lesson 21 Daniel Mendoza
lesson 21 Daniel Mendoza
Title-Prize fighting
Question-How many unsuccessful attempts did Mendoza make before becoming Champion of England
It's a story about a boxer, Mendoza, who contributed to boxing.
It's about a boxer Mendoza, his boxing career
Boxing matches were very popular in England two hundred years ago. In those days, boxers [ˈbɒksəz] fought [fɔːt] with bare [beə(r)] fists for prize money. Because of this, they were known as 'prizefighters'. However, boxing was very crude [kruːd], for there were no rules and a prizefighter could be seriously injured or even killed during a match.
One of the most colourful figures in boxing history was Daniel Mendoza [mɛnˈdoʊzə]
门多萨, who was born in 1764. The use of gloves [glʌvz] was not introduced until 1860, when the Marquis [ˈmɑːkwɪs] 侯爵；马奎斯 of Queensberry drew [druː] up the first set of rules. Though he was technically [ˈteknɪkli] a prizefighter, Mendoza did much to change crude prizefighting into a sport, for he brought science to the game. In his day, Mendoza enjoyed tremendous [trəˈmendəs] popularity [ˌpɒpjuˈlærəti]. He was adored [əˈdɔːd] by rich and poor alike.
Mendoza rose to fame [feɪm] swiftly [ˈswɪftli] after a boxing match when he was only fourteen years old. This attracted the attention of Richard [ˈrɪtʃəd] Humphries [ˈhʌmfəriz] 汉弗莱斯 who was then the most eminent [ˈemɪnənt] boxer in England. He offered to train Mendoza and his young pupil [ˈpjuːpl] was quick to learn. In fact, Mendoza soon became so successful that Humphries turned against him. The two men quarreled [ˈkwɒrəld] bitterly [ˈbɪtəli] and it was clear that the argument could only be settled by a fight. A match was held at Stilton ['stɪlt(ə)n], 斯蒂尔顿 where both men fought for an hour. The public bet a great deal of money on Mendoza, but he was defeated. Mendoza met Humphries in the ring on a later occasion [əˈkeɪʒn] and he lost for a second time. It was not until his third match in 1790 that he finally beat Humphries and became Champion of England. Meanwhile, he founded a highly successful Academy and even Lord [lɔːd] Byron [ˈbaɪrən] 拜伦became one of his pupils. He earned enormous [ɪˈnɔːməs] sums [sʌmz] of money and was paid as much as $100 for a single appearance. Despite [dɪˈspaɪt] this, he was so extravagant [ɪkˈstrævəɡənt] that he was always in debt [det]. After he was defeated by a boxer called Gentleman Jackson, he was quickly forgotten. He was sent to prison [ˈprɪzn] for failing to pay his debts and died in
Bare
[beə(r)]
completely unclothed
not having a protective covering
adj.裸体的;裸露的;(树木)光秃秃的;(土地)荒芜的;无遮盖的;没有保护的
v.揭开;脱掉(衣服)
fist
n.拳;拳头
prizefighter
a professional boxer
n.职业拳击手
crude
not carefully or expertly made
rude
adj.粗略的;简略的;大概的;粗糙的;粗制的;冒犯的，粗俗的，粗鲁的(尤其有关性的)
n.原油;石油
technically
[ˈteknɪkli]
Skill
adv.根据确切意义地;严格按照事实地;在专业上;在技巧上;在技艺上;在技术上;在技能上;在工艺上
tremendous
[trəˈmendəs]
Big
adj.巨大的;极大的;极好的;精彩的;了不起的
adored
[əˈdɔːd]
Love doing like doing
v.热爱，爱慕(某人);喜爱，热爱(某事物)
adore的过去分词和过去式
fame
[feɪm]
Famous
n.名声;声誉;名气
vt.使闻名;使出名;使有名望;<古>盛传
swiftly
quickly
adv 迅速地
eminent
[ˈemɪnənt]
Famous outstanding
adj.(尤指在某专业中)卓越的，著名的，显赫的;非凡的;杰出的
pupil
英 [ˈpjuːpl] 美 [ˈpjuːpl]
Student
n.学生;(尤指)小学生;弟子;门生;门徒;瞳孔;眸子;瞳人
bitterly
英 [ˈbɪtəli] 美 [ˈbɪtərli]
Sad cold
adv.伤心地;愤怒地;极其;非常;非常寒冷的;严寒
bet
英 [bet] 美 [bet]
the money risked on a gamble
v.下赌注(于);用…打赌;敢说;八成儿
n.打赌;赌注;预计;估计
enormous
英 [ɪˈnɔːməs] 美 [ɪˈnɔːrməs]
Big
adj.巨大的;庞大的;极大的
extravagant
英 [ɪkˈstrævəɡənt] 美 [ɪkˈstrævəɡənt]
wasteful
adj.奢侈的;挥霍的;铺张浪费的;过于昂贵的;无节制的;过分的;放肆的;不切实际的