里约的日本萌僧 | 当一天和尚，划半天船
小伙伴们感觉，在里约办奥运会不过是另一场狂欢节（carnival）……《经济学人》文章说：
The games would show off a prosperous, self-confident city, its organisers cliamed. As important, if Rio could show that it can plan as well as it parties, it would bury the idea that "Brazil is not a serious country," as a Brazilian diplomat put it in the 1960s.
组织者称，运动会将展现城市的繁荣自信。同样重要的是，正如上世纪六十年代一位巴西外交官所言，如果里约能像会聚会一样会组织，就讲埋葬“巴西不是个严肃的国家”这一想法。
“不是特别严肃的国家”，如此精到的说法，仔细想想，有几分是调侃，却有几分是赞扬，当人民曾因“为国争光”的抱负或欣喜若狂，或怒火中烧，不是特别严肃的态度立刻让人多了种超脱其外的优越感——当然，最好不会“池水立刻变成绿色”。
有人说体育是一场和平的战争，部落间的敌意（animosity）通过一场“伤害可控的”有规则竞赛可以得到缓解，这种貌似有理的说法不知从何所起，想想看，古代奥运会并未阻止伯罗奔尼撒的战争以及所谓“修昔底德陷阱”，倒是赛场内外时常涌动着炽烈的民族主义情绪，例如欧洲杯上的英格兰和俄罗斯球迷（也或许球迷大战真避免了一场英俄战争）。
里约不是这个范儿。《纽约时报》在开幕当天就幽幽地说：
Host countries like China and Russia have used the Olympics as a show of force. The vibe, and the budget, are different here.
中国和俄罗斯等主办国将奥运会视作一场实力秀。里约的氛围和预算则大不相同。
里约与冠军无关， 把罗格称赞北京奥运会的好话（“exceptional”）也是好的，并非无与伦比，而是与众不同。无国籍难民令人感动，傅园慧表情包令人开怀，今天的故事是个一脸无辜的日本和尚……无论如何，这些故事都比运动员私接广告与国家队闹翻之类的老段子要有意思些。
他们的故事和里约这个城市有着异曲同工的妙处——我们不算最“厉害”的，但我们也很“厉害”的——获得人生的铜牌，或许就没什么更令人满意的事了。
遁入空门的矢泽一辉并没有这么洒脱，他还放不下“执念”——参加奥运皮划艇比赛，可必须先和尚，原因是当和尚算个体面的工作。（不要以为历史上最成功的公司是东印度公司或微软谷歌什么的，佛教寺院才堪称无与伦比）。
《朝日新闻》5月就报道了他的故事。
Canoe-obsessed Buddhist monk meditates on Olympic dream
NAGANO--Kazuki Yazawa, 27, awakes at dawn, dons a Buddhist monastic robe and prays five times until 3 p.m. It's all very spiritual.
长野县。27岁的矢泽一辉，一清早就起床，身披僧袍，到下午三点前要念五次经，一切皆为清修。
Then, when that's done, he jumps into a kayak, speeds down a river and thinks about nothing but gold ... Olympic gold.
做完僧课，他跳进一艘皮划艇，激流而下，脑子里只想着金子……奥运金牌。
Yazawa is scheduled to be Japan’s representative in the men’s single kayak (K1) slalom at the Rio 2016 Games.
矢泽计划代表日本在里约奥运会出战男子单人皮划艇激流回旋赛。
He works as a monk at the Daikanjin temple in Nagano Prefecture, part of the famous Zenkoji temple, which dates back 1,400 years.
他是长野县善光寺的和尚，寺庙有1400年历史。
After prayers he does admit with a smile, “I haven’t got used to sitting on the heels of my feet (“seiza” in Japanese) yet.”
打坐后他笑着承认：“我还不习惯跪坐着。”
After serving his daily duties as a Buddhist monk, Yazawa drives for about 20 minutes to the Saigawa river, next to which is a warehouse that stores kayaks.
做完每日的僧课，矢泽驱车20分钟来到犀川河，河边的仓库中存放着皮划艇。
Although he can only train for about one and a half hours each day, Yazawa says, “It’s important to do as much as I can while enjoying kayaking.”
