英国人长相特点【如果你是英国人，就让我们听到】

　　So if coach Stuart Pearce knew in advance Giggs and Co had some kind of ‘issue’with the anthem, then the Manchester United player should never have been chosen to captain the side in the first place.
　　Let’s get this straight. Everyone representing Great Britain during this Olympics is participating in a form of national service, whether they like it or not.
　　让我们开门见山吧，不管你喜欢与否，这届奥运会上代表英国出场的每个人在某种意义上都在为国家服役。
　　But the phrase ’national service’ has meaning and relevance in a sporting context too, since every single one of the athletes draping themselves in the Union flag over the course of the next 16 days is representing this nation. And that honour carries with it certain expectations and responsibilities.
　　然而为国家服役这一词汇在这里的意味却和体育内容有关。在从今天往后的16天时间里，每一个身披联合王国国旗的运动员都代表着这个国家。而这一荣誉同时也将承载着责任和外界对他们的期望。
　　The first is to show some respect for the flag they are here to represent. And one of the ways to do that is to sing the anthem. The sight of Welsh players standing there tight-lipped as the camera panned along the line of the British football team at Old Trafford on Thursday night was embarrassing. It was rude, dispiriting and out of keeping with the Olympian spirit.
　　在这里，运动员首先要对自己所代表国家的国旗表示尊重，而在这一系列仪式里，就包括唱国歌。而周四晚上的老特拉福德，当我们看到摄像机沿着英国国奥队出场阵容向前推进时，却看到来自威尔士地区的运动员站在那里紧闭嘴巴。这一幕让人觉得尴尬而沮丧，而且实在有些粗鲁，让人觉得缺乏奥林匹克精神。
　　This is a quite simple scenario. If you’re British enough to wear the Team GB badge and represent Britain at the Olympic Games then you should be British enough to sing the National Anthem.
　　这其实本来应该非常简单。如果你是英国人，戴着英国代表团的徽章，在奥运会上代表英国队，作为英国人，你就应该高唱国歌。
　　That just happens to be God Save The Queen. So sing it. Of course, if any Welshman or woman, any Scot or Northern Irish soul decides in a private capacity they are unwilling to do this, they are perfectly entitled to that view. One of the great freedoms this country offers is the freedom to say parts of it stink. I actually think the anthem is a bit of a dirge.
　　这些仪式只会在《上帝保佑女王》这首歌响起的时候才会出现，所以只要跟着唱就行。当然，如果任何一个威尔士人，或是苏格兰人，北爱尔兰人从个人角度不愿意这么做的话，他们可以畅所欲言，表达自己的想法，这个国家最大的自由就是你可以自由地大声抱怨。我就觉得我们的国歌听上去实在有点像哀乐。
　　But when you elect to represent the United Kingdom of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland on the world stage any claim to be ambivalent about the concept of Team GB disappears.
　　但是一旦你被选中代表英格兰，苏格兰，威尔士和北爱尔兰的联合王国站在世界舞台上，那么所有那些民族成见和情感都应该随着大不列颠代表队的概念和荣誉而消失。
　　I’m staggered the Welsh players — and Ryan Giggs in particular —even put themselves in such an ignoble position. Their little gesture of silent protest was clearly pre-planned. So if coach Stuart Pearce knew in advance Giggs and Co had some kind of ‘issue’ with the anthem, then the Manchester United player should never have been chosen to captain the side in the first place.
　　我在这里揭发了威尔士运动员，尤其是吉格斯，他们让自己置于一个可鄙的境地。他们这种以静默表示抗议的姿态明显是事先计划好的。如果主教练皮尔斯事先知道吉格斯和他的同伙会在国歌的问题上制造事端，这名曼联球员根本就不应该被选为球队的队长。
　　As for the skipper, if the anthem really is such an ordeal to him, perhaps Giggs might also like to review the honour he received from the Queen in December of 2007 and stick his OBE in the post back to Mrs E Windsor c/o Buckingham Palace, London.
　　作为一位队长，如果国歌真的这么让他感觉被折磨的话，也许吉格斯应该重新审视一下自己在2007年12月从女王那里所获得的荣誉。他应该交出自己的英帝国勋章，并且将他们寄还到地址是伦敦白金汉宫的伊利莎白·温莎夫人。
　　This doesn’t often happen in other sports. The Welsh members of the women’s hockey team have no issue with the anthem. I cannot recall any dissent among the Scots in the cycling. Is football unique in its tribal arrogance?
　　这在其他的体育项目中并不常见，英国女子曲棍球队中的威尔士队员就在唱国歌的时候没有任何问题。我也想不起来自行车队中的苏格兰队员曾经对此保持过任何异议。是否只有足球球员在面对部落之间的问题时如此傲慢而自负？