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Sour Sailing─National Pride, Hundreds of Millions at Stake at America's Cup
【参考译文】变了味的帆船赛─在今年的“美州杯”上，新西兰的国家荣誉和数亿美元赞助费将要泡汤
【注释】sour, “有酸味的，馊的”： The milk has a sour taste.牛奶有股酸味。 引为“别扭的，不友善的”:He gave me a sour look. 他朝我狠狠地瞪了一眼。 Go sour, “bad or wrong, disappointing, 出了毛病的，出错的，令人失望的”: Their relationship soon went sour. 他们的关系不久就变坏了。 Sour grapes, 即所谓“酸葡萄”的心理或行为。 At stake, “at risk, dependent on what happens利害攸关，在危险状况下”： This decision puts our lives at stake. 这么一决定，我们的生命就生死未卜了。
It is the oldest trophy in sports. And although it says right on the America's Cup that the race is "a friendly competition among foreign countries," this year the winning team has faced death threats.
【参考译文】这是最古老的体育比赛奖杯。尽管在“美州杯”奖杯上有这样字样:这项比赛是“不同国家间的友好竞赛”，今年即将获胜的队伍却已面临死亡威胁。
Skipper Russell Coutts led his native New Zealand to victory twice before. But this year, he is sailing for Switzerland. Swiss billionaire Ernesto Berterelli is paying Coutts and five other Kiwis millions of dollars to race against their former teammates. The Kiwis are calling them traitors.
【参考译文】鲁塞尔•库茨船长曾带领祖国新西兰队两次夺得冠军。不过，今年他在为瑞士而参赛。瑞士籍亿万富翁恩内斯特•伯第雷利付给库茨和五名其他新西兰人数百万美元，要他们和从前的队友同台竞技。新西兰人称他们是叛国者。
【注释】Skipper, “船长”。Kiwi, 原指“几维”，一种新西兰产的无翼鸟，这里用作称呼新西兰人的绰号，注意首字母要大写。还记得澳大利亚人的绰号吗？ 对，是Aussie.
In Auckland, where one in four own a sailboat, there is big disappointment. Banners and billboards around town portray a silver fern and the word "Loyalty." There is a national ad campaign on the theme, too.
【参考译文】在每四人就有一人拥有一艘帆船的奥克兰，人们对此极为不满。绘有一银色蕨枝和“忠诚”字样的标语和广告牌遍布全市。同时在全国展开了有关的宣传活动。
【注释】Banner, “旗帜, 横幅, 标语”， billboard, “广告牌”。 Campaign, “series of planned activities with a particular social, commercial or political aim. 运动（为某一社会的、商业的或政治的目的进行的一系列有计划的活动）”，这是个很有用的词汇。例如： a campaign against nuclear weapons 反对核武器运动； an election campaign 竞选活动； a campaign to raise money for the needy 为贫苦人筹款的运动， 等等。
With hundreds of millions in sponsorship money and tourism revenue at stake, loyalty appears to go only so far. Late last week, Team New Zealand dumped its tactician Hamish Pepper and hired a Frenchman.
【参考译文】随着数亿美元赞助费和旅游收入面临减少的威胁，到目前新西兰人只有依靠号召对祖国忠诚这根救命稻草了。上周末，新西兰队撤掉了队里的谋士汉密什•佩珀，另雇了一名法国人取代他。
【注释】Dump, “get rid of, discard,丢掉，抛弃”：He’s just dumped his latest girlfriend. 他刚把最近结交的女朋友甩了。 Dump 还指“（向国外市场）倾销，抛售”：They accused the West of dumping out-of-date medicines on Third World countries. 他们指责西方向第三世界国家倾销过期药品。
That may not be enough for Team New Zealand to successfully defend the Cup. They're down 3-0 in the best of 9 series. For Team New Zealand to win would require the biggest comeback in America's Cup history.
【参考译文】这也许不足以使新西兰队成功卫冕。在最有希望领先的9个阶段比赛中他们以3比0落后。对于新西兰队来说，如果想要赢得比赛，就必须拿出在“美州杯”历史上最好的状态来。
【注释】Comeback, （实力，地位等的）恢复，复原：The old actor made a successful comeback after twenty years. 那位老演员二十年后又东山再起，红了起来。
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