第十五篇                   

Lower Body Fat Means Better Performance

These days, fashion models and pop stars are not the only people who have to watch their waistline. Football players who miss a few kicks and let their belly¹ hanging out a little too much are likely to be attacked by rabid fans or even the president of a country1.

The latest football star to draw the attention of the "fat police" is Barcelona's Ronaldinho,26. Last Friday, a Spanish sports daily published two photos of the Brazilian star without his shirt. One was taken in November 2003; the other was taken this month. In the most recent one，the star's waistline seems to have a little extra padding2.

Another Spanish sports daily published similar before-and-aider photos and argued that the star has "lost his explosiveness and velocity²" and is“worn out". The cause, according to the news paper, is his poor physical fitness.

However, the player's coach, Frank Rijkaard, insists that he's satisfied with Ronaldinho's form and fitness. And after Barcelona's victory over Athletic³ Bibao on Sunday, Ronaldinho challenged photographers to take pictures of him when he took off his shirt.

"I don't have anything to hide," he said.

Fellow Brazilian Ronaldo, 30, of Real Madrid, faced similar criticism before the 2006 World Cup. But the criticism didn't come from a bunch of sports reporters: It came from the president of Brazil.

"So, what is it?" Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva asked the national soccer team's coach in his office last June, according to the Associated Press. "Is he [Ronaldo] fat or not?"

"He is very strong, president," Carlos Alberto Parreira reportedly said at the time. "He is not that boy anymore, His body type has changed."

The game of footfall demands that players put as much emphasis on fitness as they can do on dribbling⁴, passing or shooting.

During a proper training regimen, football players normally follow a load-fatigue-recovery pattern3. They push their body toward a higher mark of fitness and experience a slight and brief drop in performance. Then they begin the recovery process, which will ideally carry their performance to an even higher plane.

However, sometimes non-physical factors can influence a player's poor fitness. In Ronaldinho's case, for instance, people - often unnamed - have blamed everything from the pressure of contract negotiations⁵ to personal problems and too many advertising⁶ commitments.

词汇：

Rabid adj.偏激的

padding n.赘肉

velocity n.速度

dribble⁷ v. 运球

regimen n. 常规训练

注释：

1.　Football players who miss a few kicks and let their belly hanging out a little too much are likely to be attacked by rabid fans or even the president of a country.足球运动员没有踢中几个球或是他们的肚子耷拉得稍多了些，都会受到疯狂的球迷甚至是国家总统的谴责。

2.　In the most recent one, the star's waistline seems to have a little extra padding.

    在最近的一张照片里，这个球星的腰围上似乎多了一小块赘肉。

3.　During a proper training regimen, football players normally follow a load-fatigue-recovery pattern.在正式的常规训练期间，足球运动员在一般情况下需要按照大运动量——疲劳这一方式训练。