them hugs and kisses (no matter how cute they are), those are the days I just try to avoid the public. But you don't have to be perfect to be a good role model and people shouldn't expect perfection. If I were deciding whethe

8、r a basketball player was a positive role model, I would want to know: Does he influence people's lives in a positive way away from the court? How much has he given of himself, in time or in money, to help people who look up to him? Does he display the valueslike honesty and determinationthat ar

9、e part of being a good person? I wouldn't ask whether he lives his life exactly the way I would live it or whether he handles every situation just the way I would handle it. I do agree with Charles on one thing he says in his commercial: "Just because I can dunk a basketball doesn't mea

10、n I should raise your kids." But sometimes parents need a little assistance. There are times when it helps for a mother and father to be able to say to their kids, "Do you think Karl Malone or Scottie Pippen or Charles Barkley or David Robinson would do that?" To me, if someone uses m

11、y name in that way, it's an honor. Sure, parents should be role models to their children. But let's face it, kids have lots of other role modelsteachers, movie stars, athletes, even other kids. As athletes, we can't take the place of parents, but we can help reinforce what they try to te

12、ach their kids. Parents just have to make sure they don't take it too far. Sometimes they put us on a pedestal that feels more like a tightropeso narrow that we're bound to fall off eventually. This is not something I'm especially proud of, but I've had parents in Utah say things to

13、me like, "You know, Karl, in our family we worship the ground you walk on. In our house your picture is right up there on the wall beside Jesus Christ." Now, that's going too far. Is it any wonder some athletes don't want to be role models? Who wants to be held up to that kind of i

14、mpossibly high standard? Imagine someone putting a lifesized picture of you on a wall and saying things to your picture before they go to bed. That's scary. Constantly being watched by the public can be hard to tolerate at times. I am sorry that Michael Jordan had to deal with the negative publi

15、city he received about gambling. I don't think most people can imagine what it's like to be watched that closely every minute of every day. I was told once that it wouldn't be that bad for me because no one would know me outside of Utah, but that's not true. Ever since I played on th

16、e Dream Team in the Olympics, I can't go anywhere without being the center of attention, and that's very confining at times. For instance, there have been occasions when I've felt like buying a big Harley-Davidson motorcycle and riding it down the street. First, the Jazz would have a fit

17、 and say it's too dangerous. Second, everyone would be watching to see if I wore a helmet, if I was obeying the speed limit, if I was taking turns safelyyou name it. The first time I didn't measure up to expectations, I would hear, "What kind of example is that to set for other people w

18、ho ride motorcycles?" But the good things about being a role model outweigh the bad. It's a great feeling to think you're a small part of the reason that a kid decided to give school another try instead of dropping out or that a kid had the strength to walk away when someone offered him

19、 drugs. But one thing I would encourage parents to do is to remind their kids that no matter which athletes they look up to, there are no perfect human beings. That ways if the kid's heroes should make mistakes, it won't seem like the end of the world to them. I would never criticize someone

20、 for saying what he thinks. If Charles doesn't consider himself a role model, that's certainly his right. But I think he is a role modeland a good one, too. And if he gets that NBA championship ring, I might just make him my role model. 運(yùn)動(dòng)員該成為榜樣嗎？1. 我喜歡查爾斯巴克利，就像他是我的親兄弟一樣，而且除了比賽中在籃板下彼此沖撞的時(shí)候（我

21、在猶他爵士隊(duì)；他在菲尼克斯太陽(yáng)隊(duì)），我們是很好的朋友。我們的愛好不一定完全相同：查爾斯酷愛高爾夫球，要是可能的話他中場(chǎng)休息時(shí)都會(huì)打，我卻認(rèn)為把優(yōu)良的牧地造成高爾夫球場(chǎng)是浪費(fèi)。而我們能很好相處的一個(gè)原因是，我倆都心里想什么就說(shuō)什么，不管別人會(huì)怎么想這也意味著我們時(shí)常會(huì)意見不一致。有一個(gè)例子能說(shuō)明我的意思：我不同意查爾斯在他做的耐克廣告中說(shuō)的話。在那則廣告里，他強(qiáng)調(diào)說(shuō)：“我不是一個(gè)行為榜樣。”查爾斯，你完全可以否認(rèn)自己是行為榜樣，但是我認(rèn)為這不是自己可以決定的。我們沒(méi)想要做行為榜樣，而是大家要我們做。我們唯一能選擇的是做一個(gè)好榜樣還是做一個(gè)壞榜樣。2 我認(rèn)為成了著名運(yùn)動(dòng)員后，我們不能只接受隨之而來(lái)

