隱市軒地帶

這一篇是屬於翻譯的文章，來源是黃蜂隊的官網:Hornets Believe: West Visits NOLA Elementary School

By: Jim Eichenhofer, Hornets.com
January 29, 2009

Since coming to the NBA in 2003, David West has established a reputation as one of the hardest-working players in the league. His dedication to improvement is evidenced by increases to his scoring and rebounding averages, in each of the first five seasons of his career. Off the court, there's actually another area where West's progression has arguably been even more impressive: reading.

自從2003年進入NBA以來，David West就以努力工作著稱。最明顯的證據就在他生涯的前五年，每一年的平均得分和籃板都能比前一年再往上提升。而在場外，有另一個領域是West進步更多的地方，那就是閱讀。

At age 17, West's reading ability was tested and determined to be only at a seventh-grade level. He eventually went to a military school for a year after high school, prior to enrolling at Xavier (Ohio) University. A decade later, the 6-foot-9 power forward has become an insatiable reader, with a particular interest in historical and political books.

在他17歲的時候，West的閱讀能力在測驗中顯示只有七年級左右的程度(大約等於台灣國中一年級)。高中畢業後他進入軍校，待了一年(難怪把David Robinson當做偶像)，然後進入Xavier大學就讀。10年之後，這位6呎9吋的大前鋒成為汲汲於吸收知識的讀者，尤其是對歷史和政治有濃厚的興趣。

On Tuesday, Jan. 27, West told his unique story to children at New Orleans' Edgar Harney Elementary. A group of roughly 200 students listened intently as the two-time NBA All-Star emphasized the importance of literacy and knowledge.

在一月27號時，West告訴新月城當地的一間小學的學生他自己的故事。將近200位的學生聽著這位兩屆全明星球員訴說讀寫能力和知識的重要。

"Educate yourself, because the more you know, the more opportunities will present themselves to you as you get older," West told the kids. "When I was your age and on up through high school, I was one of those kids who didn't focus on my schoolwork. I was just waiting for gym class to start so I could play sports. But when I got older, I realized that the way I had thought when I was young was crazy. It was ignorant.

"教育你自己，因為你知道的越多，當你年歲漸長，你有越多的機會去把你自己表現出來。"West告訴這些孩子。"當我在你們這個年紀，直到高中，我和許多愛玩的人一樣不唸書，只想著體育課。但是當我年紀逐漸增長，我才意識到那是多麼的瘋狂而且無知。"

"Do you want to be a rule-maker or a rule follower?" West asked the kids. "You want to be a leader, a rule-maker. The only way to do that is to educate yourself and learn as much as possible."

"你想當規則制定者還是服從者?"West這樣問著那些孩子。"你絕對想當領導者-一個規則制定者。而唯一的方法就是去教育自己，儘可能的學習。"

West was joined at the school assembly by Hornets TV play-by-play broadcaster Bob Licht - who says every time he says West on Hornets road trips these days, West is reading a book - as well as team mascot Hugo the Hornet and Honeybees members Jessica and Saydi. Also in attendance to help read to children were representatives from the local Xavier University basketball team (head coach Dannton Jackson, assistant David Egans, players Michael Harvey, Cordell Hadnot and Kelechi Okoroha) and the University of New Orleans hoops squad (assistant coach Adam Cowen, players Johann Mpondo and Charles Carmouche).

Hornets TV的主撥Bob Licht說到，每次當黃蜂去打客場的路上時，West就在讀書，而球隊的吉祥物Hugo(扮他的那位仁兄)和另兩位啦啦隊員也是如此。同時West也參加了Xavier大學以及紐澳良大學的籃球隊為兒童朗讀的計畫。

"I read a little bit of everything now," West told the primarily African-American grade school. "I'm really big into black history. And I like to read about things going on in the social climate. Do you know what the social climate is? Well, for example, we've got a new President. That's (a change) in the social climate. I'm interested in things that people deal with in everyday life."

"我現在各式各樣的東西都稍有涉獵，"West這樣告訴一間學校的學生。"我對黑人的歷史涉獵很深。此外我也對社會氛圍(social climate)的領域很感興趣。知道什麼是social climate嗎?告訴你們，舉例來說，我們現在有了一位新總統，那就是屬於社會氛圍的改變。我對人們在日常生活中所必須處理的那些事物深感興趣。"

http://www.nba.com/hornets/community/Hornets_Believe_West_Visits_N-298602-1504.html