每当我听到有人说体育运动能在各民族之间创造善意，说只要世界各国的普通民众能在足球场或板球场上相互切磋，就不会有冲动去战场上兵戎相见，我总是感到惊讶不已。
I am always amazed when I hear people saying that sport creates goodwill between the nations, and that if only the common peoples of the world could meet one another at football or cricket, they would have no inclination to meet on the battlefield.
即便一个人并不了解国际运动赛事会导致仇恨狂潮这一结论——哪怕没有具体实例佐证（比如1936年奥运会），他也完全可以从普遍原则出发将其推导出来。
Even if one didn't know from concrete examples (the 1936 Olympic Games, for instance) that international sporting contests lead to orgies of hatred, one could deduce it from general principles.
如今所实践的几乎所有运动都是竞争性的。
Nearly all the sports practised nowadays are competitive.
你参加比赛就是为了赢，而若不全力以赴去赢，比赛便几乎毫无意义。
You play to win, and the game has little meaning unless you do your utmost to win.
在村庄草坪上，你临时拼凑队伍、不涉及任何地方荣誉感的场合，仅仅为了娱乐和锻炼而参与是完全可能的：但是一旦名誉问题出现，一旦你感到你自己和你所代表的某个更大集体若输掉就会蒙羞，那最野蛮的好斗本能就会被激起。
On the village green, where you pick up sides and no feeling of local patriotism is involved, it is possible to play simply for the fun and exercise: but as soon as the question of prestige arises, as soon as you feel that you and some larger unit will be disgraced if you lose, the most savage combative instincts are aroused.
任何曾经参加过哪怕一场校级足球赛的人都知道这一点。
Anyone who has played even in a school football match knows this.
在国际层面上，体育运动说白了不过是模拟战争。
At the international level, sport is frankly mimic warfare.
但真正重要的，不是运动员的行为，而是观众的态度：以及在观众背后，那些在这些荒谬的竞赛上把自己激怒到狂热的民族，他们竟然认真地相信——至少在短暂时期内——跑步、跳高和踢球是检验民族德行的手段。
But the significant thing is not the behaviour of the players but the attitude of the spectators: and, behind the spectators, of the nations who work themselves into furies over these absurd contests, and seriously believe -- at any rate for short periods -- that running, jumping and kicking a ball are tests of national virtue.