22、的榮譽(yù)和金錢，卻拒絕承擔(dān)作為榜樣的責(zé)任，或者沒(méi)有意識(shí)到孩子們、甚至一些成年人正關(guān)注著我們，期望我們樹立起一個(gè)榜樣。我的意思是，首先為什么我們能有機(jī)會(huì)做廣告呢？因?yàn)橛腥藭?huì)以我們?yōu)榘駱樱麄冑I某種運(yùn)動(dòng)鞋或某種麥片，（僅僅）因?yàn)槲覀冊(cè)谟眠@些東西。3 我喜歡成為榜樣，并努力去做個(gè)好榜樣。但這并不是說(shuō)我總是做得很好。我決非圣賢，我會(huì)犯錯(cuò)誤，而且有時(shí)還會(huì)做一些非常幼稚的事情。我并非每天早上醒來(lái)都具備了做榜樣的好心情。有些日子，我并不想同遇見的每個(gè)球迷都擺姿勢(shì)合影，不想抱起嬰兒擁抱、親吻（無(wú)論他們有多可愛）。處在這種時(shí)候，我就盡量避開公眾。4 但做個(gè)好榜樣并不需要十全十美，而且人們也不應(yīng)該期盼完美。如果由我

23、來(lái)判定一個(gè)籃球運(yùn)動(dòng)員是否是個(gè)好榜樣，我想知道的是：他在球場(chǎng)之外，是否給人們的生活帶來(lái)了積極的影響？他自己付出了多少時(shí)間或金錢去幫助那些敬仰他的人？他顯示出一個(gè)優(yōu)秀者應(yīng)具有的諸如誠(chéng)實(shí)、毅力這些品格嗎？但我不會(huì)問(wèn)他是否以我的那種方式生活，或者是否以我處理事情的方式來(lái)應(yīng)付每一個(gè)局面。5 查爾斯在他的廣告中所說(shuō)的有一點(diǎn)我贊成，那就是“我能扣籃并不意味著我應(yīng)該養(yǎng)育你們的孩子。”但是，有時(shí)家長(zhǎng)們也需要一點(diǎn)幫助。如果父母能對(duì)孩子說(shuō)：“你想想卡爾馬龍、斯科蒂皮蓬、查爾斯巴克利或大衛(wèi)羅賓遜會(huì)那樣做嗎？”有時(shí)候，這是很管用的。如果有人這樣提到我的名字，對(duì)我來(lái)說(shuō)是一種榮譽(yù)。當(dāng)然，父母應(yīng)該成為自己孩子的行為榜樣。然而

24、實(shí)際情況是孩子們有許多其他的行為榜樣老師、電影明星、運(yùn)動(dòng)員、甚至其他孩子。作為運(yùn)動(dòng)員，我們不能取代父母，但是我們能協(xié)助他們?nèi)ゼ訌?qiáng)和鞏固他們努力教給孩子的那些思想。6 父母?jìng)円欢ú荒茏龅锰^(guò)火。他們有時(shí)把我們奉若神明，使我們感到是在走鋼索在這么細(xì)的鋼索上我們最終必定會(huì)摔下來(lái)。這不是一件讓我感到特別自豪的事：在猶他州曾經(jīng)有孩子家長(zhǎng)對(duì)我說(shuō)過(guò)這樣的話：“你要知道，卡爾，我們?nèi)叶紝?duì)你崇拜得五體投地，在我們家里，我們把你的照片和基督畫像一起并排掛在墻上。”這就太過(guò)分了。難怪有些運(yùn)動(dòng)員不愿做行為榜樣。誰(shuí)會(huì)愿意被拔得那樣高呢，那是能達(dá)到的標(biāo)準(zhǔn)嗎？設(shè)想一下，有人把你真人大小的照片掛在墻上，而且每晚睡覺前都要對(duì)

