1 Growing Up Gretzky

Chapter 1 Growing Up Gretzky In Canada, hockey is THE sport. When Canadian children dream of being a pro athlete, most don't think of baseball or football. They dream of hockey, and playing for glory in the National Hockey League. It's said Canadian children grow up on skates. Wayne Gretzky did. He started skating when he learned to walk. Wayne was born on January 26, 1961, in Brantford, a small city in the province of Ontario, Canada. In Brantford, it snows for almost half the year. There's lots of time to skate outdoors. When Wayne was two, his dad bought him his first pair of skates. Walter Gretzky strapped them on for little Wayne. Together, they stepped onto the frozen Nith River. Walter helped Wayne slide along the ice. According to Walter, "He'd never ever been on

在加拿大，曲棍球是最受欢迎的运动。 当加拿大孩子梦想成为职业运动员时，大多数人不会想到棒球或足球。 他们梦想着曲棍球，并在国家冰球联盟中为荣誉而战。 据说加拿大的孩子是在溜冰鞋上长大的。 韦恩·格雷茨基做到了。他学走路时就开始滑冰了。 韦恩于1961年1月26日出生在加拿大安大略省的一个小城市布兰特福德。 在布兰特福德，几乎半年都在下雪。 有很多时间在户外滑冰。 韦恩两岁时，他爸爸给他买了第一双溜冰鞋。 沃尔特·格雷茨基给小韦恩戴上了手铐。 他们一起踏上了结冰的尼斯河。 沃尔特帮助韦恩沿着冰面滑行。 根据沃尔特的说法，“他从来没有上过节目

skates before. I put him on the ice. He literally skated. Just skated." And that's where it all began—on the river running right past the Gretzky family farm. Walter Gretzky had grown up on the farm, outside town. He too grew up playing hockey. He met Wayne's mom, Phyllis, when he was a teenager. Phyllis went to the games he played. And Walter watched Phyllis play softball. Sports were always a part of their lives.

溜冰鞋。我把他放在冰上。 他真的滑了。只是溜冰。” 这就是一切开始的地方——就在流经格雷茨基家族农场的那条河上。 沃尔特·格雷茨基在镇外的农场长大。 他也是打曲棍球长大的。 他十几岁的时候认识了韦恩的妈妈菲利斯。 菲利斯去看他的比赛。 沃尔特看菲利斯打垒球。 体育一直是他们生活的一部分。

The two married in 1960, and moved to a small house in Brantford. PROVINCES AND TERRITORIES IN LAND AREA, CANADA IS THE SECONDBIGGEST COUNTRY IN THE WORLD. (RUSSIA IS THE BIGGEST; THE UNITED STATES IS THE THIRD.) BUT WHILE THE UNITED STATES IS DIVIDED INTO FIFTY STATES, CANADA IS MADE UP OF TEN PROVINCES

两人于1960年结婚，并搬到了布兰特福德的一所小房子里。 各省和地区的陆地面积，加拿大是世界上第二大的国家。 (俄罗斯是最大的；美国排名第三。)但是，美国分为五十个州，而加拿大由十个省组成

AND THREE TERRITORIES. THE PROVINCES— INCLUDING ONTARIO, QUEBEC, AND BRITISH COLUMBIA— ARE SIMILAR TO STATES. PROVINCES MAKE UP 60 PERCENT OF CANADA'S LAND, AND 97 PERCENT OF ITS POPULATION. FEW PEOPLE LIVE IN THE TERRITORIES TO THE NORTH. WHY? LIKE IN THE LARGEST US STATE, ALASKA, THE ARCTIC WEATHER THERE IS HARSH. THE NUNAVUT TERRITORY STRETCHES TO THE NORTH POLE! The city is known as the birthplace of the telephone. It's where Alexander Graham Bell worked on his landmark invention. The first telephone factory was built there, too. Phones were big business. And many people worked for Bell Canada. Walter was a lineman for the company.

还有三个领地。包括安大略省、魁北克省和不列颠哥伦比亚省在内的各省与州类似。 各省占加拿大土地的60%，人口的97%。 很少有人住在北部地区。 为什么?和美国最大的州阿拉斯加一样，那里的北极气候也很恶劣。 努勒维特地区一直延伸到北极！这座城市以电话的发源地而闻名。 亚历山大·格雷厄姆·贝尔在这里完成了他里程碑式的发明。 第一家电话厂也建在那里。 电话是一门大生意。许多人在加拿大贝尔公司工作。 沃尔特是公司的一名接线员。

In 1961, Walter was working above a manhole. A phone cable had caught, and Walter was trying to loosen it. He pulled. Suddenly, a heavy frame flew out of the manhole. It hit Walter on the head, cracking his helmet. The next thing he knew, he was lying

1961年，沃尔特在一个人孔上方工作。 一根电话线卡住了，沃尔特正试图把它松开。 他拉。突然，一个沉重的框架飞出了沙井。 它击中了沃尔特的头部，打碎了他的头盔。 然后他就发现自己在撒谎

facedown on the street. Everything was spinning. He had a fractured skull. The accident left Walter deaf in one ear. He had constant headaches. But Walter Gretzky didn't let that stop him. How could he? He and Phyllis had a growing family.

脸朝下躺在街上。一切都在旋转。 他的头骨骨折了。那次事故使沃尔特一只耳朵聋了。 他经常头痛。 但沃尔特·格雷茨基并没有因此止步。 他怎么可能呢？他和菲利斯的家庭不断壮大。