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Pat 1
The Origins and Early History of Tennis 网球的历史

The earliest origins of tennis are a matter of some dispute.

One side believes that the ancient Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans played a precursor to tennis.

Drawings or descriptions of any tennis-like games have not been discovered, but a few Arabic words dating from ancient Egyptian times are cited as evidence. The theory says that the name tennis derives from the Egyptian town of Tinnis alongside the Nile.

一种说法是关于网球的起源，古埃及，希腊和罗马是网球的发源地。在古埃及时代，尽管没有相关的古代刻画图形作为证据，但是，却发现了很多阿拉伯单词。有理论说，网球这个单词起源于尼罗河畔的一个名为Tinnis的古埃及小镇。

Aside from this word, evidence for any form of tennispreceding the year 1000 is lacking, and most historians credit the first origins of the game to 11th or 12th century French monks, who began playing a crude handball against their monastery walls or over a rope strung across a courtyard.

除了这个单词，关于网球一千年前的情况，并没有历史记载。但是大多的历史学家把其历史归于11，12世纪的法国和尚，这些和尚曾拿着粗糙的球打向寺院的墙壁，或者打过栓在院子里的绳子。

The game took on the name jeu de paume, which means "game of the hand." Many who dispute more ancient origins argue that tennis derived from the French tenez, which meant something to the effect of "take this," said as one player would serve to the other.

这种和尚所玩的游戏在那时被叫做 jeu de paume，意思是"用手玩的游戏"。但是还有人说其起源于法国的 tenez一词，意识是"接住"，也就是一方球手在发球时对另一方球手所说的词语。

As the game became more popular, courtyard playing areas began to be modified into indoor courts, where the ball was still played off the walls. After bare hands were found too uncomfortable, players began using a glove, then either a glove with webbing between the fingers or a solid paddle, followed by webbing attached to a handle -- essentially a racquet. Rubber balls were still centuries away, so the ball was a wad of hair, wool, or cork wrapped in string and cloth or leather, then in later years, hand-stitched in felt to look something like a modern baseball.

随着这种运动越来越流行，玩耍场地也由室外改为室内的小方地，但是那时的玩法仍然是将球扔向墙壁。但后来人们发现，光着手玩，手会感觉非常疼痛，就开始想了一个办法，将手指间缠绕布，或者用一个结实的拍子，后边带一个把手，把手上缠绕着布，其实在那时就具有了球拍的雏形。但是橡胶球仍然是几个世纪以后的事情。那时的球，是一团头发丝，或者羊毛，或者用细丝，布或者皮毛等缠绕的软木块。随后的年代，人们发明了用手织出的球，类似现在的棒球。 　

The nobilitylearned the game from the monks, and some accounts report as many as 1800 courts in France by the 13th century. The game became such a popular diversion, both the Pope and Louis IV tried unsuccessfully to ban it. It soon spread to England, where both Henry VII and Henry VIII were avid players who promoted the building of more courts.

社会上流人士就从这些和尚那里学到了这种游戏。据说约在13世纪的法国，大约1800个球场都玩这种游戏。这种活动风靡一时，教皇和路易四世曾经一度禁止，但是以破产告终。随后，它很快地传到了英国，那时亨利七世和八世是网球的痴迷者，他们还下令建造很多网球场地。

By the year 1500, a wooden frame racquet strung with sheep gut was in common use, as was a cork-cored ball weighing around three ounces. The early tennis courts were quite different from the modern "lawn tennis" court most of us are used to. The early game matured into what is now called "real tennis," and England's Hampton Court, built in 1625, is still used today. Only a handful of such courts remain. It's a narrow, indoor court where the ball is played off walls that include a number of openings and oddly angled surfaces toward which the players aim for various strategic purposes. The net is five feet high on the ends, but three feet in the middle, creating a pronounced droop.

在1500年，一种木制的用羊肠子缠绕的拍子被发明并且得到广泛应用。同时还有一种软木内核重3盎司的球也得到的应用。那时的场地和现在草坪网球的场地大不相同。早期的网球演化为今日的网球，其中英国的HAMPTON网球场建于1625年，今天仍然被使用着。现在这样的古老场地所存不多了。这种场地很狭窄，室内型，其设计仍然是为了网球玩家把球投向墙壁，墙壁有的地方可能向前突出，为了玩家的特殊技巧所设计。网子两端有25英尺高，而中间只有三英尺，呈明显下坡趋势。

The game's popularity dwindled almost to zero during the 1700s, but in 1850, Charles Goodyear invented a vulcanization process for rubber, and during the 1850s, players began to experiment with using the bouncier rubber balls outdoors on grass.

这种运动在1700年，曾经销声匿迹，但是在1850年，Charles Goodyear 发明了一种硫化制造橡胶的工艺，在那时，球员们开始尝试在草坪上玩这种新式球。

An outdoor game was, of course, completely different from an indoor game played off walls, so several new sets of rules were formulated.

然而，室外运动的玩法和室内的显然不同，所以就出现了很多新的比赛规则。

In 1874, Major Walter C. Wingfield patented in London the equipment and rules for a game fairly similar to modern tennis. In the same year, the first courts appeared in the United States. By the following year, equipment sets had been sold for use in Russia, India, Canada, and China.

在1874年，Walter C. Wingfield市长发明了一种新的网球装置和游戏规则，类似现在的网球，并获得了专利权。同年，在美国出现了第一个真正意义上的网球场地。随后的第二年，这种装置被销售到俄罗斯，印度，加拿大和中国。

Croquet was highly popular at this time, and the smooth croquet courts proved readily adaptable for tennis. Wingfield's original court had the shape of an hourglass, narrowest at the net, and it was shorter than the modern court. His rules were subjected to considerable criticism, and he revised them in 1875, but he soon left the further development of the game to others.

