The Death of a Legend
Some have called him
the greatest boxer in the history of the
sport. He himself claimed that he was “the Greatest of All Time.” And when the
death of Muhammad Ali was reported on June 3, even more glowing tributes poured in from around the world in praise of this great sportsman.
Ali was actually born
as Cassius Clay in Louisville, Kentucky, in 1942. Legend has that he began boxing at the age of twelve. The young Clay quickly became an excellent boxer,
and he ended up winning a gold medal at the 1960 Olympics in Rome, Italy. Proud
of his accomplishment, Clay wore his
gold medal back home in Louisville. However, at that time, Louisville was still
a city that was divided by segregation. Even
with the medal, Clay was refused service in a whites-only restaurant.
Disappointed and upset, the young champion threw his
gold medal into a nearby river.
Clay was determined to
become a professional boxing champion,
though, and in 1964, he challenged the reigning champ, Sonny Liston, for the title. Liston was a heavy favorite, but Clay upset the champ to win the heavyweight title. It was a victory that, in Clay’s words, “shook up the
world.” However, Clay would soon shake up the world even more. After the
victory, Clay converted to Islam and changed his name. As he announced: “Cassius Clay is a slave name. I didn’t choose it and I don’t want it. I am Muhammad Ali, a free name—it
means beloved of God, and I insist people use it when people speak to me.”
Then, in 1966, Ali
refused to serve in the US military in the Vietnam War. As he once said: “Why
should they ask me to put on a uniform and go 10,000 miles from home and drop
bombs and bullets on brown people in Vietnam, while so-called Negro people in Louisville are treated like dogs and denied simple human rights?”
In 1967, after being found guilty of avoiding the draft,
he was stripped of all his boxing
titles and was barred from boxing
professionally. Finally, in 1971, the US Supreme Court overturned the conviction, and Ali was cleared to box once
again.
After winning several classic fights in
the 1970s, Ali retired in 1981 and began to
do charity work around the world. Unfortunately, Ali was later diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, and this disease took a
heavy toll on the former champion, affecting his speech and movement. However,
in a touching moment in 1996, Ali was able to light the opening torch of the Olympic Games in Atlanta, Georgia.
Knocked down by the
disease, Muhammad Ali died in 2016. At his funeral, he was remembered not only for being perhaps the greatest
sportsman of the past century, but also for being one of the most important
political and cultural figures of recent times.
Reading Comprehension
( ) 1. What is the main idea of this
article?
(A) The causes of the death of
Muhammad Ali.
(B) The early childhood and career of
Muhammad Ali.
(C) The problems caused by Muhammad
Ali.
(D) The life and accomplishments of
Muhammad Ali.
( ) 2. According to the passage, which of
the following statements is NOT true?
(A) Clay was forced to change his name
to Muhammad Ali.
(B) Ali was not allowed to box for
more than three years.
(C) Ali retired from boxing in 1981.
(D) Ali suffered from Parkinson’s
disease later in life.
( ) 3. The phrase “took a heavy toll” in the
fifth paragraph is closest in
meaning to “________.”
(A) being very expensive (B) improving
one’s condition
(C)
having a bad effect (D) making things easier
( ) 4. What can be inferred from the
passage?
(A) Ali was only famous in America in
the 1970s.
(B) Ali was one of the most important
figures of the last century.
(C) People did not really care about
anything that Ali did.
(D) Few people remembered Ali’s
accomplishments when Ali died.
( ) 5. What does the author believe about
Muhammad Ali?
(A)
He was nothing more than a good boxer who won several titles.
(B) He did little to change the
politics or culture of the time.
(C) He was afraid to stand up for what
he believed in.
(D) He was a great sportsman and an political
and cultural figure.
Vocabulary and Phrases
1. boxer [`bAks2] n. [C] 拳擊手
boxing [`bAksI9] n. [U] 拳擊
．Boxers run
higher risk of brain damage because of violent physical contacts.
．Mandy wants to practice boxing
to protect herself.
2. tribute [`trIbjut] n. [C] 稱頌，頌詞
．There were a lot of tributes
poured in when Martin Luther King died.
3. sportsman [`sportsm1n] n. [C] 運動員
．As a sportsman,
Jim undergoes intensive training and has balanced diet every day.
4. accomplishment [1`kAmplISm1nt] n. [C] 成就，成績
．Entering a new overseas market successfully was one of the company’s most
significant accomplishments last
year.
5. champion [`48mpI1n] n.
[C] 冠軍(= champ)
．Chu Mu-yen was the Taekwondo champion
in Summer Olympics in 2004.
6. professional [pr1`fES1nL] adj. 專業的，職業的
．Experienced doctors can give professional medical assistance to
those with health
problems.
7. favorite [`fev1rIt] n. [C] 最有希望的獲勝者
．Milos Raonic was the favorite to win the champion at Wimbledon but he lost.
8. convert [k1n`v3t] vt. 使改變宗教信仰，使皈依
．Having lived in Taiwan for many years, Muhammad didn’t convert to a different
religion, but still follows Islam.
9. slave [slev]
n. [C] 奴隸
．In the US, the black people were slaves
that were owned by the white.
10. Negro [`niGro] n. [C] 黑人
．It is rude to call black people Negro.
11. draft [dr8ft]
n. (sing.) 兵役制
．Carter avoided the draft because he is too thin.
