口译时事：美国高尔夫大师赛首轮关天朗表现抢眼

　　The world of golf may have glimpsed its future Thursday in the form of Guan Tianlang, a 14-year-old eighth-grader from Guangzhou, China.

　　周四，高尔夫球界或许从关天朗身上瞥见了自己的未来。这位14岁小将来自中国广州，上初中二年级。

　　On a day when countless eighth graders across the country saw their orthodontists and fretted over potential dates for the middle school graduation dance, Guan calmly played in the world's most famous golf tournament in a threesome that included Ben Crenshaw, the 61-year-old former Masters champion who is old enough to be Guan's grandfather.

　　当美国无数八年级学生还在看正牙医生并为中学毕业舞会的潜在约会对象而着急时，关天朗则在全球最知名的高尔夫锦标赛上平静地挥杆。与他一同比赛的还有两人，其中包括前大师赛冠军、在年龄上足以当关天朗祖父的61岁的克伦肖(Ben Crenshaw)。

　　With a series of gutsy chips and clutch putts on Augusta National's pool-table slick greens, Guan notched four birdies and carded a 1-over-par 73, two shots better than Bubba Watson, the defending champion.

　　在美国奥古斯塔国家高尔夫球场的绿地上，关天朗以一系列大胆挥杆和击球入洞的动作，抓下了四个小鸟球，交出73（+1）杆，比卫冕冠军沃森(Bubba Watson)领先两杆。

　　On the 18th hole, Guan stood over his 12-foot putt from the fringe and rolled it perfectly to the edge of the cup, then pumped his fist as it dropped into the hole.

　　在第18洞，关天朗反复查看距果岭边缘12英尺的球后，将球完美地推到球洞边缘，然后在球进洞时挥了挥拳头。

　　'It must help to have 14-year old nerves,' said Crenshaw.

　　克伦肖说， 有14岁的胆量一定对打球有帮助。

　　The boy's father, Han Wen, gushed, 'He's always as good as he was today.'

　　关天朗的父亲关汉文说，他的表现一直都像今天这么好。

　　'One chip, one putt, that's his game,' said John Ho, an owner of Guan's home course in Guangzhou, Lion Lake Country Club. 'He's unbelievable.'

　　广州狮子湖高尔夫球度假俱乐部(Lion Lake Country Club)的拥有者John Ho说，一削一推，这就是他的打法，不可思议。

　　There were other notable performances during the first day at the Masters. Australian Marc Leishman, a relative unknown, reeled off four birdies on the back nine to shoot a 66 and a share of the lead. Englishman David Lynn, a definite unknown, carded a 68, tying him with a 53-year-old Fred Couples for third place as twilight fell. Tiger Woods, the prohibitive favorite, shot a 70, the same opening round score he carded when he won the tournament in 1997, 2001 and 2002.

　　本届大师赛第一天，其他人也有出色表现。不甚出名的澳大利亚人利什曼(Marc Leishman)在后九洞抓到四只小鸟，拿下66杆，处于领先位置。籍籍无名的英国人林恩(David Lynn)以68杆的成绩与53岁的卡波斯(Fred Couples)在夜幕低垂时并列第三。夺冠热门老虎伍兹(Tiger Woods)交出70杆，与1997年、2001年和2002年他夺冠时的首轮成绩一样。

　　But the giddiest buzz surrounded a kid who will hustle back to China next week to catch up on the gossip at Guangzhou Zhixin Middle School.

　　但整场比赛人们议论最多的还是这个中国少年。他将于下周返回中国，他就读的广州执信中学目前也在热议他的事迹。

　　His par-saving putt on the fourth hole elicited roars, his birdie putt on 13 yelps. Guan barely cracked a smile.

　　关天朗第四洞的保帕推杆引发全场雷鸣般的掌声，第13洞的鸟推更是引来尖叫不断。整场比赛他都很少展露笑容。

　　What makes Guan all the more surprising is his country's ambivalence toward the sport. The Communist government doesn't want to embrace what it views as a rich-man's game. Officially, the construction of golf courses has been banned in China since 2004, but hundreds have sprouted since then, including many designed by the likes of Jack Nicklaus, Nick Faldo and Arnold Palmer.

　　关天朗的表现之所以让外界如此意外，是因为中国对高尔夫这项运动存在矛盾心理。中国政府不想欣然接受高尔夫，认为这是富人运动。自从2004年以来，中国官方就禁止在国内建设高尔夫球场。但在那之后，中国各地仍雨后春笋般地冒出数百座高尔夫球场，其中很多是尼克劳斯(Jack Nicklaus)、福尔多(Nick Faldo)和帕尔默(Arnold Palmer)等名流设计的。

　　Of the estimated 600 golf courses in China are legal, only a few are legal. Government officials aren't supposed to golf. Some wear two gloves on a weekend outing to avoid the giveaway tanned right hand on Monday morning.

　　据估计，中国共有600个高尔夫球场，其中合法的仅有几个。中国政府官员一般不去打高尔夫。一些人会在周末外出打高尔夫时两手都戴上手套，以避免周一早晨上班时暴露出被晒黑的右手。

　　But golf is good both for tourism and for greasing the wheels of business that propel the world's second-largest economy.

　　但实际上，高尔夫既能促进旅游业也能对推动中国经济增长的商贸活动起到润滑作用。

　　Before Guan, the country had produced few world class golfers. Liang Wen-Chong is the only Chinese golfer to reach the top 100 in the Official World Golf Rankings. He played at the Masters in 2008 but failed to make the cut.