25、著你的照片傾訴一番，這是很可怕的。7 時(shí)刻處在公眾的注視之下有時(shí)令人難以忍受。我十分同情邁克爾喬丹，他不得不對(duì)付有關(guān)他賭博的負(fù)面報(bào)道。我想大多數(shù)人都無(wú)法想象，分分秒秒、日復(fù)一日都被如此密切地注視著是什么滋味。曾經(jīng)有人對(duì)我說(shuō)，我個(gè)人的情況還不至于那么糟，因?yàn)槌隽霜q他州就沒(méi)人認(rèn)識(shí)我了。但事實(shí)并非如此。自從我作為夢(mèng)之隊(duì)的一員參加了奧運(yùn)會(huì)的比賽后，我無(wú)論到哪里都會(huì)成為人們注意的中心。這有時(shí)使人受到很大的限制。例如，我有好幾次想買一輛哈利-戴維森牌的大摩托車，騎著它逛逛街。首先爵士隊(duì)會(huì)大發(fā)雷霆，說(shuō)這太危 險(xiǎn)。其次，每個(gè)人都會(huì)盯著我，看我是否戴了頭盔，是否按照限定的速度行駛，是否安全轉(zhuǎn)彎，不一而足。一旦我

26、沒(méi)有達(dá)到他們的期望，就會(huì)有人說(shuō)：“這給其他騎摩托車的人樹立了個(gè)什么榜樣啊？”但是，8 做一個(gè)行為榜樣的好處要多于壞處。想到某個(gè)孩子決定在學(xué)業(yè)上再做一番嘗試而不是輟學(xué)，或者碰到有人向他兜售毒品時(shí)，能從毒販子身邊走開，而這其中也有你的一小部分功勞時(shí)，那種感覺好極了。但是我要鼓勵(lì)父母?jìng)內(nèi)プ鲆患拢蔷褪翘嵝阉麄兊暮⒆訜o(wú)論他們敬仰哪位運(yùn)動(dòng)員，十全十美的人是沒(méi)有的。這樣一來(lái)，如果孩子們心目中的英雄犯了錯(cuò)誤，他們就不會(huì)覺得世界末日到了。9 我決不會(huì)因?yàn)槟硞€(gè)人說(shuō)了心里話而批評(píng)他。如果查爾斯認(rèn)為他自己不是個(gè)行為榜樣，這是他的權(quán)利。但我認(rèn)為他是一個(gè)行為榜樣，而且是一個(gè)好榜樣。如果他能戴上NBA的冠軍戒指，我也許

27、會(huì)把他當(dāng)作我自己的行為榜樣。Athletes Should Not Be Role ModelsThese days there are so many stories about the criminal activities of athletes that sports pages are beginning to look like police reports. What's going on? American sports fans ask over their morning toast and coffee, What's happening to our h

28、eroes? It's not difficult to understand our desire for athletes to be heroes. On the surface, at least, athletes display a vital and indomitable spirit; they are gloriously alive inside their bodies. And sports do allow us to witness acts that can legitimately be described as courageous, thrilli

29、ng, beautiful, even noble. In an increasingly complicated and disorderly world, sports are still an arena in which we can regularly witness a certain kind of greatness. Yet there's something of a paradox here, for the very qualities a society tends to seek in its heroesselflessness, social consc

30、iousness, and the likeare precisely the opposite of those needed to transform a talented but otherwise unremarkable neighborhood kid into a Michael Jordan. To become a star athlete, you have to have an extremely competitive outlook and you have to be totally focused on the development of your own ph

31、ysical skills. These qualities may well make a great athlete, but they don't necessarily make a great person. On top of this, our society reinforces these traits by the system it has created to produce athletesa system characterized by limited responsibility and enormous privilege. The athletes

32、themselves suffer the costs of this system. Trained to measure themselves perpetually against the achievements of those around them, many young athletes develop a sense of what sociologist Walter Schafer has termed "conditional self-worth". They learn very quickly that they will be accepte

33、d by the important figures in their livesparents, coaches and peers as long as they are perceived as "winners". Unfortunately they become conceited and behave as if their athletic success will last forever. Young athletes learn that success, rather than hard and honest play, is what brings

34、 rewards. And for those successful enough to rise to the level of big-time college sports, the "reward" is often an artificially controlled social environment, one that shields them from many of the responsibilities other students face. Coacheswhose own jobs, of course, depend on maintaini