在那时，槌球很受欢迎，并且槌球的场地直接可以用来玩网球。Wingfield所设计的场地形状象沙漏，在球网处最狭窄。他设计的规则虽然遭到了很多非议，并与1875年别修改，但是他却带来了现代网球的开端。

In 1877, the All England Club held the first Wimbledon tournament, and its tournament committee came up with a rectangular court and a set of rules that are essentially the game we know today. The net was still five feet high at the sides, a carryover from the game's indoor ancestor, and the service boxes were 26 feet deep, but by 1882, the specifications had evolved to their current form.

在1877年，一个英国的俱乐部展开了第一次Wimbledon锦标赛，比赛所设计的长方形场地和比赛规则和今天的一样。网子仍然是五英尺高，发球箱仍然是26英尺深，但是在1882年，进行了一些细微的修改，才产生了现在网球。

歌曲欣赏---Jambalaya - Hank Williams

相关链接：天下体育--2005法国网球公开赛

Part 2
News in Brief 网球新闻

Someof the best players in the world set foot on the clay of Roland-Garros on Tuesday, and they wasted no time in getting down to work. The American Andre Agassi, who arrived in Paris on Sunday, trained with the Argentine David Nalbandian. Among the other stars, world number 1 Roger Federer tried to get a feel for the Philippe-Chatrier court, accompanied by his coach Tony Roche. World no. 3 Andy Roddick, meanwhile, put himself through his paces on the Suzanne-Lenglen court, while Russia's Marat Safin fitted in two training sessions on court no. 1, the second against France's Jean-René Lisnard.

The women's qualifiers will start tomorrow, Wednesday 18th May at 9 am. No less than 96 female players will be targeting the twelve tickets for the women's singles proper, including the no. 1 seed Zuzana Ondraskova from the Czech Republic, Holland's Michaella Krajicek, seeded 6 and reigning world juniors champion, America's Chanda Rubin, the 14th seed and former world no. 6, and the Argentine Clarisa Fernandez, semi-finalist in the 2002 women's singles. Eight French competitors start the event: Capucine Rousseau, Virginie Pichet, Florence Haring, Gracia Radovanovic, Violette Huck, Irena Pavlovic, Pascale Leroy and Kildine Chevalier.The tickets for the "qualies" will be on sale from the tent in the "qualifying zone (19, Avenue de Porte d'Auteuil) for ?15 (?7.50 for under 15s), with under 7s going free.Grab your seats!It's still possible for you to attend the French Open as some places are still available, particularly for the Suzanne-Lenglen court on Monday 30th and Tuesday 31st May. The last tickets are on sale all week at Roland-Garros stadium, only from the Porte des Mousquetaires (Avenue Gordon-Bennett) ticket booths, which are open daily from 9 am to 5 pm. Remember that seats for the qualifying competitions are on sale only from the tent in the "qualifying zone" (19, avenue de la Porte d'Auteuil), from Tuesday 17th to Saturday 21st May (from 9 am).

歌曲欣赏---Written in the Stars (with Elton John)

相关链接：天下体育--2005法国网球公开赛

Part 3
Glossary of Tennis Terms 网球词汇

~ a ~

ace (1) Service winner; (2) a really good tennis player 一流球手
ad here See "ad in" 同ad in
ad in Server's advantage, break point 发球优势，断点
ad out Receiver's advantage, game point 接球优势
ad there See "ad out" 同ad out

~ b ~

bagel To win a set without losing any games, 6-0 6比0， 一局不失地赢得比赛
bye In a tournament, advancing to the next round without playing a match, usually as a result of being a seeded player
在锦标赛中，不参加初赛，作为种子选手直接进入第二轮比赛

~ c ~

canadian doubles Doubles with three people, one against two 一对二比赛

~ d ~

dink To hit the ball with little pace 慢击球
drop shot To hit the ball short so that it just drops over the net 近网扣球
dubs Doubles - men's, women's and mixed 双打的缩写

~ f ~

fault When the serve does not land in the service box 出界
five four The score is fifteen-fourty, also four-five 15比40
five three The score is fifteen-thirty, also three-five 15比30
frame (1) the oval portion of a racquet that contains the strings, (2) an unstring racquet 网球球拍的框子

~ g ~

Grand Slam (1) One of four major tournaments played once a year - Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon, U.S. Open, 世界四大锦标赛之一。澳洲公开赛，法国公开赛，Wimbledon，和美国锦标赛
(2) Winner of all Grand Slam titles in a calendar year 在以上锦标赛中获胜的队伍

groundies Groundstrokes 贴地球

~ h ~

head The portion of a racquet comprising the frame and strings 球拍的头部
hold To win a game as the server, to hold serve 发球制胜

~ l ~

league A group of tennis players competing against other groups or teams 比赛团队

~ m ~

mixed See "mixed doubles"
mixed doubles One female and one male play against one female and one male, sometimes
detrimental to a marriage 混双

~ p ~

poach In doubles, to hit a ball (usually with a volley) that would normally be hit by another
在双打中，一方的一个队员抢先打自方的一个队员的球

~ s ~

seed In a tournament, the top players based on previous results 种子选手
side or serve To begin a match, the person who wins the toss can select to serve or which side to begin on
在上局比赛中，其中获胜一方可以选择自己发球或者决定由哪放发球的权利

wrong foot To hit a shot to the court of an opponent who is leaning or running the opposite direction
向冲向自己的对方选手猛打球

歌曲欣赏---Dans un Autre Monde

相关链接：天下体育--2005法国网球公开赛