Sport can not only strengthen our bodies and lift up our spirits, but also significantly improve the human qualities, thus playing an important role in boosting progress and harmony of the world. 体育运动不仅能健全人的体魄,振奋人的精神,还能有效提升人的素质,为推动世界进步与和谐发挥了重要的作用。
[1]“Sport has the power to change the world, the power to inspire2, the power to unite people in a way that little else can. Sport can create hope…It is an instrument for peace.”
[2]When a man like Nelson Mandela looks back over his life and, against the backdrop3 of all that he had to endure, pinpoints4 sport as a unique force for good, we should sit up and take notice. During his 27 years in captivity5, mainly on Robben Island, sport helped sustain the spirits of Mandela and his fellow inmates6. And not any sport. The prisoners turned to rugby, the game that more than any other embodied7 white South Africa. Then, in 1995, as the new President of South Africa, Mandela, handed the Rugby World Cup trophy8 to the captain of the victorious Springboks, Francois Pienaar. In a single moment a divided and fractured nation was united.
[3]Sport isn’t just a question of economics. Sport has enduring qualities. It shows us how to participate in something that is bigger than ourselves, and teaches us how to demonstrate respect for teammates and opponents9. It helps us learn how to win with humility10 and lose with grace; how to set a goal and fulfill it. Sport brings people together; the self-worth and self-belief that it teaches are values that can last a lifetime. |