Stars from the south

课型：阅读第一课时 时间：20分钟 年级：高二

Stars from the south

The summer of 2001 saw Australians win the Cycling Tour de France, beat the world at cricket(板球) and rugby, and have a player in the final of the Wimbledon Tennis Tournament for the eighteenth time.

Many countries would be amazed at that kind of success. For Australia, it was just a typical sporting summer. At the 2000 Olympics, Australia came fourth in the medals table. That does not sound so great, yet Australia has a population of only 19 million. There are more Olympic medal winners per head of population in Australia than in any other country.

What is it that makes Australians a sporting people? This is a question that many people involved in sports have asked themselves over the years.

Some of the answers are simple. Sport needs space. Australians have 7.4 million square kilometres of space to play sports in. many other countries are either too crowded or too small to encourage everybody to take part. Besides that, Australia is a warm, dry country. This encourages people to go outdoors to enjoy themselves. Furthermore, since 85 per cent of Australians live near the sea, they learn water sports early; and since sharks swim off the coasts of Australia, they also learn to swim very fast.

However, it is not just the environment. The Australian government invests heavily in sports. Instead of just looking for the gifted people and training them, the emphasis is on trying to get everyone to join in. So Australia has a small population, but a large number of sports-loving people to choose from.

Other reasons go deep into the history and culture of the country. When the British first found Australia they decided that it would be a great place to send criminals to. Life for the first Australians was very tough, so they had to be independent and develop a will to win just to survive. Yet they also had to be able to trust each other and be willing to help each other out. In order countries, coaches train people in mental toughness and team building. In Australia, these qualities are part of the general social environment.

Being far away from Europe also meant that Australians were far away from the centres of Western arts and cultures. As a result, sport itself has become a way of cultural expression and part of the Australian nationality. An English football fan wants to see the national team do well, but really cares more about his local club. For an Australian, representing the nation is the most important thing of all. Everything else is just good practice. Being good at sports is part of what it means to be an Australian.