25 a2+ Sport game or hobby

CHAPTER 1 When Is a Sport Not a Sport? WHAT EXACTLY IS A SPORT? PEOPLE OFTEN BELIEVE THEY KNOW— UNTIL YOU ASK THEM TO EXPLAIN. When we hear the word "sport," we usually think of football, basketball, the Olympic Games, and things like that. But isn't a sport more than that? Different people have different answers. Some people think that an activity must have a winner to be a sport. But does that mean that running and swimming are only sports when you are in a race or competition? What about when you try to improve your own running or swimming? Aren't you trying to win against yourself? Is that a sport?

第一章什么时候运动不是运动？ 运动到底是什么？人们通常认为他们知道——直到你要求他们解释。 当我们听到“运动”这个词时，我们通常会想到足球、篮球、奥运会之类的东西。 但难道一项运动不应该不止于此吗？ 不同的人有不同的答案。 有些人认为一项活动必须有赢家才能成为一项运动。 但这是否意味着跑步和游泳只有在比赛或比赛中才算运动呢？ 当你试图提高自己的跑步或游泳水平时呢？ 你不是想战胜你自己吗？ 那是一项运动吗？

Many people think that a sport must be hard for your body. But what about if you only need to think? Look at chess. There are chess competitions and chess stars. So is chess a sport? And do you need to be strong and fit to take part in a sport? What about Olympic shooting? You don't have to be strong to do that. One thing all sports need is skill. A skill is something special you can do better than others. It's often a thing you learn, but some people have natural skills. Most people can learn to play football. But to be a really good football player, you need to be naturally quick and move well.

许多人认为一项运动对你的身体来说一定很困难。 但是如果你只需要思考呢？ 看看国际象棋。有国际象棋比赛和国际象棋明星。 那么国际象棋是一种运动吗？参加一项运动你需要强壮和健康吗？ 奥运会射击怎么样？ 你不需要很坚强才能做到。 所有运动都需要技巧。 技能是你比别人做得更好的特殊的东西。 这通常是你学习的东西，但有些人有天生的技能。 大多数人都能学会踢足球。 但要成为一名真正优秀的足球运动员，你需要天生速度快，移动自如。

Then there are hobbies. Hobbies are special activities that we like to spend our time doing when we aren't working. So a sport can be a hobby, but not all hobbies are sports. Painting and cooking are hobbies. But no one calls those things sports. If your hobby is looking after your garden, people don't call it a sport. But if you climb mountains if you're a mountaineer— many people will say you're taking part in a sport. Maybe that's because compete— in other words, they try to do better than other climbers.

还有爱好。爱好是我们不工作时喜欢花时间做的特殊活动。 所以运动可以是一种爱好，但并不是所有的爱好都是运动。 绘画和烹饪是爱好。 但没人把这些叫做运动。 如果你的爱好是照料花园，人们就不会把它叫做运动。 但是如果你爬山，如果你是登山运动员，很多人会说你在参加一项运动。 也许这是因为竞争——换句话说，他们试图比其他攀岩者做得更好。

But gardeners compete, too! Maybe you have flower shows in your town with prizes for the best flowers. So why don't we call that a sport? Finally, what are games? Football is a game— but chess, video games, and hide and seek are games, too, each with its own rules. Is a game something we do just for fun? That's also true for hobbies. And some games are clearly sports, but people don't agree about others. This book looks at different activities. Some are watched by crowds. For some, you have to be fit and strong; for others, you have to be smart or quick. But are they sports, games, or hobbies? You decide.

但园丁也要竞争！也许你在你的城市举办花展，为最好的花颁奖。 那我们为什么不把它叫做运动呢？ 最后，什么是游戏？足球是一种游戏，但国际象棋、电子游戏和捉迷藏也是游戏，它们都有自己的规则。 我们玩游戏只是为了好玩吗？ 爱好也是如此。 有些游戏显然是体育运动，但人们并不认同其他游戏。 这本书着眼于不同的活动。 有些会被人群围观。 对有些人来说，你必须健康强壮；对其他人来说，你必须聪明或敏捷。 但它们是运动、游戏还是爱好呢？ 你决定。

CHAPTER 2 Machine Sports SOME PEOPLE SAY IT CAN'T BE A SPORT IF YOU USE A MACHINE. BUT NOT EVERYONE AGREES. Some sports use hi-tech machines. They can be as important as the people who use them— or even more important. How about car racing? Fans know that a driver can be the greatest in the world one year and do badly the next. Why? Maybe because another driver has a better car that year. So is car racing a sport, or is it more a competition for car makers? Probably both. Racing drivers must be strong, fit athletes. Car racing is very tiring. Formula 1 drivers lose as much as three kilograms of water from their body in just one race!

机器运动有些人说如果你用机器，那就不是运动了。 但并非所有人都同意。一些运动使用高科技器械。 它们可以和使用它们的人一样重要，甚至更重要。 赛车怎么样？车迷们知道，一个车手可能在某一年是世界上最伟大的，而下一年就会表现得很糟糕。 为什么?也许是因为那年另一个车手的车更好。 那么，赛车是一项运动，还是汽车制造商之间的竞争？ 可能两者兼而有之。赛车手必须是强壮、健康的运动员。 赛车很累人。 一级方程式车手在一场比赛中就从他们的身体中损失了多达三公斤的水！

Racing drivers need to understand their car and the track or road they race on. They must think and do things very fast. And crowds watch. So we can say that car racing is a sport, but one for people and machines working together. What about flying? Today, it's more like a job or a hobby. But a century ago, people like Louis Blériot and Amelia Earhart were stars. They were the first to fly across seas and oceans at a time when it was very dangerous. Some of them died! So why did they do it? To be first. To be better than everyone else. Isn't that what sports is all about?

赛车手需要了解他们的车和他们比赛的赛道或道路。 他们必须思考和做事非常快。 人群在观看。所以我们可以说赛车是一项运动，但它是人与机器一起工作的运动。 那飞行呢？如今，它更像是一份工作或一种爱好。 但一个世纪前，像路易斯·布尔梅奥和阿米莉亚·埃尔哈特这样的人是明星。 在非常危险的时候，他们是第一批飞越海洋的人。 他们中的一些人死了！那么他们为什么要这么做呢？ 成为第一名。要比别人都好。 这不就是运动的意义吗？