倫敦奧運會:中國軍團光芒難再現
Clad in red and gold, China's Olympic athletes may still intimidate the competition in London. Many were selected as young as 6 years old to become Olympians and have spent most of their lives in government-subsidized schools and gyms training to win a medal for their country.
身着紅金兩色運動服的中國奧運會運動員在倫敦仍將給同場競技的對手造成壓力。很多中國運動員6歲就被選出來培養成爲奧運選手，他們的大部分青春都是在政府出資建設的體校和體育館裏度過的。漫長的訓練就是爲了能給國家贏得一塊奧運獎牌。Yet this year, China looks to suffer declines in several sports where long-term domination appeared inevitable, including gymnastics, shooting and judo. It also doesn't figure to improve much in the medal-rich sports where it has been weak, such as swimming and track and field.
但是今年，中國可能會在多個常年保持優勢的項目上出現較大滑坡，包括體操、射擊和柔道。在游泳和田徑等獎牌大戶但中國實力薄弱的項目上，中國也沒有找出太多改進的方法。Top Chinese sports officials aren't boasting about their medal chances in London, declining interviews with The Wall Street Journal and playing down expectations in the state-controlled domestic media.
中國最好級別的體育官員並沒有吹噓中國代表團在此次倫敦奧運會上爭取獎牌的機會有多大，同時拒絕接受《華爾街日報》的採訪，還通過本國官方媒體降低外界對中國代表團表現的預期。
'In the past four years, other countries and regions have prioritized Olympic preparations,' Liu Peng, head of the Chinese General Administration for Sport, told state-run China Daily earlier this month. 'We have to be fully prepared for all the difficulties and challenges.'
中國國家體育總局局長劉鵬本月早些時候接受《中國日報》(China Daily)採訪時說，過去四年中，其他國家和地區都將備戰奧運會當作重中之重，我們必須爲所有困難和挑戰做足準備。Wall Street Journal projections show China winning 38 gold medals and 92 overall, down from 51 and 100 in 2008.
《華爾街日報》的預測表明，中國在此次倫敦奧運會上將贏得38枚金牌，獎牌總數爲92枚。而2008年中國摘得的金牌數爲51枚，獎牌總數爲100枚。The Big Letdown
巨大落差It's common for Olympic hosts to show a slump in the medal tallies four years after their own Games. Like most former hosts, China seems to have slowed its investments in facilities and training, with some exceptions like a $100 million investment in a state-of-the-art pentathlon training facility in Chengdu.
奧運會東道主在承辦完比賽後的下一屆奧運會上獎牌總數出現較大下滑並不罕見。和此前大多數奧運會承辦國一樣，中國似乎放緩了在體育設施和訓練上的投資，不過也有一些例外，比如在成都投資1億美元興建的先進的現代五項運動訓練中心。Another big factor at work: China's changing population has more economic options these days偉and the state's rigorous Olympic training doesn't look as appealing as it used to.
導致這一現象的另一大因素是：人口結構的變化使得如今的中國人在經濟上有更多選擇。在中國人看來，爲備戰奧運會而進行的嚴格訓練如今看來不像過去那樣有吸引力。Chinese athletes with Olympic medal potential see little of their families, and many of the most basic aspects of their lives are directed by the state. At the national training center in Beijing, officials stipulate athletes can eat food only from the center's canteen - even on their days off - out of concerns that tainted meat could cause athletes to fail drug tests, according to the state-run China Daily. (Officials didn't respond to questions about athletes' diets.)
有希望在奧運會上摘金奪銀的中國運動員很少同家人見面，其生活中很多最基本的方面都要聽從國家指示。據《中國日報》報道，在北京的國家訓練中心，有關負責人規定運動員只能在訓練中心食堂用餐，哪怕不在訓練期間也是如此。這是因爲有關部門擔心受污染的肉類可能導致運動員無法通過藥檢（相關負責人沒有迴應記者提出的有關運動員飲食方面的問題）。Indeed, some Chinese Olympians paint a painful picture of life inside the sports system. 'We all lacked freedom as athletes,' says Guo Jingjing, who retired in 2011 after winning four gold medals in diving at the Beijing Games. 'You begin so young that you know little else.'
