傳奇:牛津和劍橋的划船"恩仇錄"

SIBLinG rivalry has many famous examples. Cain and Abel, Linus and Lucy, Liam and Noel. Less well-known, but no less competitive, are David and James Livingston, two brothers who, in April 2003, raced on opposite sides in the Oxford and Cambridge University Boat Race, one of the toughest sporting challenges in the world.

兄弟德比戰有許多出名的例子。例如，該隱和亞伯[1]，萊納斯與露西[2]，連恩與諾爾[3]。大衛和詹姆士?李維斯通兄弟倆之間的紛爭雖沒有這麼出名，但是在激烈程度上毫不遜色。2003年4月，兩人在牛津劍橋划船比賽中互爲對手。牛津劍橋划船比賽也是世界上競爭最激烈的體育挑戰項目之一。

“Blood Over Water”, published to coincide with the 155th boat race on March 29th, tells in alternating narratives the story of how the brothers’ quest for victory turned them into enemies. Providing context is the broader tale of the historic rowing competition between two prestigious universities.

《水上血戰》於3月29日出版。此時正值第155屆划船比賽。該書以交叉敘事的方式講述了兄弟倆在追逐勝利的過程中反目成仇。故事背景設在兩所久負盛名的學校間的傳統划船比賽中。

The first boat race took place in 1829 on the River Thames at Henley in Oxfordshire and was the culmination of an idea of Charles Merivale, a Cambridge student, and his Harrow schoolmate Charles Wordsworth (nephew of poet William), at Oxford. The event was such a success—newspapers of the day reported crowds of 20,000—that Henley decided to organise its own (now famous) regatta and the boat race moved to Westminster in London. By 1845, with Westminster too crowded, the race moved up river to Putney. Today it still runs four-and-a-quarter miles (6.8km) from Putney to Mortlake and, despite being in the public eye for just one day each year, attracts a global audience of around 120m.

首屆划船比賽於1829年在牛津郡泰晤士河的亨利街（Henley）舉行。這個主意來自劍橋學生查理斯?梅里瓦爾和他同樣來自哈羅區的牛津大學的同學查理斯?沃茲沃斯（詩人威廉的侄子）。賽事非常成功，當天的報紙報道有兩萬觀衆。於是，亨利街決定自己組織賽舟會（現在已經很出名了）。划船比賽則移到了倫敦的西敏斯特（Westminster）。到1845年，西敏斯特也人滿爲患，比賽又轉至泰晤士河上游普特尼（Putney）。現在的比賽依然是從普特尼到莫特萊克（Mortlake）長爲6.8公里（4.25英里）的比賽。雖然出現在公衆面前的比賽一年只有一天，但比賽依然吸引了全球大概一億兩千萬的觀衆。

Training is brutal. For seven months potential crews (each with eight oarsmen and a cox) undergo two intense sessions every day, one on the water and one on indoor rowing machines or ergometers. Over that time they put in two hours’ work for each of the 600 strokes they will take in the race. As they train, hearts race at over 200 beats a minute; lactic acid builds to stinging levels in muscles; fragile capillaries burst in the lungs. To combat the physical demands made on them oarsmen must consume 6,000 calories a day, more than twice the normal daily requirement for men. All of this must be balanced against the demands of tutors, supervisions, essays, exams and long-suffering girlfriends.

訓練是殘酷的。準隊員們（每個隊有八名槳手和一名舵手）在幾個月內每天都要經歷兩輪高強度的集訓。一輪在水上，一輪在室內划船機或測力計上。在兩個小時的訓練中，他們要爲比賽中的600次划槳的每一次而努力。訓練過程中，心跳超過每分鐘200次；乳酸在肌肉裏聚集到痠痛的程度；肺裏脆弱的毛細血管都會破裂。爲了適應槳手身體需要，他們每天要消耗6000卡路里，這比常人每日消耗的兩倍還多。所有這些訓練還要和導師、學監、論文、考試以及消耗長期時間精力的女朋友等進行平衡。

“Blood Over Water” stands out from the mass of sporting memoirs thanks to the authors’ open portrayal of their relationship as the build-up to the race intensifies. David, the younger by three years, speaks unashamedly of his struggle to keep up with the high-achieving James, his emotions swinging from pride and love to envy and hate. James dreads failure and is consumed by the fear that his kid brother might beat him at his chosen endeavour. As race day approaches the two opposing camps eat meals at opposite ends of the family kitchen, communication is reduced to curt nods, and the feeling of brotherhood is replaced by one of hostility.

由於《水上血戰》作者對比賽推進過程中兩人關係激化的坦然描述，所以這本競技傳紀能在衆多同類書目中脫穎而出。年幼三歲的弟弟大衛，談到他用盡各種手段追趕他成績突出的哥哥詹姆士，一點也不害臊。他的情感倒是一直都在尊嚴與愛和嫉妒與恨之間搖擺。詹姆士害怕失敗，因爲擔心他小弟想盡一切辦法打敗他而心力交瘁。隨着比賽日期的臨近，交戰雙方在自家廚房的兩頭吃飯，交流只剩下草草的點頭，兄弟情誼也已轉變成了敵對情緒。

The irony of it all is that when Oxford wins the race, by one foot—a 0.0043% difference over the length of the course and the smallest margin on record—the younger man’s joy is tinged with guilt at taking away his brother’s dream. Proof indeed, that blood is thicker than water.

最具有諷刺意義的是，當牛津大學以領先一英寸的微弱優勢——這隻佔全程比賽的0.0043%，而且也是有史以來的最小差距——贏得比賽時，弟弟勝利的喜悅夾雜着奪走哥哥夢想的負罪感。事實再次證明，血濃於水。