Lesson 21 Daniel Mendoza丹尼爾·門多薩
Listen to the tape then answer the question below.聽錄音，然后回答以下問題。
How many unsuccessful attempts did Mendoza make before becoming Champion of all England?
Boxing matches were very popular in England two hundred years ago. In those days, boxers fought with bare fists for prize money. Because of this, they were known as 'prizefighters'. However, boxing was very crude, for these were no rules and a prizefighter could be seriously injured or even killed during a match.
One of the most colourful figures in boxing history was Daniel Mendoza, who was born in 1764. The use of gloves was not introduced until 1860, when the Marquis of Queensberry drew up the first set of rules. Though he was technically a prizefighter, Mendoza did much to change crude prizefighting into a sport, for he brought science to the game. In this day, Mendoza enjoyed tremendous popularity. He was adored by rich and poor alike.
Mendoza rose to fame swiftly after a boxing match when he was only fourteen years old. This attracted the attention of Richard Humphries who was then the most eminent boxer in England. He offered to train Mendoza and his young pupil was quick to learn. In fact, Mendoza soon became so successful that Humphries turned against him. The two men quarrelled bitterly and it was clear that the argument could only be settled by a fight. A match was held at Stilton, where both men fought for an hour. The public bet a great deal of money on Mendoza, but he was defeated. Mendoza met Humphries in the ring on a later occasion and he lost for a second time. It was not until his third match in 1790 that he finally beat Humphries and became Champion of England. Meanwhile, he founded a highly successful Academy and even Lord Byron became one of his pupils. He earned enormous sums of money and was paid as much as $100 for a single appear one of his pupils. He earned enormous sums of money and was paid as much as $100 for a single appearance. Despite this, he was so extravagant that he was always in debt. After he was defeated by a boxer called Gentleman Jackson, he was quickly forgotten. He was sent to prison for failing to pay his debts and died in poverty in 1836.
參考譯文
兩百年前，拳擊比賽在英國非常盛行。當時，拳擊手們不戴手套，為爭奪獎金而搏斗。因此，他們被稱作“職業拳擊手”。不過，拳擊是十分野蠻的，因為當時沒有任何比賽規則，職業拳擊手有可能在比賽中受重傷，甚至喪命。
拳擊史上最引人注目的人物之一是丹尼爾.門多薩，他生于1764年。1860年昆斯伯里侯爵第一次為拳擊比賽制定了規則，拳擊比賽這才用上了手套。雖然門 多薩嚴格來講不過是個職業拳擊手，但在把這種粗野的拳擊變成一種體育運動方面，他作出了重大貢獻。是他把科學引進了這項運動。門多薩在的全盛時期深受大家 歡迎，無論是富人還是窮人都對他祟拜備至。
門多薩在14歲時參加一場拳擊賽后一舉成名。這引起當時英國拳壇名將理查德.漢弗萊斯的注意。他主動提出教授門多薩，而年少的門多薩一學就會。事實上，門 多薩不久便名聲大振，致使漢弗萊斯與他反目為敵。兩個人爭吵不休，顯而易見，只有較量一番才能解決問題。于是兩人在斯蒂爾頓設下賽場，廝打了一個小時。公 眾把大筆賭注下到了門多薩身上，但他卻輸了。后來，門多薩與漢弗萊斯再次在拳擊場上較量，門多薩又輸了一場。直到1790年他們第3次對壘，門多薩才終于 擊敗漢弗萊斯，成了全英拳擊冠軍。同時，他建立了一所拳擊學校，辦得很成功，連拜倫勛爵也成了他的學生。門多薩掙來大筆大筆的錢，一次出場費就多可達 100英鎊。盡管收入不少，但他揮霍無度，經常債臺高筑。他在被一個叫杰克遜紳士的拳擊手擊敗后很快被遺忘。他因無力還債而被捕入獄，最后于1836年在貧困中死去。
New words and expressions 生詞和短語
Boxing
n. 拳擊
boxer
n. 拳擊手
bare
adj. 赤裸的
prizefighter
n. 職業拳擊手（尤指古時赤手拳擊手）
crude
adj. 粗野的
marquis
n. 侯爵
technically
adv. 嚴格根據法律意義地
science
n. 科學
popularity
n. 名望
adore
v. 崇拜，愛戴
alike
adv. 一樣地
fame
n. 名聲
eminent
adj. 著名的，杰出的
bitterly
adv. 厲害地
bet
v. 打賭
academy
n. 專業學校
extravagant
adj. 浪費的，奢移的
poverty
n. 貧困
Notes on the text課文注釋
1 they were known as ` prizefighters'，他們被稱作“職業拳擊手”。be known as…，被稱作···。
2 until 1860, when the Marquis o Queensberry drew up the first set of rules中，以when引導的從句是定語從句，修飾前面的年代1860年。draw up是“制定”，“草擬”的意思。a set of,一套。Marquis of Queensberry,昆斯伯里侯爵，是指第8位昆斯伯里侯爵約翰·修托·道格拉斯(1844 -1900 )，蘇格蘭貴族。他制定的 “昆斯伯里規則”至今仍是拳擊的比賽規則。
3 change ... into ...，把...變成...; bring ... to ...，把...引進...。
4 in his day，在他的全盛時期。
day此處指“幸運或順利的時期”。
5 He was adored by rich and poor alike.人們不論貧富都很崇拜他。
rich and poor是固定詞組，意為富人和窮人。有的形容詞可用作名詞，但前面要加the。
6 rise to fame，成名。
7 Humphries turned against him，漢弗萊斯與他反目為敵。
8 at Stilton, where both men fought for an hour中，以where引導的從句作Stilton的定語。
9 bet on…，在……上押(賭金)。
10 It was not until his third match in 1790 that he finally beat Humphries…這是一個it的強調句。被強調的部分not until his third match in 1790放在It was之后，句子的其他部分放在引導詞that之后。
11 be in debt 負債。
Lesson 21 課后練習和答案Exercises and Answer
