走进哈佛大学 第34期:哈佛-耶鲁赛艇赛的历史

 History of Harvard-Yale Regatta

哈佛一耶鲁赛艇赛的历史

Boat clubs at Harvard and Yale had existed since the early 1840s, but races against outside competition was rare. That all changed when Yale issued a challenge to Harvard "to test the superiority of the oarsmen of the two colleges. " Thus the oldest intercollegiate athletic² event in the United States was bom. The Harvard-Yale Regatta, or simply The Race, predating The Game by 23 years, was contested first in 1852 and annually³ since 1859 except during major wars fought by the United States. It is the only boat race in North America that can contend with Oxford-Cambridge Boat Race.

早在19世纪40年代初, 哈佛和耶鲁就已经成立了赛艇俱乐部, 但都很少参加校外比赛。当耶鲁向哈佛发出挑战以"检验哪个学校的划手更有优势"的时候, 所有这一切都改变了, 美国历史最悠久的大学校际体育比赛由此诞生了。哈佛-耶鲁赛艇比赛比耶鲁-哈佛橄榄球赛早了23年, 于至今--除了两次世界大战期间暂停外, 剑桥赛事相抗衡的赛艇比赛。1852年举行了第一场赛事, 并从1859年开始每年都举办, 是北美地区惟一能够同牛津相抗衡的。

On August 3, 1852, in a two-mile race on the calm waters of Lake Wmnipesaukee, Harvard and Yale battled like never before. Harvard won the inaugural⁴ race by about four boat lengths, earnings⁵ a pair of black walnut⁶ oars¹ as its prize. It seems that people right away knew this was going to be the start of something big, for the trophy⁷ was awarded to Harvard by General Franklin Pierce, who would be elected the 14th President later that year. Today the 1852 trophy oars are the oldest intercollegiate athletic prize in North America.

1852年8月3日, 在新罕布什尔温尼珀索基湖平静的水面上, 哈佛和耶鲁进行了一场前所未有的长达2英里的赛艇较量。哈佛以大约4个船长贏得了首场比赛, 奖品是一副黑核桃桨, 由富兰克林?皮尔斯将军颁发给哈佛, 人们似乎立刻就意识到一项重大比赛就由此拉开帷幕了。那年年底皮尔斯被选为美国第14任总统。今天这副1852年的战利品成为北美地区最古老的大学校际体育比赛的奖品。

No further races were held between the schools until July 1855, when Yale issued another challenge. In a contest held on the Connecticut River in Springfield, Harvard made it two straight, winning by 1 minute and 38 seconds. Harvard and Yale met again in 1859 and 1860, but it wasn't until 1864 that the Regatta became an annual event. Yale gained its first series win that year. Like The Game, The Regatta wasn't held in 1896 because of a breakdown⁸ in relations between the two schools, but was soon renewed in 1897.

1852年之后哈佛和耶鲁再没有进行比赛, 直到1855年7月耶鲁对哈佛发起了第二次挑战。比赛是在斯普林菲尔德的康涅狄格河上进行的, 哈佛以1分38秒之差取得了两连胜。哈佛和耶鲁1859年和1860年又进行了两次对抗, 但直到1864年赛艇比赛才成为一场年度赛, 耶鲁在那年第一次贏得了比赛。同橄榄球赛一样, 由于两校关系破裂, 1896年赛艇赛暂停了一年, 但1897年很快就又恢复了比赛。

While the first race was held over 2 miles (3. 2 km), this was extended to 3 miles (4. 8 km)soon. Then in 1876, the series, first four-mile race was held and has since been raced over 4 miles (6. 4 km)*The Oxford-Cambridge Boat Race is the only longer side-by-side rowing event in the world, though slower stream makes the Yale-Harvard Race one to three minutes longer. Originally the race was just between the varsity crews but there are now 3 events on the day: the 2 mile (3. 2 km)freshmen race, the 3 mile (4. 8 km)junior varsity race and the 4 mile (6. 4 km)varsity race. Even so, such division cannot shake the longstanding dominant⁹ position of Harvard. Currently Harvard leads the varsity series at 90-54, the junior varsity (JV)at 70-37, and the freshman¹⁰ series at 66-39-1.

虽然第一场比赛的赛程只有2英里（3. 2千米）, 但不久赛程就被延长到了3英里(4. 8千米）。1876年开始举赛程为4英里6. 4千米的比赛, 仅次于赛程位列世界第一的牛津-剑桥赛艇赛。最初比赛只是在大学代表队之间进行, 但现在在同一天要举行三场比赛：2英里的新生比赛、3英里的后备队比赛和4英里的校代表队比赛。即便如此, 这样的划分还是不能动摇哈佛长久以来的统治地位。现在哈佛依然处于领先地位：校代表队的比赛成绩是90胜54负, 后备队的比赛成绩是70胜37负, 而新生联赛的成绩是66胜39负1平。

1 oars   

n.桨，橹( oar的名词复数 )；划手v.划（行）( oar的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• He pulled as hard as he could on the oars. 他拼命地划桨。
• The sailors are bending to the oars. 水手们在拼命地划桨。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 athletic   

adj.擅长运动的，强健的；活跃的，体格健壮的

参考例句：

• This area has been marked off for athletic practice.这块地方被划出来供体育训练之用。
• He is an athletic star.他是一个运动明星。

3 annually   

adv.一年一次，每年

参考例句：

• Many migratory birds visit this lake annually.许多候鸟每年到这个湖上作短期逗留。
• They celebrate their wedding anniversary annually.他们每年庆祝一番结婚纪念日。

4 inaugural   

adj.就职的；n.就职典礼

参考例句：

• We listened to the President's inaugural speech on the radio yesterday.昨天我们通过无线电听了总统的就职演说。
• Professor Pearson gave the inaugural lecture in the new lecture theatre.皮尔逊教授在新的阶梯讲堂发表了启用演说。

5 earnings   

n.工资收人；利润，利益，所得

参考例句：

• That old man lives on the earnings of his daughter.那个老人靠他女儿的收入维持生活。
• Last year there was a 20% decrease in his earnings.去年他的收入减少了20%。

6 walnut   

n.胡桃，胡桃木，胡桃色，茶色

参考例句：

• Walnut is a local specialty here.核桃是此地的土特产。
• The stool comes in several sizes in walnut or mahogany.凳子有几种尺寸，材质分胡桃木和红木两种。

7 trophy   

n.优胜旗，奖品，奖杯，战胜品，纪念品

参考例句：

• The cup is a cherished trophy of the company.那只奖杯是该公司很珍惜的奖品。
• He hung the lion's head as a trophy.他把那狮子头挂起来作为狩猎纪念品。

8 breakdown   

n.垮，衰竭；损坏，故障，倒塌

参考例句：

• She suffered a nervous breakdown.她患神经衰弱。
• The plane had a breakdown in the air,but it was fortunately removed by the ace pilot.飞机在空中发生了故障，但幸运的是被王牌驾驶员排除了。

9 dominant   

adj.支配的，统治的；占优势的；显性的；n.主因，要素，主要的人(或物)；显性基因

参考例句：

• The British were formerly dominant in India.英国人从前统治印度。
• She was a dominant figure in the French film industry.她在法国电影界是个举足轻重的人物。

10 freshman   

n.大学一年级学生(可兼指男女)

参考例句：

• Jack decided to live in during his freshman year at college.杰克决定大一时住校。
• He is a freshman in the show business.他在演艺界是一名新手。