體育新聞英語閲讀：姚明的影響力，無法估量

It's easy to forget, now that he' s been so absent the last two years, that was once an iron man. The career obituaries that detail all the gamesmissed in recent seasons and various injuries to his feet and legs tend to not mention that Yao played all 82 games his rookie year in the NBA, all 82 games his second season and 80 his third season.

在姚明受傷的這兩年裏，有些事情似乎很容易被人們忘記:姚明曾經是一個鐵人。姚明近兩個賽季連續的缺陣以及頻繁的腿傷和腳傷，讓人們忘記姚明職業生涯前兩個賽季的全勤，第三個賽季出場80次的事實。

The latest injury, the one that will force Yao to the sideline for the rest of this season and threatens to end his career, has prompted more conversation about what might have been had he stayed healthy and, sadly, not enough about the enormous contribution he made to basketball.

最近的腳傷讓姚明傷別本賽季，甚至威脅到職業生涯，這讓人們突然開始考慮，如果姚明能夠保持健康，那麼他對籃球世界將會產生多大的貢獻和影響。

Almost certainly, Yao Ming has introduced more people to professional basketball, surely the NBA brand, than any one man in the history of the sport. While it's difficult to get exact ratings of the 39 NBA games broadcast in a season in China on CCTV (China Central television), the best available evidence is that approximately 200 million have frequently watched when the Rockets play, which is about one-third of the time. That's 195 million more than watch an NBA playoff game, on average. It' s nearly two Super Bowls worth of eyeballs on any game. Or as former Rockets guard Sam Cassell said , "Let's just say for the sake of arguing, its 50 million people. That means Yao attracts a major market all by himself Actually, that's five major markets. And we all know it's a lot more people than that. It's hundreds of millions watching games for the whole time he's been in the league."

幾乎可以肯定的是，姚明是籃球史上吸引最多人關注職業籃球和NBA的球員，這個數字比體育史上任何人產生的都多。儘管很難確切得到每個賽季在CCTV轉播的 39場NBA比賽的收視率，但最好的證明是，當火箭隊的比賽在轉播時，大約三分之一的時間裏，約有2億人在觀看比賽。這比NBA季後賽的平均觀眾人數多出了1.95億。幾乎是超級碗觀看人數的兩倍。或者就像前火箭球員薩姆·卡塞爾説的我們就算是為了避免爭論，説是5千萬人。這代表着姚明一個人就吸引了一整個市場。事實上是5個大市場。而且我們都知道，真正的人數遠遠超出這些。當姚明在聯盟打球的時候，幾億的人口都在觀看着這些比賽。"

That begs the question of how popular the NBA will remain in China if Yao never plays again. In recent years, while the NBA was laying off approximately 9 percent of its workforce, the league was announcing a massive cooperative with AEG to design, market and operate multi-purpose sports and entertainment arenas in major cities throughout China. According to TrueHoop, , China is the most popular website in China.

同時這也引發了一個疑問，一旦姚明退役， NBA在中國市場還能像以前那樣火爆嗎?近幾年，儘管NBA裁員近9%，聯盟還是宣佈了和AEG公司的一項巨大合作，有關在中國各大城市設計、推廣、營銷多功能的體育娛樂場館。根據籃圈世界的報道， NBA中文官方的網站是中國最火爆的網站之一。

While Kobe Bryant and LeBron James are as popular in China as they are in the U.S. , but the increase in the game's popularity there since Yao was drafted into the league in 2002 is undeniable. Rockets players who would walk unrecognized in any mall in California or New York have had endorsement deals in China simply because of Yao's popularity. Cassell, who never played with Yao but came to know him well during the summers the two spent in Houston, said of the phenomenon, "Everybody eats off of Yao. He's just a great guy; you'll never hear anybody say anything negative about him."

