美国精神正能量何存? 美国体操女队的启示

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　　今天你在哪里还能真正感受到美国精神的正能量？在漫长的2016年大选后，许多选民或许正在问自己这个问题。

　　For while the contest ended this week with a victory for Trump¹, it seems unlikely to bring a close to all the polarisation and acrimony; on the contrary, most pundits² fear that America is more polarised now than ever before, with a poisonous mood.

　　尽管大选已经以特朗普的胜利落幕，但这似乎不太可能给极化和尖刻态度画上句号；相反，大多数评论人士都担忧美国现在比以往任何时候都更加极化，整个社会弥漫着一种有毒的情绪。

　　Last week, though, I discovered one little flash of joy — and hope — in an unexpected place: the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, where I took my daughters to watch a performance of the US Olympic women’s gymnastics team.

　　然而，最近我在一个意想不到的地方发现了一点喜悦——和希望：纽约布鲁克林的巴克莱中心(Barclays Center)。我带着我的女儿们到这里观看了美国奥运体操女队的表演。

　　The Final Five — as Simone Biles, Gabby Douglas, Aly Raisman, Madison Kocian and Laurie Hernandez call themselves — delivered a stunning³ performance at the Rio Games, reaping a historic nine medals.

　　自称终极五人组的西蒙娜.拜尔斯(Simone Biles)、加比.道格拉斯(Gabby Douglas)、阿利.雷斯曼(Aly Raisman)、麦迪逊.科齐安(Madison Kocian)和劳丽.赫南德斯(Laurie Hernandez)在里约奥运会用令人惊叹的表演历史性地斩获了9枚奖牌。

　　Unsurprisingly, their performance at the Barclays Center was exuberant⁴ and impressive, with somersaults, gravity-defying leaps, bar routines — and rousing images of the American flag.

　　豪不意外，她们在巴克莱中心的表演充满活力，令人印象深刻——空翻、挑战重力的跳跃、杠上动作，以及激动人心的美国国旗的画面。

　　So far, so cheering.

　　这一切都令人欢欣鼓舞。

　　But what really grabbed my attention was not the physical contortions⁵ — it was the atmosphere in the auditorium⁶.

　　但真正吸引我的注意力的不是她们的动作——而是观众席上的氛围。

　　The Final Five is a strikingly multiracial group, with African-American (Biles and Douglas), Caucasian (Kocian and Raisman) and Hispanic (Hernandez) gymnasts.

　　终极五人组是一个醒目的多族裔组合，其中包含非裔美国人（拜尔斯和道格拉斯）、高加索种白人(科齐安和雷斯曼)和西语裔人（赫南德斯）。

　　The audience at the Barclays Center was a mix too, seemingly from all boroughs⁷ and backgrounds, rich and poor (many tickets were distributed at subsidised rates).

　　巴克莱中心的观众也混合了多种族裔，他们似乎来自纽约各区和各种背景，既有富人，也有穷人（很多票是以补贴价分发的）。

　　Nobody in the hall gave a damn about whether the gymnasts were black, brown, white or blue; they shrieked⁸ with pleasure in a colour-blind way.

　　没人在乎这些体操运动员的肤色是黑色、棕色、白色或者任何什么颜色；他们高兴地尖叫，对不同的肤色一视同仁。

　　This was an America united, not divided by racial slurs⁹ or anger.

　　这是一个团结的美国，没有被种族主义诋毁或者怒火撕裂。

　　Better still, for a blissful few hours, that gym mat even drowned out gender¹⁰ battles.

　　更棒的是，在快乐的几个小时中，体操垫也让性别之争湮没无声。

　　Like many parents in America, I have spent the past few months wondering how to raise young girls to feel strong and confident in a political culture that has become infused with rows about sexism, sexual harassment¹¹ and feminism.

　　像很多美国的父母一样，过去几个月我一直在思考如何抚养年幼的女儿们，让她们能够在当前这种充斥着有关性别歧视、性骚扰和女权主义的纷扰的政治文化下自强自信。

　　Should you stop kids watching TV in case they hear vulgar language?

　　是否应该不让孩子看电视，以免他们听到粗俗的语言？

　　(As I did for the second political debate.) Or should you, instead, talk openly about sexual harassment? (As I have tried to do.)

