全民运动 第3期

History

Table tennis is a sport immediately associated with the East. However, it was created by Europeans. The origins of Table Tennis are not very certain. It is a relatively new sport; a lot younger than lawn tennis but slightly older than basketball.

The earliest form of the sport was called indoor tennis and was played by British soldiers stationed in India and South Africa. Some of the best creations in the world arise out of boredom and it appears that the British soldiers in 19th Century outposts of their empire were very bored indeed. They used cigar tin lids as bats, wine bottle corks as balls and tables as courts. They fashioned a net by placing a row of books across the centre of a table.

In the early 20th Century improvements were made to the equipment and in 1921 a table tennis association was established in Britain. Table tennis organizations soon started to ①sprout up in other European countries. The first world championship was held in London in 1927 and from then until the Second World War the sport was dominated by Hungary and Czechoslovakia.

After the war Asian stars began to rise and by the Fifties they had already started to dominate the sport. Asian players brought two important innovations to the game. The first was the introduction of the foam rubber paddle by Japan's Horoi Satoh in 1952. This made the game faster and allowed players to put more spin on the ball. The second contribution that Asian players made was the 'penholder' grip in which the paddle is held between the forefinger and the thumb. This grip improved player's ability to maneuver the paddle.

In 1988, about one hundred years after bored soldiers goofed about with lids and corks, table tennis was accepted as an Olympic sport.

Ping Pong

Table tennis is the official name of the sport but it was formerly known as ping pong. This name is credited to an English man by the name of Gibb. Back in 1900, when the sport was still in its infancy, Gibb started to use celluloid balls to play and came up with the name 'ping pong' from the sound they made when hit from the paddle to the table. In 1901, a British sports manufacturer called Jean Jacques registered 'Ping Pong' as a trade name and sold the American rights to Parker Brothers. The Parker Brothers wouldn't allow anyone to use the term without paying them a huge amount of money instead so the organizers of competitions started to use the name table tennis instead.

Did You Know?

1. Back in the days of unregulated rackets, all sorts of strange

materials were at the tables. Among the stranger ones include: 5 inch thick sponge, pure wood, and sandpaper.

2. Certain world-class players can put up to 9000 rpm of spin on table tennis balls and smash the ball at speeds ②in excess of 150 km/ph.

3. Table tennis balls aren't really hollow. They are pressurized slightly with a gas.

4. More than 30 table tennis companies exist around the world, making a full line of accessories from paddles to warm-up suits.

5. Table tennis is the third most popular racket sport in the world with 10 million competition participants each year.

6. Table tennis was banned in the former Soviet Union from 1930 to 1950. The sport was believed to be harmful to the eyes.

历史

乒乓球是一项每每言及便会联想到东方的运动。然而，它却发源于欧洲。而且乒乓球的起源并不确定。它是一项相对较新的运动；比草地网球要晚很多，但又比篮球要稍微早一点。

这项运动的最初形式被称为室内网球，玩耍者是驻扎在印度和南非的英国士兵。世界上某些最棒的发明竟是出于无聊而问世的，而且19世纪部署在前哨阵地上的英帝国士兵似乎真的很无聊。他们把雪茄烟的锡盒盖当球拍，葡萄酒的酒瓶塞当球，并把桌子当作了球场。他们还在桌子中间用一排书拉起了球网。

20世纪初，器械被加以改进，而1921年时，还在英国成立了一个乒乓球协会。不久之后，乒乓球组织便开始在欧洲各国涌现。1927年的时候，在伦敦举行了第一届世界锦标赛，从那时起到第二次世界大战，匈牙利和捷克斯洛伐克一直统治着这项运动。

战争结束后，亚洲明星开始崛起，到了50年代的时候，他们已经开始统治这项运动了。亚洲选手为这项运动带来了两项重要的革新。其一就是，日本人左藤博治在1952年时引入了海绵胶皮球拍。这就使该项运动的节奏变得更快，使选手们可以击出转速更快的球。亚洲选手做出的第二个贡献就是发明了用食指和大拇指握住球拍的“直拍”握法。这种握法提升了选手们对球拍的操控能力。

