Soccer is by far the world’s most popular sport， and for good reason—beloved by at least 265 million people worldwide， it’s easy to play in a random yard or field and instantly relate to the players racing across stadiums.

But if you’re looking for the earliest ancestor of all that running， kicking， and cooperating， here’s what you need to know about soccer’s ancient origins.

足球是全球最受歡迎的運(yùn)動(dòng)。人們隨意找個(gè)院子或空地就能踢，而且立馬能與在球場(chǎng)上飛奔的球員玩在一起。這個(gè)說法有充分的依據(jù)——全世界至少有2.65億人深愛足球。

如果你想知道這項(xiàng)集奔跑、踢球、合作于一體的運(yùn)動(dòng)源于何處，請(qǐng)閱讀以下內(nèi)容。

Soccer’s ancient origins

足球的古老起源

The Chinese were the first to get their kicks by kicking balls into nets for sport in the third century BC， and the game known globally as football was formalized in England in the 19th century. But the predecessor of most modern ball games can be found in the Americas.

“The idea of the team sport was invented in Mesoamerica，” says Mary Miller， a professor of the history of art at Yale University who has studied extensive evidence of the sport.

In Mesoamerica， the vast historical region spanning from Mexico to Costa Rica， civilizations flourished well before Columbus “discovered” them， and many of these people played a sport that involved a heavy ball made from a substance derived from tree resin.

公元前3世紀(jì)，中國(guó)人最先以踢球入網(wǎng)為樂。直到19世紀(jì)，足球這項(xiàng)全球知名運(yùn)動(dòng)的比賽規(guī)則才在英格蘭正式確立下來。但是，絕大部分現(xiàn)代球類運(yùn)動(dòng)的前身都可以在美洲覓得蹤跡。

美國(guó)耶魯大學(xué)的藝術(shù)史教授瑪麗·米勒研究過大量同足球有關(guān)的證據(jù)。她表示：“團(tuán)隊(duì)運(yùn)動(dòng)的概念起源于中美洲?！?/p>

中美洲是從墨西哥到哥斯達(dá)黎加的遼闊歷史區(qū)域。早在哥倫布“發(fā)現(xiàn)”美洲前，這里的文明就已十分繁榮。許多當(dāng)?shù)厝硕紩?huì)參與一項(xiàng)球類運(yùn)動(dòng)。這種球很重，由樹脂提取物制作而成。

It’s unclear exactly where the game was invented， but it was popular across Mesoamerican cultures like the Teotihuacanos， Aztecs， and Maya beginning about 3，000 years ago. Its name varied—ullamaliztli in Aztec， pok-ta-pok or pitz in Maya. So did its rules， which included moves such as keeping the ball in play by bumping it with body parts or using racquets or bats.

Many of these games were played with 16-pound rubber balls， which still exist in the archaeological record. Other evidence of game play ranges from ceramic vessels to more than 1，300 large stone courts that can be found across the region.

Aztec players bounced the ball back and forth between teams using only their hips and buttocks （feet or hands were off limits）. They tried to hit the back wall of their opponents’ courts with just one bounce， often sustaining life-threatening injuries when they were hit with the hard， heavy ball. If a player managed to get it into a high ring on the opposing team’s side， it was an automatic win—and a major honor for the winner.

雖然這項(xiàng)運(yùn)動(dòng)的發(fā)源地尚不明晰，但從大約3000年前開始，它就風(fēng)行于中美洲的各個(gè)文明，特奧蒂瓦坎人、阿茲特克人與瑪雅人都是其愛好者。人們對(duì)它的稱呼各有不同——阿茲特克人稱其為ullamaliztli，瑪雅人則稱其為pok-ta-pok或pitz。這項(xiàng)運(yùn)動(dòng)在各地的規(guī)則也不盡相同。比如為了把球控制在界內(nèi)，有的地方允許利用身體部位撞擊球，或使用球拍或球棒擊球。

人們進(jìn)行這項(xiàng)運(yùn)動(dòng)時(shí)大多使用重達(dá)16磅的橡膠球，這種球如今仍可在考古記錄中探得蹤影。其他同這項(xiàng)運(yùn)動(dòng)相關(guān)的證據(jù)包括陶瓷器皿，以及遍布中美洲的1300多個(gè)大型石頭球場(chǎng)。

阿茲特克球員僅用髖部和臀部（不準(zhǔn)使用腳或手）在隊(duì)伍間來回傳球。他們?cè)噲D只用一次傳接就擊中對(duì)手場(chǎng)地的后墻，但被又硬又重的球擊中時(shí)往往會(huì)受到致命傷害。如果一名球員成功將球打入對(duì)方場(chǎng)地內(nèi)高懸的圓環(huán)，其隊(duì)伍便自動(dòng)獲勝——這是贏家的一大榮耀。

British schools invent a new incarnation

英國(guó)學(xué)校發(fā)明了新形式

Though other cultures like Native Americans and Indigenous Australians played similar games， the modern sport that some people know as soccer—and many others know as football—was birthed in British schools. Although they had played variations of the game informally for centuries， the sport became formalized in the 19th century.

