美国大学篮球联赛引发“三月疯狂”

    These days, you may hear people in the United States talking about March Madness.
    这些天你可能会听到美国人民谈论“疯狂三月”。

    But what does that mean?
    这是什么意思呢?

    Does the month of March make people angry?
    是三月让人生气吗?

    No, of course not!
    当然不是!

    March Madness refers to a college basketball tournament.
    三月疯狂是指美国大学篮球联赛。

    The competition takes place every March. And the madness it creates is excitement!
    该比赛在每年的三月举行,它引发的疯狂让人激动不已!

    Sometimes mad is defined as angry. But here is another definition of the word: "marked by intense and unpredictable activity."
    有时候mad被定义为生气。但是以下是这个单词的另一项定义:“以激烈和不可预测的活动作为标志”。

    The three-week long college basketball tournament is exactly that. It involves 64 men's team and 64 women's teams from colleges and universities around the country.
    为期三周的美国大学篮球联赛正是如此。该比赛包含了来自全国各地院校的64支男队和64支女队。

    Another reason for the madness is that people bet a lot of money on the games. In 2015, the American Gaming Association said about $9 billion is bet on the tournament.
    另一项疯狂的原因是人们对这项比赛下注了很多钱。美国博彩协会表示,2015年对该联赛下注的金额大约为90亿美元。

    That is more than double the amount bet for the professional American football championship known as the Super Bowl.
    这是被称为超级碗的美国职业美式足球冠军赛的下注金额的两倍多。

    All that money is enough to drive someone crazy!
    这些钱足够让人疯狂了!

    The National Collegiate Athletic Association, or NCAA, puts on the basketball tournament.
    美国全国大学体育协会(简称NCAA)负责这项篮球联赛。

    The competition is made up of three divisions. The men's Division I tournament is the most popular. It features players who sometimes move on to professional careers in the National Basketball Association, or NBA, and other leagues around the world.
    该比赛由3个级别组成。男子第一级别联赛最受欢迎。它的特色是球员们有时候能进入到美国篮球协会(NBA)或世界各地其它联赛的职业生涯当中。

    Some of the players who became famous in the NCAA tournament and now have major professional careers are Carmelo Anthony of the New York Knicks and Dwyane Wade of the Miami Heat. Retired NBA legends Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Patrick Ewing and Michael Jordan all played in the NCAA tournament.
    在NCAA篮球联赛成名,目前拥有伟大职业生涯的球员包括纽约尼克斯队的卡梅隆·安东尼(Carmelo Anthony),以及迈阿密热火队的德怀恩·韦德(Dwyane Wade)。退役NBA传奇人物魔术师约翰逊(Magic Johnson)、拉里·伯德(Larry Bird)、帕特里克·尤因(Patrick Ewing)以及迈克尔·乔丹(Michael Jordan)都在NCAA联赛打过球。

    Even tournament players who do not "go pro," sometimes become folk heroes for the fans that support their teams.
    即使未能走上专业球员之路的联赛球员,有时候也会成为支持他们球队的球迷心中的英雄。

    Paul Jesperson of the University of Northern Iowa is an example. He will be famous in his state forever as a result of his game winning score in the tournament just a few days ago. Jesperson threw the ball from half-court with less than two seconds left in play. The crowd went wild when the ball went in the basket.
    北爱荷华大学的保罗·叶斯柏森(Paul Jesperson)就是一个例子。他将会因为几天前在联赛中的制胜球在他所在的州知名相当长时间。比赛最后不到两秒时间,叶斯柏森从半场投入该制胜球。当球进筐之时人们都疯狂了。

    NCAA experts choose the teams to play in the tournament each year. When a team loses a game, it leaves the tournament. The tournament goes from 64 teams to 32, 16 and 4. The last two rounds are referred to as the Sweet Sixteen and the Final Four.
    NCAA专家每年会挑选参加联赛的球队。当一支球队输掉一场比赛就会被淘汰。该联赛从64支球队变成32支、16支以及4支。最后两轮被称之为甜蜜十六强和四强。

    This year, the championship game will be played on April 4.
    今年的冠军战就在4月4日举行。

    Some of the recent men's tournament champions are Duke University from North Carolina, the University of Connecticut, and the University of Louisville, in Kentucky.
    最近几届男子联赛的冠军为北卡罗来纳州的杜克大学、肯塔基州的康涅狄格大学和路易斯维尔大学。

    The tournament has been going on since 1939, but did not become a "madness" until 1979. That is when Michigan State University defeated Indiana State University. Two important players faced each other in competition: Michigan's Magic Johnson and Indiana's Larry Bird. Both went on to the NBA and great fame as two of the greatest basketball players ever.
    该联赛从1939年开始进行,但是直到1979年才变得疯狂起来。当时密西根州立大学击败了印第安纳州立大学。两名重要球员在比赛中碰面,他们是密歇根州的魔术师约翰逊和印第安纳州的拉里·伯德。两人都进入了NBA,享有有史以来最伟大篮球运动员的盛誉。

    The university with the most tournament championships is the University of California, Los Angeles, or UCLA. The Bruins, as the team is known, has won 11 times.
    获得联赛冠军最多的大学是加州大学洛杉矶分校。这支以棕熊队为人熟知的球队获得了11次冠军。

    After this weekend's games, the tournament will be down to the Final Four.
    在本周末的比赛之后,联赛将进入到4强。

    Some of the well-known teams still playing are Pennsylvania's Villanova University, the University of Kansas and the University of Oregon. One of the most interesting stories in this year's tournament came from Yale University, a school better known for academics than athletics.
    一些尚未被淘汰的知名球队包括宾夕法尼亚州维拉诺瓦大学、堪萨斯大学和俄勒冈大学。今年联赛中最有趣的故事来自耶鲁大学这所学术比运动更知名的大学。

    Yale qualified for the tournament by winning the Ivy League for the first time since 1962. The league also includes Harvard University and Princeton University.
    耶鲁大学自1962年以来首次赢得常春藤联盟冠军获得联赛资格。常春藤联盟还包括哈佛大学和普林斯顿大学。

    The games are usually exciting, adding to the madness. Even the players are big fans. Daniel Ochefu plays for Villanova. His family is from Nigeria and he lived there for a couple years when he was a teenager. He says great things happen in March.
    这些比赛通常都让人兴奋,更增添了这一疯狂。即使球员也是超级粉丝。丹尼尔·欧奇夫(Daniel Ochefu)效力于维拉诺瓦大学。他的家庭来自于尼日利亚,当他年少时在那生活了几年。他说三月有重要赛事上演。

    "I know I was up late watching the Northern Iowa half-court buzzer-beater and the St. Joe's game. You know, it's March. Great things happening. We just don't want to miss them. So the TV's right there. We're laying in bed and just turn the TV on, and something great could happen."
    “我熬夜观看了北爱荷华大学的半场压哨球和圣约瑟夫大学的比赛。你知道,现在是三月,重要赛事正在上演。我们只是不想错过它们。电视在那里,我们躺在床上,打开电视,就能看到重要赛事上演。”

    Of course, when great things happen, that is when the madness ends.
    当然,重要赛事结束之际,也就是疯狂结束之时。

    I'm Caty Weaver.
    我是卡蒂·韦弗。(51VOA.COM对本文翻译保留全部权利,未经授权请勿转载,违者必究!)