乒乓球于1988年被列为了奥运会运动项目，这距无聊士兵用盖子和瓶塞来打发时间的时代已有约100年的时间了。

乒乓

“Table tennis”是这项运动的正式名称，但它之前却被称为“ping pong”。而这个名字是一个名叫基博的英国人给起的。在这项运动尚处在幼年时期的1900年，基博开始把赛璐珞材质的球作为比赛用球，并根据球体由球拍击出后到撞击球桌过程中所产生的声音，提出了“ping pong”这一名称。1901年，一家名为“让・雅克”的英国运动器械制造商注册了“Ping Pong”商标，并将美国地区的使用权出售给了帕克兄弟公司。而帕克兄弟公司不允许任何人使用这一名称，除非向其支付高额费用，所以比赛的组办者转而使用“table tennis”这个名称。

你知道吗？

1.在没有规范球拍的年代里，球桌上充斥着各类奇怪的材质。而奇中又奇的材质则包括：5英寸厚的海绵、纯木和砂纸。

2.某些世界级选手可以使乒乓球达到每分钟9000转的转速，并以超过每小时150公里的速度进行扣杀。

3.乒乓球并非是中空的。它们被用一种气体进行了轻微增压处理。

4.全世界有30多家乒乓球公司，制造着从球拍到训练服的各类附属产品。

5.世界各大流行拍类运动中，乒乓球名列第三，每年拥有1000万名参赛者。

6.前苏联在1930到1950年期间禁止开展乒乓球运动。这项运动被认为对眼睛有害。

spin /spin/ n.旋转

grip /Grip/ n.紧握

forefinger /`f5,fiMG9/ n.食指

thumb /F7m/ n.大拇指

maneuver /m9`n6v9/ v.操纵

infancy /`inf9nsi/ n.幼年

celluloid /`seljul4id/ n.赛璐珞

sponge /sp7n_/ n.海绵

sandpaper /`s2ndpeIp9(r)/ n.沙纸

pressurize /`preH9raiz/ vt.增压

accessory /2k`ses9ri/ n.附属物

① sprout up 涌现

② in excess of超过

Rules (for the Home)

家用搞笑规则

All you table tennis buffs know the rules for international competitions. But when friends play together at home what rules should apply? Here is a list of regulations for matches played between friends.

你们这些乒乓球的爱好者都是了解国际赛事的规则的。但是，当朋友聚在家里一起玩耍时，应该使用什么规则呢？以下是一个适用于朋友间进行比赛的规则列表。

The left side of the table is for ping pong. The right side is for homework, food, beer, etc.

球桌的左边用来打乒乓球。右边用来做作业、放吃的和啤酒等。

In the event there is no net available for the table, one may be constructed out of close-by miscellaneous items such as beer cans, books, or paper towels strung together by rubber bands.

如果球桌上没有球网，可以用附近的杂物做一个，如啤酒罐、书本或是那些被橡皮筋捆在一起的纸巾等。

It is O.K to use a ball of any colour, however, a ball colour that matches your shirt is the best choice to use to help disguise your shots.

用什么颜色的球都可以，不过最好选用和你衬衫颜色相近的球，以便使你的攻击具有迷惑性。

Using a racket's bare wood surface to strike the ball is also completely legal.

用球拍的木梆来击球同样是完全合乎规则的。

To determine who serves, whoever finishes chugging a beer first spins the paddle and whoever it points closest to is deemed the server.

要确定谁发球的话，谁先喝完一杯啤酒就旋转球拍，球拍停下的方向离谁最近，谁就是发球人。

At any time, it is legal to hold on to the table with your non racquet hand for better balance.

无论何时，用不拿球拍的手撑在球桌上来达到更好的平衡效果是符合规则的。

Shots off the walls and ceilings are an effective strategy to employ.

朝墙壁和天花板击球是一项行之有效的策略。

In order to increase the chances of winning the point, it is advisable to grab the table with your free hand and move it out of the way of the opponent's incoming return.

为了增加得分机会，建议你用不握拍的手抓住球桌，把它从对手回球的方向上移开。

The loser of a game is required to chug a beer.

输掉比赛的人要喝干一杯啤酒。

Whoever gets to the table first and calls "dibs" chooses which side he will start from.

谁先跑到球桌并喊出“我的”就可以选择他从哪边开始比赛。

At any time in the match, a player may shout out "HURRY UP" if his opponent is taking too long.

在比赛中的任何时候，如果对方动作过慢，另一个玩家就可以大喊“快点”。

With the exception of smoking, there shall be no doping before or during play.

除了吸烟以外，在比赛前或比赛中不可以吸毒。