奥运飞鱼菲尔普斯 the flying fish

在中国他被称为飞鱼，而在美国人们叫他"巴尔的摩子弹"。
In China he's known as 'the Flying Fish'; in America they call him 'the Baltimore Bullet'.

不管你怎么叫他，在一届奥运会中的很多金牌都打破了世界记录，美国游泳选手Michael Phelps似乎注定要成为一个家喻户晓的人物。
Whatever you call him, American swimmer Michael Phelps looks destined to become a household name across the world after breaking the Olympic record for most gold medals in a single Games.

菲尔普斯总共获得了8开金牌，比他的美国同胞Mark Spitz在1972年创下的记录还要多。
Phelps's total of eight golds in Beijing put him one ahead of compatriot Mark Spitz's previous tally set in 1972.

Michael Phelps 统治了他所参赛的7的项目，并且令人吃惊的取得了7个世界记录。虽然在100m的蝶泳中他侥幸的以最小可能的0.01秒的优势取胜，而在另一场比赛中，他不得不苦于应付一副错误的游泳镜。
Michael Phelps dominated the field in seven of his races and set an amazing seven world records in the process. He did, however, have one close shave in the 100m butterfly which he won by the smallest possible margin of just 0.01 seconds, and in another he had to contend with a faulty pair of goggles.

现在人们已经开始叫他有史以来最好的奥林匹克选手了，不管是不是，到底什么东西让Michael Phelps如此之好呢？
Now people are already calling him the greatest Olympian of all time. But whether he is or not, what is it that makes Michael Phelps so good?

也许最好要从他的体格开始说起。也许有了最完美的体型：他的壁展比他的身高还高，他有非常柔韧的关节，肺部非常大，还有他非常大尺寸的脚(美国14英寸，中国49码)，在水中像是脚蹼一样。
A good place to start might be his physique. Phelps has the perfect body shape for a swimmer: his armspan is longer than his height, he has very flexible joints, huge lungs, and his incredibly large feet (size 14 in the US, size 49 in China) act like flippers in the water.

为了喂饱他巨大的游泳型体格，菲尔普斯每天要吃掉令人吃惊的12000卡路里，是他同龄男性的平均水平的6倍
To feed his huge swimmer's body, Phelps eats an astonishing 12,000 calories a day, six times the average for a man of his age.

按照他的教练，菲尔普斯每天从冠军早餐开始：“三个炸鸡蛋三明治，还有奶酪，西红柿，炸洋葱，蛋黄酱，一份五个鸡蛋的煎蛋，一碗燕麦粉，三片法国土司，三张带巧克力棒的煎饼”
According to his coach, Phelps starts with a breakfast of champions: "Three fried egg sandwiches with cheese, tomatoes, fried onions and mayo, a five egg omelette, a bowl of grits, three slices of French toast and three pancakes with chocolate chips."

然后他钻进一套在游泳界引起轰动的游泳衣。由美国航天局设计，这套衣服据说可以让游泳选手的成绩提高2%。
He then slips into a swimsuit which has been making waves in the world of swimming. Designed by NASA, the American space agency, the suit is made of a special material which is said to help athletes swim 2% faster.

飞鱼应该关心一个他的妈妈。他妈妈最开始把他送去游泳只是为了作为结交朋友的一个方式，在一个教练说他永远不可能成功之后，仍然相信他。
Michael Phelps should spare a thought for his mum, who first pushed him into swimming as a way of making friends, and who believed in him when one teacher said he would never be a success.

不管他成功的原因是什么,菲尔普斯承认这也许还是有一些运气的成分在里面。
Whatever the reason for his success, Phelps admits there was perhaps also a bit of luck involving in winning his eight medals.

"我猜8也是我的幸运数字吧，开幕式在08年8月8日，这也许是注定的"，他说。
"I guess eight is a lucky number for me, too, now. The opening ceremony started on 8/8/08.
Maybe it was meant to be," he said.

bullet
子弹
household name
家喻户晓的名字
tally
（奖牌）总数
close shave
差一点（输掉）；死里逃生
goggles
游泳镜
armspan
两只胳膊的长度（从一手指尖到另一手指尖）
flippers
橡胶蹼， 鸭脚板
mayo
mayonnaise 的缩写，蛋黄酱
swimsuit
（连体）游泳衣
spare a thought
关心，想着
destined to become
命中注定成为
compatriot
同胞
dominated the field
独霸泳池
margin
相差时间
physique
体格
flexible joints
灵活柔韧的关节
calories
卡路里，热量
grits
粗燕麦粉
making waves
引起轰动，制造浪潮
meant to be
命中注定的

本文部分参考了BBC中文
下载本文的录音文件