儘管科比·布萊恩特和勒布朗·詹姆斯在中國和在美國一樣出名，但自從2002年姚明進入聯盟後， NBA比賽在中國受關注度的增加是毋庸置疑的。火箭的球員可以在加州或紐約的商場裏任意閒逛而不被民眾所認出，但現在他們在中國都如巨星般受矚目，這都是因為姚明。卡塞爾從來沒和姚明一起打過球，兩人只是在夏天認識彼此，對於這一現狀，他説，所有人都喜歡姚，他就是一個很好的人，你永遠不會聽到別人對姚明有任何負面的評價。

Quite literally, you don't. Shaquille O'Neal once told me he hated that he hazed Yao a little bit early in his career. When the news he would miss the season became public over the weekend , James said , "It's horrible that Yao is hurt like this. Anytime a guy has something he lovestaken away like that, in the prime of his career, it's terrible. "

很顯然，你不會説姚明不好。沙奎爾·奧尼爾曾經跟我説過，他非常後悔姚明剛進聯盟時，他對姚明的不友善。當姚明傷病告別本賽季的消息出來時，詹姆斯説，姚明就這麼受傷了，這其實很可怕。任何時候，像他這樣的球員在職業生涯如此關鍵的階段承受這樣的傷病，都很恐怖。

LeBron, looking for a silver lining of some kind, brought up teammate Zydrunas IIgauskas and his ability to play through similar injuries, but he did point out that IIgauskas was in his mid-20s when he went through the last of the surgeries, not 30 as Yao is now. "It's kind of the same with Greg Oden," LeBron said. "It's happened a lot with some of the big guys. AII you think about as a kid when you realize it might be possible to play professionally is playing the game at the very highest level."

在接受採訪時，勒布朗提到了隊友扎諸納斯·伊爾格斯卡斯與姚明有相似的傷勢，但目前為止伊爾格斯卡斯仍然可以在球場上發揮作用。但他沒提到的問題是，伊爾格斯卡斯在25歲左右的時候進行了最後一次大手術，而姚明現在已經30歲了。"這和格雷格·奧登的情況有點類似"勒布朗説這些傷病總是發生在內線球員身上。當你從小開始打球的時候，你就會夢想有一天能在最高的職業舞台上比賽。"

At least Yao did that. At his best, he was an offensive force. He averaged 25 points a game in 2006 and averaged 22 points a game in 2007 and 2008. He shot better than 50 percent for the season six straight times and was third in the league in field goal percentage in 2005. He made 83 percent of his foul shots. He improved every season in some obvious way, despite never having a summer free to rest or work at his game, which surely factors into the physical breakdowns down now at 30. He is like a thoroughbred who has simply been in too many races.

至少，姚明已經做到了。姚明鼎盛時期，在進攻端是一把利器。2006年場均25分，2007年和2008年場均22分，連續6個賽季投籃命中率保持在50%以上，2005年投籃命中率聯盟第三，罰球命中率83%。每個賽季，姚明都會有明顯的進步與提高，即使每個夏天他都非常忙碌和疲勞。休賽季的夏天不能夠好好的休息，毫無疑問是姚明30歲就受傷倒下的一個重要原因。他就像一匹純種的優良馬，但是太多比賽已經讓姚明疲憊不堪了。

"There was never an offseason from the time he entered the league," Cassell said. "He played for China's national team every summer. He never had three months away. You need time to recuperate. I know I would walk away for two months, barely touch a ball in the summer. Yao never had that luxury. When I think about how much pressure time. There were 30 cameras in his face every single night because of the Chinese media covering his every move. And I never saw him complain. He nodded his head and did whatever needed to be done. I remember when he first came into the league thinking,‘How can this kid handle all this?' He was still trying to get through the language barrier. There was no peace and quiet for him ever. "

