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Athlete Moms 妈妈是运动健将

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Female athletes play another role when they become mothers  女运动员当妈妈后，要身兼不同角色

For generations, the idea of a woman returning to professional sports after giving birth, especially competing at a top level, has few reference points. Now it’s becoming almost epidemic – but no less a feat.

世界代代以来，女性在生完孩子后重返职业运动场的这个想法，很少有可供参照的参考点可言，尤其是还要在顶级赛事中龙争虎斗。不过，如今这个现象已几乎变得流行起来──但这类壮举所具有的重大意义不曾稍减。

The Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) had 15 mothers on its rosters last season, including the Chicago Sky’s Jia Perkins. But most of the attention was on the comeback of three-time league Most Valuable Player (MVP) Lisa Leslie, 35, of the Los Angeles Sparks, who had daughter Lauren in June of 2007.

「美国女子职篮联盟」（简称WNBA）在上个球季的参赛球员名册中，足足有十五位妈妈级运动员，其中包括了「芝加哥天空队」的吉雅．柏金丝。不过，最受瞩目的焦点则是「洛杉矶火花队」的莉莎．莱丝莉，这位三度夺得联盟最有价值球员（简称MVP）殊荣的卅五岁女球员，二００七年六月产下女儿萝伦之后，如今又重返球场。

First-time mom Leslie joined an ever-growing list of women who have managed to return to top from postpartum.

初为人母的莱丝莉也加入了产后顺利恢复最佳体格的妈妈运动员阵容，而这阵容的成员仍持续增加中。

Back in shape  恢复身材

In the fall of 2007, three-time Olympian and gold medal winner Leslie competed on a college tour with the U.S. senior national team and about six months later, her teammates said she was back to normal.

二００七年秋季，三届奥运金牌得主莱丝莉加入美国女蓝国家队参加大学巡回比赛，而约半年之后，队友都表示她已经恢复正常表现了。

Leslie said both physically and mentally, she may be stronger because she has had to work that much harder. But that does not mean it has not been a challenge.

莱丝莉则表示，无论在体力和心理上，她可能还比以前更强了，因为她必须更加卖力才能走到今天。不过，她努力的过程仍是一大挑战。

“For me, psychologically, I had to say I’m coming back because if I had [said] ‘I’m not sure,’ I couldn’t have made it,” she said. “I don’t want to kind of lose myself in having a child.”

「对我来说，在心理上，我必须告诉自己，我一定要重返球场，因为如果我只是抱持着像是『我没有把握』的心态的话，就不可能办到了，」她说道，「我不希望因为生了孩子，反而迷失了自我。」

For Perkins, who became pregnant with daughter Aalirah while at Texas Tech, the thought of playing one day in the WNBA was a distant one until her father convinced her she could do it.

柏金丝在「德州理工大学」就读时怀了女儿雅莉拉，对她来说，有朝一日会在WNBA打球的想法原本是遥不可及的梦想，但她父亲最后终于说服她，才确信自己能办到。

“It was such an adjustment,” said Perkins, a guard who has played five years in the league. “The players were quicker, stronger and then I had to get back into shape. It was tough getting back my shooting touch, my defense. …. I think I’ve only gotten back to where I was these past couple of years.”

「这真的需要很大的调适，」柏金丝说，在联盟担任五年后卫的这位女球员表示，「球员们的速度更快，更强壮，而且我还必须恢复原有的体能。想重新恢复我投篮和防守的功力，真的要花很大工夫。…我想，我目前还只恢复到最近这几年的状态吧。」

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reference point 参照标准; 参考点 an indicator that orients you generally; a standard that can be used for comparison; a standard that can be used for comparison

no less 不少于, 不亚于, 同样…, 依然…

no less a feat 依然具有的重大意 it means it is a feat that is surprising to me, and must surprise you too

postpartum [͵postˋpɑrtəm] adj. 产后的; adv. 产后地 immediately following the birth of a child

compete [kəmˋpit] v. 比赛 engage in a contest

guard [gɑrd] n. 后卫 a basketball player who is typically responsible for preventing an opposing player from taking a shot

shape [ʃep] n.【口】情况，状态

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Mental stress  心理压力

There is something innately unfair about the whole thing, that for female athletes, the very natural choice to have a child presents the very real possibility that their careers will be over or never the same. For Leslie, there was the added stress of feeling guilty when she became pregnant.