In the mid-19th century， developments in transportation， labor， and technology gave people the leisure and means to travel to competitive matches on mown lawn fields. By the 1840s， a variety of British schools created their own standards of play， making it possible to hold tournaments among players who all knew the same rules.

Over time， two competing rule sets began dominating the sport. The Sheffield Football Club allowed teams a free kick if their competitor disobeyed the rules of play. Cambridge University forbade players to carry the ball in their hands.

As the sport’s popularity ballooned， players banded together in the London Football Association. In 1877， Sheffield officially adopted the so-called “London Rules”. By then， some teams had begun to recruit widely， secretly paying working-class league members.

盡管美洲原住民與澳大利亞原住民等其他文化中也有類似的運(yùn)動(dòng)，但一些人稱之為英式足球、其他許多人稱之為足球的這項(xiàng)現(xiàn)代運(yùn)動(dòng)卻誕生于英國(guó)的學(xué)校。英國(guó)人在幾百年間一直不拘形式地進(jìn)行這項(xiàng)運(yùn)動(dòng)，但直到19世紀(jì)這項(xiàng)運(yùn)動(dòng)才正式定型。

19世紀(jì)中葉，交通、勞動(dòng)力與技術(shù)得到發(fā)展，人們因此既有空閑，也有能力前往修剪平整的草坪參與競(jìng)技比賽。到了19世紀(jì)40年代，英國(guó)的各級(jí)學(xué)校制定了各自的規(guī)則，于是熟知相同規(guī)則的球員之間可以舉辦聯(lián)賽。

隨著時(shí)間的推移，兩套競(jìng)賽規(guī)則漸漸成為主流。謝菲爾德足球俱樂部允許球隊(duì)在對(duì)手違反比賽規(guī)則的情況下踢任意球，劍橋大學(xué)則禁止球員用手觸球。

隨著這項(xiàng)運(yùn)動(dòng)的快速普及，球員們聯(lián)合起來成立了倫敦足球協(xié)會(huì)。1877年，謝菲爾德足球俱樂部正式采用所謂的“倫敦規(guī)則”。當(dāng)時(shí)，一些球隊(duì)已經(jīng)開始廣泛招募球員，暗中向參與聯(lián)賽的工人階層球員支付報(bào)酬。

Upper-class footballers wanted the sport to remain amateur. But in 1885， they finally agreed to allow professional players， enabling a further boom in the sport. By 1904， the sport was so popular that it had gone international， and the Fédération Internationale de Football Association （FIFA） began that same year.

上流社會(huì)的球員希望足球保持業(yè)余的性質(zhì)。但在1885年，他們終于松口，允許職業(yè)球員參賽，足球這項(xiàng)運(yùn)動(dòng)因此得以進(jìn)一步繁榮發(fā)展。到了1904年，足球已經(jīng)風(fēng)靡全球，國(guó)際足球聯(lián)合會(huì)也于同年成立。

Football today

當(dāng)今的足球

Soccer’s success skyrocketed from there. After the sport debuted in the 1908 Olympic Games and the first FIFA World Cup in 1930， professional soccer flourished. Today， FIFA remains the sport’s governing body.

But the heart of the sport has always been on the field， where everyone from small children to seasoned pro athletes can enjoy the action. Soccer’s spirit， which Miller calls one of “intricate team thinking”， is alive and well both in modern incarnations of the ball game and the millions of amateur and pro players who run， weave， and kick their way down an official or makeshift soccer pitch every day.

足球自此一飛沖天。1908年足球首次被列為奧運(yùn)會(huì)項(xiàng)目，1930年國(guó)際足聯(lián)世界杯首次舉行，職業(yè)足球由此開始蓬勃發(fā)展。目前，國(guó)際足聯(lián)仍然是足球運(yùn)動(dòng)的管理機(jī)構(gòu)。

但足球的核心永遠(yuǎn)在綠茵場(chǎng)上，不論是稚齡兒童，還是老到的職業(yè)球員，所有人都能在場(chǎng)上盡情享受足球的樂趣。米勒將足球精神稱作一種“錯(cuò)綜復(fù)雜的團(tuán)隊(duì)思維”，這種精神不僅在各種現(xiàn)代足球形式中長(zhǎng)盛不衰，也在數(shù)百萬業(yè)余或職業(yè)球員中彰顯傳遞——在正式或臨時(shí)的足球場(chǎng)上，他們?nèi)諒?fù)一日地奔跑、過人，向目標(biāo)奮進(jìn)。

Word Bank

evidence /'ev?d?ns/ n. 證明；證據(jù)

sustain /s?'ste?n/ v. 遭受；蒙受

dominate /'d?m?ne?t/ v. 支配；控制

He tended to dominate the conversation.

forbid /f?'b?d/ v. 禁止；不準(zhǔn)

You are all forbidden to leave.