尽管每天只能训练一个半小时，矢泽说：“享受皮划艇，尽力而为，这很重要。”
Yazawa paddles up and down the river. And he loves it.
矢泽沿河而上，又沿河而下，他爱这项运动。
The 2012 London Olympic Games was Yazawa’s second time at the illustrious event and it triggered his eventual entry into a Buddhist monastery.
2012年伦敦奥运会是矢泽第二次参加这场辉煌的赛事，这促使他最终剃发为僧。
He had finished ninth in the men’s single kayak (K1) slalom, the best position in Japan’s Olympic history. However, Yazawa started to “worry about his second career after retiring from kayaking."
当时，他在男子单人皮划艇激流回旋项目名列第九，这是日本奥运史上的最佳排名。然而，矢泽开始发愁“从皮划艇退役后的生涯”。
He dreamed of marriage and a family, presuming he would not be able to earn his bread and butter solely through kayaking.
他梦想结婚，有一个家，他估计只靠皮划艇他没法养家。
What to do?
怎么办？
Yazawa was not interested in religion. However, a key player who supported his competitive career--Kenei Koyama, the head of the Nagano canoeing association--changed all that.
矢泽对宗教不感兴趣。然而支持他参加体育竞技的关键者小山是长野县皮划艇协会会长，他改变了一切。
Koyama was also a chief priest of a temple near Zenkoji.
小山还是善光寺附近一座小寺庙的住持。
“Someday, I want to be a person like Koyama who can help athletes with problems,” said Yazawa.
矢泽说：“有一天，我也想做小山那样的人，帮助运动员解决问题。”
In summer 2013 it all clicked together and Yazawa became a Buddhist monk of Daikanjin temple after training in Buddhism for two months at Enryakuji Temple, the head temple of the Tendai Buddhist sect at Mount Hieizan (revered by Buddhists), east of Kyoto.
2013年夏天，万事俱备，矢泽在延暦寺接受了两个月的训练后成为一名僧人，延暦寺位于京都以东，是天台宗在圣地比睿山的主寺。
In April last year, Yazawa won at the all-Japan canoe slalom tournament and then qualified for the Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games at the Canoe Slalom World Championships the following September.
去年4月，矢泽在全日皮划艇激流回旋锦标赛上夺冠，在9月的世界皮划艇激流回旋锦标赛上获得参加里约热内卢奥运会的资格。
Yazawa’s sister, Aki, 24, has also qualified for Rio.
矢泽24岁的妹妹亚季也获得参加里约奥运会的资格。
“Now that I am going to Rio, I want to win at the Olympic Games,” said Yazawa.
“既然我要去里约，我就想取胜。”矢泽说。
Medals might have been beyond the reach of Yazawa at the 2012 London Olympic Games, but you can bet he's praying things will turn out a little differently this year.
2012年伦敦奥运会上，夺牌超出矢泽的能力，但或许他每日祈祷，这能让今年的结果有所不同。
补记：或许因为他不够虔诚，佛祖并未保佑，他在半决赛中排名11.。
投票
词汇
animosity
a feeling of ill will arousing active hostility. 敌意
近义词：enmity, hostility, antagonism
例句：“Instead of using the events to forget animosity and promote peace between people, they have brought their brainwashed minds to Rio,” she said.
她说：“非但没有通过比赛忘记敌意和促进人民间的和平，他们把被洗脑的思维带到里约来。”
illustrious
having or conferring glory. 辉煌的
例句：Congratulations to William C. Rhoden for ending his illustrious career as a sportswriter at The Times.
祝贺洛登结束了在《纽约时报》当体育记者的辉煌生涯。
bread and butter
the financial means whereby one lives. 生存手段
例句：The company’s bread and butter is guarding embassies, stores, corporations and government operations.
这家公司的生存手段是给使馆、商店、公司和政府做保安。
口语
nitty
-gritty
I wish Coach Shane would teach more about pronunciation. He does in DDM and PIRF. He really gets into the nitty-gritty. But I don’t have any money. Investment in knowledge pays the best interest.