这整个情况也有与生俱来的不公平之处，那就是对女性运动员来说，原本合乎常情的生孩子的决定，却极有可能害她们的运动生涯划下句点，或是表现不如以往。对莱丝莉来说，她怀孕之后还产生觉得自己有罪恶感的额外压力。

“When I got pregnant, I was happy, but then [thought], ‘I feel like I’m letting down so many fans’ – not that if you have an office job, you don’t have your colleagues that you’re kind of letting down. …. But at the same time …. I had to take this time for myself and for my family. …. My husband is super-supportive but he can only support so much.”

「发现自己怀孕时，觉得好高兴，但之后就想到，『我觉得自己辜负了好多球迷』──如果是一般上班族的工作就不会有这个问题，你不会因为怀孕就害同事失望。…但在此同时…我也必须藉这段期间来为自己和家人而活。…我先生对我非常支持，但他就算再支持我，帮助也有限。」

Period of adjustment  调适期

The psychological adjustment definitely was harder than the physical for Perkins, as her baby lived with her parents while she was in Charlotte her first two seasons.

对柏金丝来说，心理上的调适绝对比生理上的调适更辛苦，因为她在夏洛特的头两个球季中，婴儿是由爸妈来带。

“It was easier on the court because I was working to get back in shape,” she said, “But when I got home and the baby wasn’t there, I was definitely missing her.”

「在球场上时，比较不会那么难过，因为我会努力想恢复原有表现，」她说，「可是等回到家后，小孩不在家，那时就会很想念她。」

Leslie calls motherhood “beautiful” and also “probably the hardest thing I’ve ever done, but I wouldn’t change it. Every day is challenging.”

莱丝莉形容为人母的经验为「很美妙」而且也「可能是我此生做过最困难的事了，但我也不会把生孩子的经验拿来和任何事情交换，虽然每天都是一大挑战。」

“I wouldn’t want to come out and then have [people say:] ‘OK, she can’t jump anymore, she can’t [shoot],’” Leslie said. “But I feel like I can totally compete at the same level …. and as long as I can do that, I can play.”

「我不希望自己复出之后，表现只让其他人觉得『哎，她再也无法跳得很高了，她再也不会投篮了，』」莱丝莉说道，「我觉得自己完全可以和其他球员表现出相同水平，一较高下…只要我能持续有相同表现，我就会继续打下去。」

Perkins thinks WNBA mothers can be an example. “It shows that women can have a family and play basketball and still stay competitive. They’re role models for young girls. I don’t think there’s a perfect way to do it, and there are always going to be bumps in [the] road. But I got over it, and now I’m playing through it – playing basketball like I always dreamed of.”

柏金丝认为，WNBA的妈妈球员们可以树立典范。「这能显示出，女性可以同时拥有家庭，也打好篮球，保持竞争力，她们是年轻女孩的榜样。我不认为这个过程有完美的做法可言，路上免不了也会有颠簸难行之处。但我已经克服难关了，如今又能驰骋球场，又能如我一直梦寐以求地来打篮球。」

−by Melissa Isaacson

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let down 使失望

court [kort] n. 球场;（网球等的）场地 an area marked out on the ground or floor that is used for playing a sport

motherhood [ˋmʌðɚhʊd] n. 母亲的身分

come out 出现 to make a formal social debut

bump [bʌmp] n. 颠簸; （路面的）凸块

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Vocabulary Focus

epidemic [͵ɛpɪˋdɛmɪk] adj.（风尚等）极为流行的 reaching far and wide

feat [fit] n. 功绩; 业绩; 英勇事迹 an act that shows skill, strength or bravery

roster [ˋrɑstɚ] n. 列入名册的人 a list of people’s names, especially for a sports team

comeback [ˋkʌm͵bæk] n. 回来; 东山再起; 回归 a return to an earlier condition

adjustment [əˋdʒʌstmənt] n. 调整; 适应 the act of adapting to a new condition

innately [ɪˋnetlɪ] adv. 天生地 part of the basic nature of something

role model 榜样角色；模范 a person whom someone admires and whose behavior they try to copy

Lisa Leslie Highlights