[E410]Diversify or die
本文音频及原文摘自杂志The Economist 2016年第18期，Middle East and Africa版块。
Sport and race in South Africa
The government punishes sports bodies whose teams are too white
Apr 30th 2016
IN A move that has shaken one of the sportiest[1] countries in the world, South Africa's government has told four of the country's most muscular[2] sports associations that they may no longer host international events[举办国际活动/赛事] because their teams are too white. Athletics[田径运动], cricket[板球], netball[无挡板篮球(女子)] and rugby[英式橄榄球] have all been thus chastised[3]. Rugby feels sorest[sore最高级], as its union was set to bid to hold the World Cup[4] at home in 2023. Only football, in the government's view, has passed multiracial muster[5].
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注释
[1]sporty：describes someone who enjoys sport and is good at it 爱好且擅长体育运动的
Guy wasn't really the sporty type.
盖伊不是那种擅长体育运动的人。
[2]muscular：powerful 力量大的，影響力大的
It was a muscular, hard-hitting documentary.
那是一部震撼人心的紀錄片。
[3]chastise：to criticize someone severely严厉批评，谴责，斥责
Charity organizations have chastised the Government for not doing enough to prevent the latest famine in Africa.
慈善组织严厉指责政府在防止非洲最近的一次饥荒方面做得不够。
[4]参与主办世界杯的投标（申请举办世界杯）
[5]multiracial：involving people of several different races 多种族的
a multiracial school
多种族学校
pass muster：to reach an acceptable standard 达到标准，符合要求
New teams won't be admitted to the league if their stadiums don't pass muster.
如果它们的体育馆达不到标准的话，新队是不能参加联赛的。
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Whereas blacks make up four-fifths of the populace[大众;平民;人口], they are still a small minority in many top teams. A growing number of South Africans of mixed race[1]—still known as Coloureds[2]—are excelling in[在…方面胜过/擅长] rugby and (along with some players of Indian descent[印度血统]) in cricket, but black Africans remain thinly represented at the top.This is largely because they have poor facilities and training programmes, so those sports have yet to catch on[流行起来;受欢迎] among the black majority. In cricket, ten private schools are said to have produced a third of South Africa's international players since 1991.
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注释
[1]mixed race 混血;混血种人;混合种族
[2]the Coloured
· in South Africa, a person of mixed race （南非的）混血种人
· a person who has black or brown skin. This word is now considered offensive by most people. 有色人种（现在大多数人认为该词具有冒犯性）
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Football is the most popular sport among black South Africans, whereas whites, especially Afrikaners (whites of mainly Dutch descent[南非白人,布尔人(指南非的荷兰移民后裔)]), still dominate at the top of rugby. For many blacks, the game still smacks of apartheid[1]. John Carlin, whose book inspired the film “Invictus[2]”, which portrayed Nelson Mandela inspiring an almost lily-white[3] national rugby team to World Cup victory in 1995, the year after apartheid ended, says that black players have been “socially marginalised[4]” and that “subtle racism[5]” still prevails[流行;盛行;占上风] at the top.
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注释
[1]smacks of：If something smacks of an unpleasant quality, it seems to have that quality 带有…意味，带有…迹象
The whole affair smacks of mismanagement and incompetence.
整件事让人觉得有点儿管理不善，当事人能力欠缺。
apartheid：(in the past in South Africa) a political system in which people of different races were separated （旧时南非的）种族隔离制度
the long-awaited dismantling (= end) of apartheid
盼望已久的种族隔离制度的废除
[2]Invictus is a 2009 American-South African biographical sports drama film directed by Clint Eastwood and starring Morgan Freeman and Matt Damon.
[注]《成事在人》(Invictus)是依据1995年南非举行世界杯橄榄球赛期间，当时的总统纳尔逊·曼德拉如何与国家橄榄球队队长法兰索瓦·皮纳尔同心协力，联手凝聚国人向心力，让刚摆脱种族隔离制度不久而面临分裂的南非能够团结一致的故事，改编而成的传记电影。
[3]lily-white：pure white 纯白色的
[4]socially marginalised 社会边缘化
[5]subtle：not loud, bright, noticeable or obvious in any way 隐约的；暗淡的；不易察觉的，不明显的；微妙的
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In 2014 the government agreed with the main sports associations that 60% of national team players should not be white. Cricket has made big strides[1]. There was much celebration earlier this year when Temba Bavuma became the first black South African to score a Test century[2] (against England, as it happens). On occasion[有时;偶尔] more than half of national cricket teams have been non-white.
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注释
[1]stride：an important positive development 进展，进步
The West made impressive strides in improving energy efficiency after the huge rises in oil prices during the seventies.
20世纪70年代石油价格大幅上涨之后，西方国家在提高能源使用效率方面取得了显着进步。
make big strides 取得很大进展/进步
[2]make a century/score a century (板球) 得百分
Test match 国际橄榄球锦标赛；国际板球锦标赛
[注]A test match in rugby union is an international match, usually played between two senior national teams, that is recognised as such by one of the teams' national governing bodies.
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But that is not good enough for Fikile Mbalula, the combative[1] minister of sport, who issued the recent edict[法令;命令]. By the by[2], it is thought that he may be bidding for a starring spot when the ruling African National Congress[非洲国民大会] has its own party elections next year.
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注释
[1]combative：eager to fight or argue 好战的；好斗的；好争论的
[2]by the by：附带地，顺便地；顺便说(或问)一下，顺便提一句；且说，另外(用以提出一个新的话题，或提起一件已经忘记的事)
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His intervention has certainly stirred emotions[激起情绪] across the racial spectrum.A sports commentator of Indian background, Dhirshan Gobind, lambasted[1] Mr Mbalula: “How narrow-minded[心胸狭窄], short-sighted[目光短浅] and indeed racist can one be?”
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注释
[1]lambaste：to criticize someone or something severely 猛烈抨击；狠狠批评
His first novel was well and truly lambasted by the critics.
他的第一部小说受到批评家的猛烈抨击。
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参考相关新闻
南非体育部长雷霆之怒：威胁取消四大协会体育赛事主办权
南非体育部长姆巴鲁拉4月25日下令，取消南非四个大型体育协会的特权：在他们没有达到体育转型的改革目标之前，将不得举行更多赛事。
遭到警告的包括南非田径协会、橄榄球协会、板球协会和Netball（无挡板篮球）协会。体育部长已经表示，他们将不得继续举办国际体育赛事，也不得参与主办此类赛事的投标。
在此之前，围绕着体育部长提出的“种族改革”目标，南非体育部与橄榄球协会、板球协会、足球协会等运动协会的磋商往往缺乏实质性进展。姆巴鲁拉曾经威胁，转型的说法并不是白日做梦，而是必须实现的目标。之前他多次声称，如果有哪个协会不能实现这样的目标，就将失去来自政府的赞助，自生自灭；如果有哪个球队不能实现这样的目标，则将失去代表国家参赛的机会。他表示，种族隔离时代大量黑人被排除在体育领域之外；现在则是黑人兄弟们扬眉吐气的时候了。按他的说法，上场队员中必须有60%的黑人兄弟。
来源：http://t.cn/Rq831Y8
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以上言论不代表本人立场。
原文摘自The economist，仅外语学习之用。
其中生词解释来源于Cambridge Dictionaries
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