　　（在第二场总统候选人电视辩论的时候，我就是这么干的。）或者，你是不是应该公开谈论性骚扰？（我尝试这么做了。）

　　And even if you can sidestep the political cycle, what do you do about all the other appalling¹² images that bombard girls today on social media, such as vapid¹³ YouTube stars or pouting¹⁴, hyper-sexualised icons¹⁵ like Rihanna and Miley Cyrus?

　　就算你能绕开政治周期，对于现在社交媒体上铺天盖地涌向女孩子的令人惊骇的图片，你又能做些什么呢？比如那些乏味的YouTube明星，或者像蕾哈娜(Rihanna)和麦莉.赛勒斯(Miley Cyrus)那样撅着双唇的超级性感的偶像？

　　There are no easy answers.

　　对此，没有简单的答案。

　　But, as I watched those five gymnasts twirl on the mat, I realised that they offer a refreshing¹⁶ counterpoint.

　　但是，当我看着那5个体操运动员在体操垫上旋转的时候，我意识到她们提供了一个令人耳目一新的对比。

　　Are they wholesome¹⁷? Yes, as far as anyone can tell.

　　她们是不是健康正派？是的，至少在观众眼里是如此。

　　Do they demonstrate discipline and ambition? Undoubtedly¹⁸: if you want to teach a kid about triumph in the face of adversity, Biles’s life story is a good place to start: she overcame the challenges of a very tough childhood to win five Olympic medals.

　　她们是否展现出自律和雄心？毫无疑问：如果你想要教一个孩子战胜逆境，拜尔斯的人生故事是一个好的开始：她克服了一个非常艰难的童年带来的挑战，赢得了5枚奥运奖牌。

　　Do the Final Five create a positive body image? Surprisingly, yes.

　　终极五人组是否创建了一个正面的身材形象？令人惊讶的是，答案是肯定的。

　　When I was growing up, many female gymnasts seemed to be emaciated¹⁹ waifs.

　　在我长大的年代，许多女性体操运动员看起来像是瘦弱的流浪儿童。

　　But the US Olympic women’s team has all types of builds, and each of them seems utterly²⁰ comfortable in her own skin, projecting an image of strength and confidence.

　　但美国奥运女子体操队的成员们有各种各样的体型，每一个人都轻松自在，展现出力量和自信。

　　Or, as my daughters declared on our way home after the show: They are awesome²¹, awesome, awesome! Every other family around us in the subway carriage seemed to agree.

　　或者，就像表演结束后，我的女儿们在回家的路上说的：她们棒极了，棒极了，棒极了！在地铁车厢里，我们周围的其他每一个家庭似乎都认同这一点。

　　Of course, some readers may point out that sport is not real life; they might also observe that it’s easier to create this harmonious²² blend in relatively²³ privileged corners of the US, such as New York.

　　当然，一些读者可能会指出，体育不是现实生活；他们或许还会指出，在美国的一些相对优越的地方，比如纽约，更容易营造这种和谐的融合。

　　Perhaps so.

　　或许如此。

　　But the reason I am sharing this experience is this: at a time when so much poison is swirling²⁴ around the political landscape — and pundits everywhere are wailing²⁵ about uncertainty²⁶ in the US — we also need to celebrate the parts of our cultural life that are truly great, at least in terms of upholding the American spirit.

　　但我分享这段经历的原因是：在现在这个政治生态被如此之多的毒药围绕的时期，在各路评论人士都在哀叹美国的不确定性的时期，我们也需要欢呼我们的文化生活中真正伟大的那些部分，至少从弘扬美国精神的角度上是这样。

　　When we finally got home, I was quietly thrilled to see my daughters put a poster of the Final Five above their beds.

　　我们终于到家后，看到女儿们把一张终极五人组的海报挂在床头，我暗自感到振奋。

　　To them, this is merely an expression of hero(ine) worship.

　　对她们来说，这只不过是对（女）英雄崇拜的一种表达。

　　To me, it seems like a little talisman²⁷ to ward²⁸ off a wave of sexism, racism²⁹ and hate.

　　对我来说，这就像是一个能够抵御性别歧视、种族主义和仇恨的小小护身符。

　　Perhaps we should send Donald Trump down to the gym mat too; if nothing else, it might force him to ponder a better vision of the mighty³⁰ US of A.

　　或许我们应该让唐纳德.特朗普(Donald Trump)也到体操垫上；即使没有其他作用，那或许能够迫使他思考一个强大的美利坚合众国的更美好愿景。

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