35、ng winning programsprotect their athletes to ensure that nothing threatens their eligibility to compete. If an athlete gets into trouble with the law, for instance, a coach will very likely intervenehiring an attorney, perhaps even managing to have the case quietly dismissed. In some schools, athlet

36、es don't even choose their own classes or buy their own books; the athletic department does all this for them. It's not unheard-of for athletic department staff to wake up athletes in the morning and to take them to class. Given this situation, it's not too surprising that many young Ame

37、rican athletes lack a fully developed understanding of right and wrong. Professor Sharon Stoll of the University of Idaho has tested more than 10,000 student athletes from all over the country, ranging from junior high to college age; she reports that in the area of moral reasoning, athletes invaria

38、bly score lower than non-athletesand that they grow worse the longer they participate in athletics. Overprotected by universities, flattered by local communities, given star status by the public, rewarded with seven or eight-figure salaries, successful athletes, inevitably develop the feeling that t

39、hey are privileged beingsas indeed they are. The danger arises when they think that because they are privileged they can have anything they want. Mike Tyson, of course, is the most obvious example of this phenomenon. Having been taught as a young man that he was specialhis trainer, Cus D' Amato,

40、 had one set of rules for Tyson and another, more demanding, set for all his other boxersand having lived his entire adult life surrounded by a team of admiring "slaves", Tyson eventually came to believe, like a medieval king, that all he saw rightfully belonged to him. Blessed with money

41、and fame enough to last a lifetime, he spent his time outside the ring acquiring and discarding the objects of his desire: houses, automobiles, jewelry, clothes, and women. As a result of the publicity surrounding his rape trial, countless women have related stories of Tyson asking them for sexual f

42、avors and then, upon being refused, saying with surprise, "Don't you know who I am? I'm the heavyweight champion of the world." Needless to say, not all athletes are Mike Tyson; there are plenty of athletes who recognize that they have been granted some extraordinary gifts in this

43、life and want to give something back to the community. Some remarkable individuals will always rise above the deforming athletic system we've created. After retiring from football, Alan Page of the Minnesota Vikings became a successful lawyer and established the Page Education Foundation, which

44、helps minority and disadvantaged kids around the country pay for college. Frustrated by the old-boy network by which Minnesota judges were always appointed, Page challenged the system in court and was eventually elected judge in the Supreme Court. He thus became the first black ever elected to a sta

45、tewide office in Minnesota. Thankfully, there will always be some legitimate heroes (or, to use the more contemporary term, role models) to be found among professional athletes. Still, it's probably misguided for society to look to athletes for its heroesany more than we look among the ranks of,

46、 say, actors or lawyers or pipefitters. The social role played by athletes is indeed important (imagine a society without sports; I wouldn't want to live in it), but it's fundamentally different from that of heroes. 運(yùn)動(dòng)員不應(yīng)是行為榜樣1如今有關(guān)運(yùn)動(dòng)員犯罪行為的報(bào)道如此之多，以至于體育專欄變得像警方報(bào)告欄了。這是怎么回事?美國(guó)的體育迷們?cè)诔栽琰c(diǎn)喝咖啡時(shí)不禁都會(huì)問(wèn)：我

47、們的英雄們?cè)趺戳?2我們渴望運(yùn)動(dòng)員成為英雄，這不難理解。至少?gòu)谋砻嫔蟻?lái)看運(yùn)動(dòng)員們展現(xiàn)出了朝氣蓬勃、不屈不撓的精神，他們體內(nèi)煥發(fā)著活力。體育運(yùn)動(dòng)的確讓我們目睹了真正可以稱之為勇敢、激動(dòng)人心、優(yōu)美乃至高尚的行為。在一個(gè)日益復(fù)雜無(wú)序的世界中，體育仍是一個(gè)可以讓我們時(shí)常目睹某種偉大表現(xiàn)的競(jìng)技場(chǎng)。3然而這顯然是自相矛盾的。社會(huì)想從英雄身上尋求的品質(zhì)，如大公無(wú)私、社會(huì)意識(shí)等等，恰好與運(yùn)動(dòng)員所需的品質(zhì)大相徑庭，用這些品質(zhì)是無(wú)法把一個(gè)有體育天賦而在其他方面表現(xiàn)平平的街坊小孩變成邁克爾·喬丹的。要成為一名體育明星，你必須具備非凡的競(jìng)爭(zhēng)意識(shí)，并全力以赴提高自身的體育技能。這些品質(zhì)很可能會(huì)造就一名優(yōu)秀的運(yùn)