12. strip [strIp] vt. 除去
．Please help me to strip apple peel.
13. bar [bAr] vt. 禁止，阻擋
．Because of his criminal record, Paul is barred from entering the big company.
14. supreme [s1`prim] adj. 最高的，至高的
．The president of a nation is the supreme commander of the army.
15. overturn [&ov2`t3n] vt. 推翻
．It is said that geologists have overturned
the standing theory about Stonehenge.
16. conviction [k1n`vIkS1n] n. [C] 定罪
．The conviction of the beloved politician sparked outrage across the
whole country.
17. clear [klIr] vt. 許可，批准
．In spite of the objection of local people, the government still cleared to build landfill sites there.
18. retire [rI`taIr] vi. 退休
．Linda lives in the mountain after she retired.
19. diagnose [`daI1G&noz] vt. 診斷 (疾病、病症等)
．Last year, John was diagnosed with cancer but fortunately,
he was found early.
20. funeral [`fjun1r1l] n. [C] 喪禮
．When this important actress past away, many people who had worked with her
attended the funeral.
Words for
Recognition
1. Louisville [`l5I&vIl] n. 路易維爾
為肯塔基州最大的城市，位於該州中北部。知名快餐連鎖企業肯德基在此發跡。
2. Kentucky [k1n`t^kI] n. 肯塔基州
肯塔基州位於美國中東部，以純種馬及波本威士忌酒聞名。
3 .segregation [&sEGrI`GeS1n] n. [U]
(不同種族、宗教、性別等的) 分開，隔離
4. reigning [`renI9] adj. 本屆的
5. heavyweight [`hEvI&wet] adj. (拳擊) 重量級的
6. Islam [`Isl1m] n.
伊斯蘭教
舊稱回教，信奉真主阿拉，教徒被稱為穆斯林，《古蘭經》是為該教聖書，內
容指導一切道德規範、行為思想。
7. Parkinson’s disease [`pArkIns1nz&dI`ziz ] n. 帕金森氏症
是一種中樞神經退化性失調的慢性疾病。患者的言語、行動與其他功能會因而
受到影響而變得遲緩，甚至完全喪失。目前病因仍不明。
8. torch [tOrtS] n. [C] 火把，火炬
9. Atlanta [8t`l8nt1] n. 亞特蘭大
美國喬治亞州首府，1996年夏季奧林匹克運動會於此舉辦。該城是南部鐵路
交通樞紐。1960年代，因其先進開明的風氣成為民權運動的重鎮。
10. Georgia [`dZOrdZj1] n. 喬治亞州
位於美國東南方，是最早英國殖民地的一部分。有桃子州或南方帝國之名
Translation
傳奇之死
有些人稱他為運動史上最偉大的拳擊手。但他自詡「前所未有的偉大」。當六月三日報導穆罕默德‧阿里的死亡後，更多來自世界各地的稱頌蜂擁而至來讚美這位偉大的運動員。
阿里原名為卡修斯‧克萊。1942年出生於肯塔基州的路易維爾。據說他在12歲時就開始了拳擊生涯。克萊年輕時很快的就成為一名優秀的拳擊手，並於1960年在義大利羅馬舉辦的奧運拿下拳擊賽的金牌。阿里以他的成就為榮，帶著他的金牌回到家鄉，路易維爾。但是，那時的路易維爾仍然是個執行種族分離政策的城市。即使有奧運金牌，白人餐廳仍拒絕接待克萊。帶著失望和難過的心情，這位年輕的冠軍將他的金牌丟到附近的河裡。
不過克萊下定決心成為一名職業拳擊冠軍，並在1964年，挑戰當屆冠軍，桑尼‧李斯頓的頭銜。當時各界看好李斯頓，但是克萊擊倒李斯頓並拿下重量級的頭銜。克萊以「震撼全世界」來頌揚這次的勝利。但是克萊持續震驚全世界。在這場勝利之後，克萊改信伊斯蘭教並且換了一個新的名字。他宣稱「卡修斯‧克萊，是個奴隸的名字，並不是我選擇它，我也不要它。我是穆罕默德‧阿里，一個自由之名─其意義為阿拉最愛的人，且我堅持人們跟我說話時，叫我穆罕默德‧阿里。」
之後在1966年，阿里拒絕美軍徵招參與越戰。他當時曾說過「為什麼他們要求我穿上制服，前往離家10000哩遠的地方，轟炸且對棕色皮膚的越南人開槍，同時，所謂在路易維爾那些所謂的黑鬼被當成狗，並且沒有基本人權？」1967年，因拒絕服役而被判決有罪的阿里被剝奪所有的拳擊頭銜，並且禁止參與職業拳賽。最後在1971年，美國最高法院推翻了這項判決，阿里獲准重回拳擊場上。
在70年代贏得幾場經典戰後，阿里於1981年退休並在全球展開了他的慈善事業。不幸地，阿里後來被診斷出帕金森氏症，這個疾病對前冠軍的語言及行動能力造成重大影響。然而，1996年，在喬治亞州，亞特蘭大舉行的奧運上，阿里完成點燃開幕聖火，成了令人感動的時刻。
被疾病擊倒後，穆罕默德‧阿里於2016年過世。在他的喪禮上，眾人緬懷他不僅因他是上個世紀最偉大的運動員，也是一位重要的政治家和當代人物。
閱讀測驗解答：1. D
2. A 3. C 4. B 5. D
