21 · 丹尼尔·门多萨
Daniel Mendoza
读懂长句与段落衔接，分清事实、推断和观点，再连贯复述或说明。
课文精读整篇课文
点选一句，句末即可听读；连起意思，大声读一遍。
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 there were no rules and a prizefighter could be seriously injured or even killed during a match.
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 his day, Mendoza enjoyed tremendous popularity. He was adored by rich and poor alike.
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 appearance. 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.
本课原文与译文
展开完整文本 · 便于查阅与检索
整篇课文
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 there were no rules and a prizefighter could be seriously injured or even killed during a match.
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 his day, Mendoza enjoyed tremendous popularity. He was adored by rich and poor alike.
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 appearance. 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.
两百年前，拳击比赛在英国十分流行。那时，拳手赤手空拳地比赛，为的是赢取奖金，因此被称为“职业拳手”。不过，当时的拳击相当野蛮，比赛没有规则，拳手可能身受重伤，甚至被打死。
拳击史上最富传奇色彩的人物之一，是1764年出生的丹尼尔·门多萨。拳击比赛直到1860年才开始使用手套，那一年，昆斯伯里侯爵制定了第一套比赛规则。严格来说，门多萨仍属于旧式的职业拳手，但他把科学的方法引入比赛，为将野蛮的搏斗转变为体育运动做出了很大贡献。在他所处的年代，他极受欢迎，无论贫富，人们都崇拜他。
门多萨年仅十四岁时，就凭一场拳赛迅速成名，引起了当时英国最著名的拳手理查德·汉弗莱斯的注意。汉弗莱斯主动提出训练他，这个年轻徒弟学得很快。事实上，门多萨很快就出色到让师父反目。两人激烈争吵，显然只能到拳台上解决分歧。一场比赛在斯蒂尔顿举行，双方激战一小时。观众纷纷在门多萨身上押下重注，他却输了。后来，两人再次交手，门多萨又一次败北。直到1790年的第三次对决，他才终于击败汉弗莱斯，成为英国冠军。与此同时，他开办了一所颇为成功的拳击学校，连拜伦勋爵都成了他的学生。他收入惊人，一次出场费就高达一百英镑，却因挥霍无度，总是债台高筑。后来，他败给了人称“绅士杰克逊”的拳手，很快便被人遗忘。他因无力偿债入狱，最终于1836年在贫困中去世。
学完这一课
用 not… until… 说明一项改变何时才出现。
译文依据整理稿，由本站按中文表达重新校订；解析据吴应时、何景霖整理资料及首轮审校稿；词伙与练习提示为本站学习设计。原PDF第73—75页，2022年2月第3版。