48、動(dòng)員，但卻未必能塑造一個(gè)偉人。此外，我們的社會(huì)用它自己創(chuàng)建的培養(yǎng)運(yùn)動(dòng)員的制度，進(jìn)一步助長(zhǎng)了這些特征。該制度的特點(diǎn)是：責(zé)任有限，待遇豐厚。4運(yùn)動(dòng)員自身也為這種制度付出了代價(jià)。由于受到的訓(xùn)練是，永遠(yuǎn)拿自己與周圍人的成績(jī)相比較，許多年輕運(yùn)動(dòng)員便產(chǎn)生了一種意識(shí)，這種意識(shí)被社會(huì)學(xué)家沃爾特·謝弗稱之為“有條件的自我價(jià)值”。他們很快就明白了，只要自己被看作是“勝者”，便會(huì)被父母、教練以及同伴這些自己生活中很重要的人所接受。不幸的是，他們變得很自負(fù)，表現(xiàn)得就像他們的運(yùn)動(dòng)生涯會(huì)永遠(yuǎn)輝煌下去。5年輕的運(yùn)動(dòng)員們深知，是成功給他們帶來(lái)了回報(bào)，而不是艱辛和誠(chéng)實(shí)的比賽。對(duì)于那些能在最高水平的大學(xué)體育競(jìng)技中嶄露頭

49、角的運(yùn)動(dòng)員來(lái)說(shuō)，“回報(bào)”往往是一種人為設(shè)置的社會(huì)環(huán)境，這種環(huán)境使他們免于承擔(dān)其他學(xué)生要面對(duì)的許多責(zé)任。教練自身的工作當(dāng)然取決于如何保住獲勝的項(xiàng)目，他們會(huì)保護(hù)運(yùn)動(dòng)員，確保他們的參賽資格不受到任何威脅。例如，如果某個(gè)運(yùn)動(dòng)員惹上了官司，教練便很可能會(huì)干預(yù)請(qǐng)一位律師，甚至還會(huì)設(shè)法使案件悄悄駁回不予受理。在某些學(xué)校，運(yùn)動(dòng)員甚至不用自己選課或買書，體育系替他們包辦了一切。體育系的員工早上叫醒隊(duì)員并帶他們?nèi)フn堂，這也并非聞所未聞的事。6鑒于上述情況，許多年輕的美國(guó)運(yùn)動(dòng)員缺乏成熟的是非觀也就不足為奇了。愛達(dá)荷大學(xué)的莎倫·斯托爾教授對(duì)全國(guó)從初中到大學(xué)的一萬(wàn)多名學(xué)生運(yùn)動(dòng)員進(jìn)行測(cè)試。她報(bào)道說(shuō)在倫理道德方面

50、，運(yùn)動(dòng)員們總是比非運(yùn)動(dòng)員得分低，而且從事體育運(yùn)動(dòng)的時(shí)間越長(zhǎng)，得分越低。7大學(xué)的過(guò)分呵護(hù)、當(dāng)?shù)厣鐓^(qū)的吹捧、公眾給予的明星地位，以及七八位數(shù)字的年薪，這些使得成功的運(yùn)動(dòng)員必然形成這樣的感覺：他們是有特權(quán)的人他們也確實(shí)是有特權(quán)的人。當(dāng)他們因?yàn)橄碛刑貦?quán)便自認(rèn)為可以為所欲為時(shí)，危險(xiǎn)就隨之而至。8邁克·泰森當(dāng)然是這一現(xiàn)象最明顯的例子。他年輕時(shí)就被灌輸他是與眾不同的他的教練員屈斯·達(dá)馬托單獨(dú)為他制定了一套訓(xùn)練規(guī)則，而為所有其他拳擊手制定了另一套要求更高的規(guī)則而且他的整個(gè)成年時(shí)期都生活在一群仰慕他的“奴隸”中。泰森終于漸漸相信，他所見到的一切都理應(yīng)歸其所有，儼然一個(gè)中世紀(jì)的國(guó)王。由于一生可