"自從他進聯盟以來，就從沒有休賽季卡塞爾説他每個夏天都在為中國國家隊打比賽，他的休息從沒滿過3個月。一個籃球運動員是需要時間休息調整狀態的。每年夏天，我都會有兩個月的時間好好休息，幾乎不去碰籃球。但姚明從沒享受到過這種假期。這讓我總會想起，他該是承受着多大的壓力，保持高強度的訓練和比賽，同時又要表現的如此優秀。比賽日的每個夜晚都會有30架攝影機對準姚明，因為中國的.媒體時刻關注着姚明的一舉一動。但你從來不會昕到他抱怨。他總是點着頭，儘可能完成一切。當他剛進聯盟的時候，我就在想這個孩子是如何處理這一切的呢?"那個時候他還在過語言關，學習英語。姚明一刻也得不到安寧。"

Cassell's point is essential to digest in any discussion of Yao. The game's greatest players, particularly in the modern era since the end of offseason careers and summer jobs, overhaul or tinker with their games during the summer. The summer is when Magic Johnson taught himself that 3-point set shot and when Bryant visited Hakeem Olajuwon to add elements of post-play to his game.

卡塞爾的話對理解姚明的傷勢有很重要的作用。這項運動最偉大的球員們在休賽期都會想盡辦法提高自己，尤其是現在。夏天，魔術師約翰遜會去練三分，提高命中率。科比會去拜訪哈基姆·奧拉朱旺，學習低位進攻的技術。

"Yao never had that luxury," Cassell said... I think about guys who don't like the pressure of having to carry a city. Yao had to carry a country all the time, during his NBA season and the Olympics or the World Championships."

"姚從來沒有奢侈的體息過卡塞爾説這讓我想起了一些人，不願意去承擔一座城市的期望，但姚明要在NBA，奧林匹克和世界盃賽場上去承擔一整個國家的期望和榮譽。"

Toni Kukoc was an enormously impactful figure in the early 1990s, but he couldn't affect the game the way Yao has. Kukoc's visibility as a member of Michael Jordan's last three Chicago Bulls teams made him the first European player of consequence. Yao was the first Asian player of consequence and is such an important cultural figure that he helped the NBA change the way it does business. He's also a giant, at essentially 7-foot-6, whose body is so freakishly large that it' s amazing he was able to play as many games as he has, particularly when we consider the year-round play and that other giants such as Gheorghe Muresan and now Oden have been unable to put together sustained periods of play without prolonged absences.

託尼·庫科奇在20世紀90年代是一個有着巨大影響力的人物，但他在比賽場上的影響力遠沒有姚明的大。庫科奇球場上最大的成就就是當年喬丹三冠王時期球隊的首發中鋒，同時他也是聯盟第一位歐洲球員。姚明，作為聯盟第一位亞洲球員，作為一種文化的代表人物，他改變了 NBA在亞洲的運營方式。同時，在球場上，姚明身材的優勢是巨大的， 7尺6(2米26)，他如此龐大的身材還能打這麼多比賽，你會覺得這是件很了不起的事。其他歷史上的內線長人，遠有喬治·穆雷桑，近有奧登，他們都不能讓自己遠離傷病。

There is optimism in Houston that Yao's career is not yet over, and Yao's observation that he is hardly about to prepare for his own funeral lightens the mood a bit and provides a certain context, if not outright relief. But know that the are worse off for Yao's absence, as is the NBA, as is basketball in China, as is the general product that is professional basketball. Anybody who never won a championship, never even reacheda conference finals but who can nonetheless be missed that much is truly a giant figure and In his case IS hugely underappreciated.

目前，休斯頓方面傳出好消息，姚明的職業生涯還沒有結束。姚明聲明，他從來沒有為自己考慮過葬禮。這些俏皮話雖然沒有解決一切問題，但讓關心他的人們略微輕鬆了些。對於姚明的傷情，受影響的不僅僅是體斯頓火箭，更是NBA，中國男籃，乃至於整個世界籃球。一個從沒有贏得過總冠軍，甚至從沒有進入過西區決賽的球員，可是，無數人都在期盼着他的歸來。作為一個籃球人物，一個公眾人物，姚明的影響力仍是被低估的。