第1974期:Pickleball

Pickleball. It's got nothing to do with pickles – it's a sport. It has been described as a combination of tennis, badminton and table tennis. Picture a small plastic ball soaring through the air that you need to bat back to your partner, or partners. 

匹克球。这与泡菜无关——这是一项运动。它被描述为网球、羽毛球和乒乓球的结合。想象一个小塑料球在空中翱翔，您需要将其击回给您的一个或多个伙伴。

Many Brits are listening to their inner athlete and picking up this racket game. In the UK, there are currently around 7,000 players, according to Pickleball England. But the association aims to have more than 25,000 players by 2025 and is even attempting to get the sport played as part of promotion for the 2028 Olympics. 

许多英国人正在倾听他们内心的运动员的声音并开始玩这种球拍游戏。据 Pickleball England 称，英国目前约有 7,000 名球员。但该协会的目标是到 2025 年拥有超过 25,000 名运动员，甚至试图将这项运动作为推广 2028 年奥运会的一部分。 

How exactly do you play this game? Well, it can be played indoors or outdoors and it can be played as a singles or doubles game. There are a few easy-to-understand rules. The ball is served underhand and should be batted diagonally across the court. On the first two hits, the ball has to bounce, but after that, players are free to volley. To win a point, the defending side must miss the ball. 

你到底怎么玩这个游戏？嗯，它可以在室内或室外进行，也可以作为单打或双打比赛进行。有一些易于理解的规则。球是低手发球，并且应该在球场对角线击球。前两次击球时，球必须弹起，但此后，球员可以自由截击。为了赢得一分，防守方必须丢球。 

So, why is it popular? Firstly, it appears to be a game for all ages. The ball is lightweight because it's full of holes. This means that, when batting, there is much less impact on the body than when hitting a tennis ball, for example. Elaine Brown, who is in her 50s and a regular pickleball player, told news organisation, The Guardian why she loves the sport. "It's good exercise, it's strategic, it can be as hard or as easy as you want it to be, and most of the time it's just good fun." 

那么，它为什么受欢迎呢？首先，它似乎是一款适合所有年龄段的游戏。球很轻，因为它充满了孔。这意味着，击球时对身体的影响比击打网球时小得多。50 多岁的伊莱恩·布朗 (Elaine Brown) 经常打泡菜球，她告诉新闻机构《卫报》她为何热爱这项运动。“这是很好的锻炼，具有策略性，可以像你想要的那样困难或简单，而且大多数时候它很有趣。” 

And the social aspect and low-impact nature of the game has been attracting players worldwide, creating a blossoming community of pickleball enthusiasts, such as celebrities Bill Gates and Leonardo DiCaprio. So, if you fancy picking it up, find your local pickleball court and give it a go! 

这项运动的社交性和低影响性吸引了世界各地的玩家，创造了一个蓬勃发展的泡菜球爱好者社区，例如名人比尔·盖茨和莱昂纳多·迪卡普里奥。因此，如果您想尝试一下，请找到当地的匹克球场并尝试一下！

词汇表

pickleball 匹克球运动
badminton 羽毛球运动
soar 飞行
bat 用球拍击（球）
athlete 运动员，擅长运动的人
racket 球拍
Olympics 奥林匹克运动会
singles 单打比赛
doubles 双打比赛
serve 发球
underhand 下手（发球）
diagonally 对角地
court 球场
bounce 反弹，落地后弹起
volley 截击球，凌空击球
defending side 防守方，接球方
miss 未击中
lightweight 重量轻的
impact 冲击
strategic 有策略的
low-impact 对身体冲击力小的，低强度的
enthusiast 爱好者，热衷于…的人