Tue, Apr 21, 2009 page14

• Athletics: French polevaulter’s cheek pays dividends 法國撐竿跳選手脫得值得

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  World pole vault vice-champion Romain Mesnil’s unusual stunt to attract sponsorship — running through the streets of Paris naked — has paid dividends.

  The silver medallist at the 2007 Athletics World Championships recently saw his sportswear sponsor reduce his contract due to the global financial crisis.

  So the burly 31-year-old posted a video of himself running nude through the French capital on the YouTube Web site last month in a 46-second clip which has been viewed over one million times.

  

  France’s Romain Mesnil competes during the pole vault event of the Paris indoor athletics meeting, on Feb. 13, 2009 at the Palais Omnisport Paris-Bercy in Paris. 二月十三日，法國選手羅曼．梅斯尼在巴黎貝爾希綜合體育館舉行的巴黎室內運動會上比賽撐竿跳。照片：法新社

  PHOTO: AFP

  And on Tuesday he announced that his unabashed cheek had been fully worth the effort with a new sponsorship deal worth 16,100 euros with ‘On vous heberge,’ a French accommodation-finding Web site.

  In a slightly less controversial approach he had also made an attempt to get sponsors via the French version of the eBay online auction Web site which secured a 7,500 euro contribution from an anonymous donor.

  Mesnil, who is giving that last donation to charity, has said that while he would continue to be imaginative in his pursuit of funding, running naked was now behind him.

  “That’s finished for me, now I’ll move on to other things,” said the French athlete.(afp)

  世界撐竿跳亞軍得主羅曼．梅斯尼為了吸引廠商贊助出奇招在巴黎街頭裸奔──結果這招果真奏效了。

  這位二ＯＯ七年世界運動錦標賽銀牌得主最近也受到全球金融危機影響，運動服贊助商削減了對他的贊助經費。

  因此，這位三十一歲、體格結實的選手上個月在YouTube網站上放了一段他在法國首都裸奔的影片，這段四十六秒的影片已吸引超過百萬人次點閱。

  上週二，他宣佈他大方地露屁屁非常值得，因為他得到法國房屋租售網「On vous heberge」價值一萬六千一百歐元的新贊助合約。

  他還有另一種較不具爭議性的方法，他在法國eBay拍賣網上徵求贊助，結果獲得一位匿名捐贈者贊助七千五百歐元。

  梅斯尼會將七千五百歐元款項轉捐給慈善機構，他說他會繼續以獨具創意的方式募款，但未來不會再裸奔了。

  這位法國運動員說：「那對我而言已經結束了，現在我會朝著其他方向邁進。」（法新社╱翻譯：袁星塵）

  For your information

  TODAY’S WORDS 今日單字

  1. stunt n. 噱頭 (xue1 tou2) 例: The sandwich company regularly organizes publicity stunts. (那間三明治公司常設計各種宣傳花招。) 2. sponsor n. 贊助者 (zan4 zhu4 zhe3) 例:Craig is seeking sponsors for his football team. (克雷格正在替他的足球隊找贊助廠商。) 3. controversial adj. 有爭議的 (you3 zheng1 yi4 de5) 例: Melinda's presentation topic was very controversial. (梅琳達的簡報主題極具爭議性。) 4. athlete adj. 運動員 (yun4 dong4 yuan2) 例:Xavier was a professional athlete when he was younger. (賽維爾年輕時是職業運動員。)

  For your information

  SAY WHAT? 說說看

  pay dividends 成效良好 If something pays dividends, it produces good results. In the article, Mesnil’s idea to run naked through Paris produced the result he wanted — a new sponsor. Examples: “Jeanette is studying engineering, which she hopes will pay dividends in the future,” or “Noel’s decision to buy a house has already paid dividends because it has doubled in value since last year.” 若某事「pay dividends」，就表示它產生良好的結果。文章中提到，梅斯尼在巴黎街頭裸奔這個主意，讓他得到他想要的結果──一個新的贊助商。 例如：「珍娜特學的是工程，她希望將來能有好的發展」，或是「諾爾當初決定買房子果然是對的，因為自去年以來房價已翻漲了一倍」。

  For your information

  OUT LOUD 對話練習

  Viviana: Hi, Dana. What have you got there? Dana: I’m just looking at some of my old university pictures. Viviana: Ah, it looks like you were quite an athlete back then. Dana: I was. I got the gold medal for the long jump in the national athletics championship, and came second in the pole vault. Viviana: That’s a real feather in your cap. Why did you stop? Dana: I got injured and couldn’t compete anymore. Viviana: That’s too bad. But at least you’ve got the memories. 薇薇安娜：嗨，唐娜。妳手上那是什麼？ 唐娜：我只是在看一些大學時的舊照片。 薇薇安娜：噎，妳以前看起來就像個運動員耶。 唐娜：我是啊，我在全國運動會上拿過跳遠金牌，還有撐竿跳亞軍呢。 薇薇安娜：那真是值得驕傲的事耶。妳怎麼不當運動員了呢？ 唐娜：我受了傷不能再比賽了。 薇薇安娜：真是太遺憾了，但至少妳擁有回憶。 a feather in your cap　可以引以為傲的成就 A feather in your cap is an achievement you can be proud of. For example, “It will be a feather in Jenny’s cap if she can retain the gold medal.” 「a feather in your cap」指的就是一項你可以引以為傲的成就。例如：「如果珍妮可以衛冕這面金牌，那會是一件值得驕傲的事」。
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