　　在关天朗之前，中国几乎没有世界级的高尔夫球手。梁文冲是目前唯一一名进入世界高尔夫官方排名(Official World Golf Rankings)前100名的中国人。他曾在2008年受邀打美国大师赛，但未能晋级。

　　To earn an automatic entry into the Masters, Guan won the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship last November, by sinking a 5-foot par putt on the final hole.

　　关天朗去年11月在亚太高尔夫业余锦标赛(Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship)问鼎冠军，在最后一洞中，他用一个五英尺的推杆平了标准杆，获得了入围大师赛的资格。

　　After Guan qualified for the Masters, Ho, the Lion Lake owner, built a practice green with low-cut grass to match the speed of Augusta National's, and allowed only Guan to play on it. Too much use would ruin the delicate grass.

　　在关天朗获得大师赛的资格后，狮子湖高尔夫球度假俱乐部的所有者John Ho用低切草建造了一个练习果岭，达到与奥古斯塔国家高尔夫球场的球速，并且只允许关天朗在上面打球。过多人使用果岭会破坏其娇贵的草坪。

　　'This is about power for China,' said Ho. Plus, as word spreads that Lion Lake is Guan's home course, the club is bound to become more popular. 'It's going to be a lot more famous, especially with the kids.'

　　John Ho说，这么做是为了中国的实力。此外，狮子湖是关天朗的练球场的消息传出后，俱乐部一定会更加受欢迎。John Ho说，它一定会更加出名，尤其是在小孩子中间。

　　Guan's father, who introduced his son to the game when he was a toddler, picks him up after school every day for the one-hour trip to Lion Lake. Guan practices there until dark, usually without a coach.

　　关天朗的父亲在关天朗小时候就带他认识了高尔夫球，每天放学接他去狮子湖打一个小时。关天朗每天练习到天黑，通常都没有教练。

　　In Georgia, Guan has been eating lunch in the clubhouse, his mother said through an interpreter, and has been dining out with his family at night. About a half-dozen relatives and friends made the trip. One night they went to TBonz, the steakhouse chain. Another night they went to Shangri-La Chinese Cuisine.

　　关天朗的母亲说，在佐治亚州，关天朗一直在俱乐部会所吃午饭，晚饭与家人在外面吃。大约六名亲友陪他一起来参赛。他们有一天晚上去了牛排连锁店TBonz。还有一天他们去了香格里拉中国餐馆。

　　For breakfast Thursday, Guan ate a typical Chinese breakfast of potatoes with meat, rice and stir-fried eggs, showing no sign of nerves, his mother said.

　　他的母亲说，周四的早餐，关天朗吃了典型的中式早餐，包括土豆和肉、米饭和煎蛋，一点也没有显得紧张。

　　Guan said he watched a little television Wednesday night and after a good sleep had only slight nerves as he approached the first tee. 'I hit a good shot and after that I felt comfortable,' he said.

　　关天朗说，他周三晚间看了一会电视，在好好睡了一觉之后，在接近发球区的时候只感到一点紧张。他说，我打了一杆挺不错的球，接下来就感觉很舒服。

　　After bogeying the opening hole, Guan barely missed a birdie putt on the second. Then he pounded his drive on the 350-yard, par-four third hole within fifty yards of the flag and hit a wedge to within 10 feet.

　　在第一洞打出柏忌后，关天朗第二洞打出了一个小鸟球。在350码的四杆球第三洞，他的第一杆之后，球落在旗杆为50码的范围内，然后他又把球打到了距离球洞10英尺以内的位置。

　　Standing over his putt, a drive from the group following Guan's rolled up on the green. No matter. Guan took a breath and drained his putt. Shots like that soon had the Augusta galleries mangling his name in their throaty southern drawls.

　　该推球入洞了，关天朗吸了一口气，完成推杆。奥古斯塔的观众席上很快响起南方特有的拉长调子为他喝彩的声音。

　　'Bite!' Jackie Crenshaw yelled as Guan's second shot on the seventh hole rolled toward the rough. Guan's best shot of the day came on the sixth hole, when he had to chip from a downhill lie onto a green that was sloping away from him. Guan bounced the ball off the hill just before the green, which slowed his ball just enough to leave him with a short putt to save par.

　　关天朗在第七洞的第二杆把球打入深草区之后，克伦肖大喊了一声。关天朗最好的一杆是在第六洞。在进入果岭之前，关天朗的球在球穴区前面的山坡弹了起来，使他可以短推交出标准杆。

　　Guan has no chance of winning the tournament. His drive usually doesn't travel more than 250 yards, making several of the course's long par-four holes too difficult for him.

　　关天朗没有机会赢得大师赛。他的开球距离一般不会超过250码，一些较长的四杆洞对他来说太难了。

　　And in all sports, teenage wonders sometimes falter with age. At 13, Michelle Wie, the U.S. golfer, was supposed to evolve into a player who could compete with men.

　　在所有运动项目中，少年神童往往在长大之后趋于平庸。美国的高尔夫运动员魏圣美(Michelle Wie)13岁时曾被认为是一名可与男球手一争高下的种子选手。

　　But as he battles Friday to make the cut at this year's tournament, Guan said he intended to enjoy himself.

　　但是，在他周五努力在今年的大师赛中得分高于规定数的同时，关天朗说，他决定要享受这次比赛。

　　Whatever happens, the mundane business of being a schoolboy lies immediately ahead. 'He definitely needs to go back and take exams,' said Jack Peng, a golf agent who is serving as an adviser to Guan's family.

　　无论怎样，关天朗作为学生还面临着必须完成的学业。为关天朗一家担任顾问的高尔夫经纪人彭焱焱说，他当然需要回去参加学校的考试。


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