51、享盡榮華富貴，他將拳擊臺(tái)外的時(shí)間都用來(lái)追逐又拋棄他所要的東西：房子、汽車、珠寶、服飾以及女人。由于強(qiáng)奸案的曝光，無(wú)數(shù)的女人講述了當(dāng)泰森向他們提出性要求而被拒絕時(shí)，他竟吃驚地說(shuō)道：“你們難道不知道我是誰(shuí)嗎?我是世界重量級(jí)拳擊冠軍。”不用說(shuō)，并不是所有運(yùn)動(dòng)員都像邁克·泰森那樣；有許多運(yùn)動(dòng)員認(rèn)識(shí)到自己此生被賦予了非凡才能，愿意給社會(huì)一些回報(bào)。9總有一些杰出的個(gè)人會(huì)從我們所創(chuàng)建的畸形的體育制度中脫穎而出。明尼蘇達(dá)海盜隊(duì)的艾倫·佩奇從橄欖球隊(duì)退役后，成了一名成功的律師并創(chuàng)立了佩奇教育基金會(huì)，資助全國(guó)的少數(shù)民族和貧困兒童上大學(xué)。明尼蘇達(dá)州的法官原先總是由聯(lián)誼會(huì)任命的，由于對(duì)這一體制不滿

52、，佩奇在法庭上對(duì)此提出了質(zhì)疑，并終于獲選為最高法院的法官。他于是成為第一個(gè)當(dāng)選為明尼蘇達(dá)州州級(jí)官員的黑人。令人欣慰的是，在職業(yè)運(yùn)動(dòng)員的行列里，總能找到一些真正的英雄(或者，用一個(gè)更現(xiàn)代的詞：行為榜樣)。10然而，人們期望運(yùn)動(dòng)員來(lái)充當(dāng)社會(huì)的英雄是一種誤導(dǎo)，也許比我們期待在演員、律師或者管道工等行業(yè)中產(chǎn)生社會(huì)英雄更不明智。運(yùn)動(dòng)員所起的社會(huì)作用的確很重要(設(shè)想一個(gè)沒(méi)有體育運(yùn)動(dòng)的社會(huì)，我是不愿意生活在其中的)，但他們與英雄所起的作用有本質(zhì)的不同。Playing to WinMy daughter is an athlete. Nowadays, this statement won't str

53、ike many parents as unusual, but it does me. Until her freshman year in high school, Ann was not really interested in sports of any kind. When she played, she didn't like to move around, often dropped the ball, and had the annoying habit of laughing on the field or the court. Indifference combin

54、ed with another factor that was not a good sign for a sports career. Ann was growing up to be beautiful. By the eighth grade, nature and dental work had produced a 5-foot-8-inch, 125-pound, brown-eyed beauty with a wonderful smile. People told her, too. And as many young women know, it is considered

55、 a satisfactory accomplishment to be pretty and stay pretty. Then you can simply sit still and enjoy the unconditional positive reward. Ann loved the attention and didn't consider it insulting when she was awarded "Best Hair," female category, in the eighth-grade yearbook. So it came a

56、s a surprise when she became an athlete. The first indication that athletic indifference had ended came when she joined the high-school cross-country team. She signed up for the team in early September and came third within three days. Not only that. After one of those 3.1-mile races up and down hil

57、l on a rainy November afternoon, Ann came home muddy and bedraggled. Her hair was wet and the mascara she had applied so carefully that morning ran in dark circles under her eyes. This is it, I thought. Wait until Lady Astor sees herself in the mirrors. But the kid with the best hair in eighth-grade

58、 went on to finish the season and subsequently letter in cross-country, soccer, basketball, and football. "I love sports," she tells anyone who will listen. So do I, though my midlife quest for a doctorate leaves me little time for either playing or watching. My love of sports is bound up

59、with the goals in my life and my hopes for my three daughters. I have begun to hear the message of sports. It is very different from many messages that women receive about living, and I think it is good. My husband, for example, talked to Ann differently when he realized that she was a serious compe

60、titor and not just someone who wanted to get in shape so she'd look good in a prom dress. Be aggressive, he'd advise. Go for the ball. Be intense. Be intense. She came in for some of the most severe criticism from her dad when, during basketball season, her intensity decreased. You're pretending to play hard, he said. You like it on the bench? Do you like to watch while your teammates play? I would think, how is this kid reacting to such advice? For years, she'd been told at home, at school, by countless advertisements. "Be quiet. Be good. Be still." Teachers had r