6 Chapter 5 Taking a Stand

Chapter 5 Taking a Stand In May 1964, when he was just twenty-two years old, Ali traveled to Africa for the first time and visited Nigeria, Ghana, and Egypt. He met with the leaders of those countries. In Egypt, he rode a camel and visited the pyramids. In Nigeria, he was cheered by enormous crowds. It was an eye-opening trip for the young man.

1964年5月，年仅22岁的阿里第一次来到非洲，访问了尼日利亚、加纳和埃及。 他会见了这些国家的领导人。 在埃及，他骑着骆驼参观了金字塔。 在尼日利亚，他受到大批民众的欢呼。 对这个年轻人来说，这是一次大开眼界的旅行。

In Africa, Ali was embraced. He was welcomed as a hero, both for his boxing and his beliefs. Many people in Africa were Muslim, too. When he got back from Africa, Ali began to look more closely at life in America. He saw the differences between America and Africa. In the African nations he visited, he saw that black people were in charge of countries and not treated like second-class citizens. "Me being the heavyweight champion feels very small and cheap," he said, "when [I see] how millions of my poor black brothers and sisters are

在非洲，阿里受到了欢迎。 由于他的拳击和他的信仰，他受到了英雄般的欢迎。 非洲也有很多人是穆斯林。 阿里从非洲回来后，开始更仔细地观察美国的生活。 他看到了美洲和非洲之间的差异。 在他访问的非洲国家，他看到黑人掌管着国家，没有被当作二等公民对待。 他说:“当我看到数以百万计的黑人兄弟姐妹是多么可怜的时候，作为重量级冠军的我觉得自己很渺小，很廉价

having to struggle just to get human rights in America." Not long after he came back, he met Sonji Roi, a young woman from Chicago. Though Sonji was not part of the Nation of Islam, he married her in August 1964. But their marriage was not steady. Sonji did not agree with the NOI people who were influencing Ali. Ali kept boxing, winning again and again. He won fights in Canada, England, and Germany, along with several in the United States. With every win, his fame grew. He continued making up poems, talking loud, and attracting attention. This was one of his most famous poems:

为了在美国争取人权而斗争。” 回来后不久，他遇到了来自芝加哥的年轻女子松吉·罗。 虽然松吉不是伊斯兰民族运动的成员，但他还是在1964年8月娶了她。 但他们的婚姻并不稳定。 Sonji不同意NOI那些影响阿里的人。 阿里不停地打，一次又一次地获胜。 他在加拿大、英国和德国赢得了比赛，在美国也赢得了几场比赛。 随着每一次胜利，他的名气越来越大。 他继续编诗，大声说话，引人注意。 这是他最著名的一首诗:

Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee His hands can't hit what his eyes can't see Muhammad Ali carefully planned his poetic way of speaking and his showy style of giving interviews. Journalists and reporters loved to write stories about him. "Them newspaper people couldn't have been working no better for me if I had been paying them," he said. Very soon, however, their stories would be working against him. In the 1960s, young American men were drafted to serve in the military. If a person was drafted, service in the army was not voluntary. It was mandatory. In 1964, Ali had taken a written test for the army, but he had not passed.

如蝴蝶般飞舞，如蜜蜂般刺痛他的手不能触及他的眼睛不能看到的东西穆罕默德·阿里精心策划了他诗意的说话方式和他浮夸的接受采访的风格。 记者和记者都喜欢写关于他的故事。 他说:“如果我付给他们工资，那些报社的人也不会为我做得更好。” 然而，很快，他们的故事就会对他不利。 在20世纪60年代，年轻的美国男子被征召入伍。 如果一个人被征召入伍，在军队服役就不是自愿的。 这是强制性的。1964年，阿里参加了军队的笔试，但没有通过。

In 1966, the army changed its standards. This time, Ali passed. He asked that the army not call him to go to war. He said that he did not support the war the United States was fighting in Vietnam, a small country in Southeast Asia. Ali based his reasons on his religious beliefs. And he didn't believe that he should have to fight a war against people he did not know. His decision was also a reaction to the ongoing civil rights struggle in America.

1966年，军队改变了标准。 这一次，阿里通过了。他要求军队不要征召他参战。 他说，他不支持美国在东南亚小国越南发动的战争。 阿里把他的理由建立在他的宗教信仰上。 他不认为他应该和他不认识的人打仗。 他的决定也是对美国正在进行的民权斗争的一种反应。

During this time, his short marriage to Sonji ended in divorce. A year later, he was drafted into the army and told to report for duty. On April 28, 1967, he reported to the United States Armed Forces Examining and Entrance Station in Houston. When his name was called he refused to step forward and acknowledge it. Refusing to join the army was against the law. Muhammad Ali was arrested.

在此期间，他与松姬短暂的婚姻以离婚告终。 一年后，他应征入伍，并被告知去报到。 1967年4月28日，他到休斯敦的美国武装部队检疫站报到。 当叫到他的名字时，他拒绝上前承认。 拒绝参军是违法的。 穆罕默德·阿里被捕。