事實上，按照一些中國奧運選手的描述，在體育系統內部的訓練生活非常痛苦。2011年退役的郭晶晶說，作爲運動員，我們全都缺乏自由，從很小就開始訓練，對其它事情瞭解很少。郭晶晶在北京奧運會上贏得了兩枚跳水金牌。The pressure is intense, Guo says, but it helped the Chinese win so many gold medals in 2008. 'Americans get so nervous at competitions,' she says.
郭晶晶說，壓力非常大，但靠壓力中國人在2008年贏得了那麼多的金牌。她說，美國人在比賽時非常緊張。A Rounded Approach
全能選手But pressurized training may not be enough this time around. China won the gymnastics team gold in 2008, for instance, but will fight to even win bronze in London. Why? Because China isn't cultivating the same kind of young, all-around athletic talent as the favored U.S., where sports are the main extracurricular activity for millions of children.
但現在僅高強度訓練是不夠的。例如，中國在2008年贏得了體操團體項目金牌，但在倫敦拿銅牌都比較困難，爲什麼呢？因爲中國沒有像奪冠希望較大的美國那樣培養出年輕的全能型體育人才。在美國，體育運動是數百萬兒童的主要課外活動。U.S. gymnasts, like so many members of the U.S. Olympic team, benefit from a sports culture that encourages children to play multiple sports from an early age. A quarter of China's medals in 2008 came from shooting, table tennis and badminton, sports that aren't known for attracting the world's greatest all-around athletes.
美國體操運動員和美國奧運代表團中的許多其他成員一樣，都受益於一種鼓勵兒童從小從事多種體育運動的文化。2008年中國獲得獎牌四分之一都來自射擊、乒乓球和羽毛球，這些項目對於世界上最優秀的全面發展的運動員來說，吸引力不是很大。Lu Shanzhen, chief coach of the Chinese women's gymnastics team, says China doesn't 'do very well in training all-around athletes' compared with the U.S.
中國女子體操隊總教練陸善真說，和美國比起來，中國對全能型運動員的培養做得不是很好。'Their competition system and training system requires all young athletes to participate in all-around competitions,' he says.
他說，他們的比賽制度和訓練制度要求所有年輕運動員都參加全能項目。At China's sports schools, only recently has the emphasis shifted to graduating all-around athletes. 'There has been a big debate in China for years about the overemphasis on the pursuit of gold medals,' says Susan Brownell, a professor of anthropology at the University of Missouri, St. Louis, who has written extensively about Chinese sports. 'The whole debate has become more about expanding opportunities for the general populace.'
中國的體育運動學校直到最近才把重心轉移到全能型運動員的培養上面。密蘇里大學聖路易斯分校(University of Missouri, St. Louis)人類學教授布勞內爾(Susan Brownell)曾大量撰文討論中國體育。她說，幾年以來，中國國內一直在討論過分注重金牌的問題；整個討論的重點，已經是如何爲大衆拓展機會。Better than Big
文武雙全In fact, China's top leadership has set a goal to transform China from a 'large athletic country' to a 'strong athletic country.' Since 2010, schools like Beijing Shichahai Sports School, which has produced 33 world champions, have been required to spend more time on academics and less on hard training. The goal is to better prepare the students岸many of whom won't make it in into China's national team or into professional sports岸for a mainstream life and job, and to make sports schools more attractive to new talent as the schools face declining interest.
事實上中國高層領導人已經設定了一個將中國從“體育大國”轉變爲“體育強國”的目標。從2010以來，像培養了33位世界冠軍的北京什剎海體育運動學校等，已被要求增加文化課程學習時間，減少用於艱苦訓練的時間，目的是讓學生更有條件融入主流社會的生活與工作，因爲很多人是進不了國家隊，也進不了職業體育運動隊的。另外的一個目的是在人們對體校興趣下降之際，增強這些學校對於新人才的吸引力。Tian Junlin, a badminton coach at Shichahai, says the new focus on academics has also had noticeable impact on athletes on the court that could pay off down the road. 'It helps them develop critical thinking and strategy,' Tian says. 'This is really good, especially for ball-related sports.'
什剎海體校羽毛球教練田俊林（音）說，對文化課的重視也對訓練場上的運動員產生了明顯的影響，將來可能會有好處。田俊林說，文化課有助於學生培養批判性思維，形成自己的戰略，這是非常好的，特別是對球類運動來說。
