誰(shuí)將代表美國(guó)申辦2024奧運(yùn)會(huì)?

4. San Francisco

舊金山

Secretly, and somewhat smugly, San Franciscans love that so many other people love their city. They see their home as one of the most beautiful and interesting cities in the world, too. Validation is nice.

很多外地人都喜歡舊金山，舊金山人暗地里帶著點(diǎn)沾沾自喜。他們覺(jué)得自己的家是世界上最美麗、最有意思的城市之一。這樣的信心是好事。

But with all due respect, many in San Francisco would rather you do your fawning from a distance. Traffic is bad enough without the double-decker tourist buses blocking the view atop Lombard Street or clogging the Golden Gate Bridge.

但是恕我直言，舊金山也有很多東西讓外人忍不住皺眉。交通已經(jīng)夠糟的了，更何況還有雙層旅游巴士總在九曲花街擋住人們視線，或是在金門(mén)大橋上阻塞交通。

So it is with some reluctance that the following suggestion is made: San Francisco would be quite a sensible place to hold the Summer Olympics.

所以下面的建議帶一點(diǎn)勉強(qiáng)：舊金山或許是夏季奧林匹克運(yùn)動(dòng)會(huì)主辦城市的明智之選。

The Bay Area’s bid can promise cool summer weather (with virtually no rain), a decent mass-transit system (not cable cars) and a collection of well-suited venues spread (but not too far) across the landscape.

灣區(qū)的有利條件包括涼爽的夏日氣候(而且?guī)缀醪幌掠?、還不錯(cuò)的公共交通系統(tǒng)(沒(méi)有有軌電車(chē))，以及遍布全城的一系列便利的場(chǎng)館(相距不算遠(yuǎn))。

San Francisco has its cultural critics, but it would show the world a United States that is environmentally friendly, diverse in many ways and technologically advanced. And if we in the Bay Area were the type to brag, we would add that the scenery is incredible.

舊金山文化有其批評(píng)者，但它可以向整個(gè)世界展示美國(guó)是多么環(huán)保、在各個(gè)方面都是如此多樣化，擁有先進(jìn)的技術(shù)。反正我們?yōu)硡^(qū)的人有點(diǎn)喜歡自夸，那不妨再加一句，這兒的風(fēng)景美極了。

But the key lies in the venues. In these post-Athens and Beijing days, no one wants to spend money on new ones, and San Francisco is not looking to use the Olympics as a means to a bigger, urban-renewal end.

但最重要的還是場(chǎng)館。經(jīng)歷了雅典與北京奧運(yùn)會(huì)，沒(méi)有人會(huì)再想花大錢(qián)蓋新場(chǎng)館，而舊金山也不打算把奧運(yùn)會(huì)當(dāng)做城市大規(guī)模翻修的機(jī)會(huì)。

There are lots of colleges and two major universities (Stanford and the University of California, Berkeley) with huge stadiums, arenas and dormitories. There are plenty of places to house athletes and hold smaller events.

這里有很多學(xué)院，還有兩所大型綜合性大學(xué)(斯坦福大學(xué)和加利福尼亞大學(xué)伯克利分校)，它們都擁有大型體育場(chǎng)館和宿舍。有很多地方可以供運(yùn)動(dòng)員居住并舉辦小型賽事。

Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara is hosting the Super Bowl in 2016. A planned waterfront basketball arena for the Warriors should open in a few years. A Major League Soccer stadium is being built in San Jose. If baseball and softball return to the Olympic docket, well, there are plenty of places to play those, too, including two Major League Baseball stadiums.

圣塔克拉拉的李維斯體育場(chǎng)將舉辦2016年的超級(jí)碗賽事。一座海濱籃球場(chǎng)將在幾年內(nèi)開(kāi)放，作為金州勇士隊(duì)的主場(chǎng)。圣何塞正在修建美國(guó)足球大聯(lián)盟球場(chǎng)。如果棒球和壘球回歸奧林匹克賽事，這兒也有不少場(chǎng)地，包括兩座棒球大聯(lián)盟體育場(chǎng)。

San Francisco organizers are not quite sure where to put track and field and the opening and closing ceremonies. One idea is to build a temporary stadium south of shuttered Candlestick Park. That sounds like something Athens would do.

舊金山的組織者們還沒(méi)決定在什么地方舉辦田徑賽事和開(kāi)閉幕式。有人建議在目前已關(guān)閉的燭臺(tái)公園以南建一座臨時(shí)場(chǎng)館。這聽(tīng)上去有點(diǎn)像雅典干的事。

Until that is figured out, imagine sailing between the Golden Gate and Bay bridges in San Francisco Bay; the same course that was perfect for the summer-long America’s Cup in 2013 is good enough for a couple weeks of Olympics.

在這個(gè)問(wèn)題解決之前，讓我們還是先想想在金門(mén)大橋與舊金山海灣的各個(gè)橋梁之間揚(yáng)帆航行的感覺(jué)吧，2013年的整個(gè)夏天，這里都在舉辦美國(guó)杯帆船比賽，過(guò)程相當(dāng)完美，為時(shí)兩周的奧運(yùn)賽事放到這里肯定也不錯(cuò)。

Picture a hilly marathon tracing up the crooked block of Lombard Street. Or mountain biking in Marin County, the birthplace of the sport. Or the triathlon off Alcatraz, beach volleyball at City Hall, rowing in McCovey Cove. And if the Olympics still insist on golf, there is the Olympic Club or Pebble Beach.

試想在九曲花街蜿蜒起伏的道路上舉行的馬拉松賽事，或者在馬林郡山間舉行的山地自行車(chē)賽事——這項(xiàng)運(yùn)動(dòng)就是在那里誕生的。還有在阿爾卡特拉斯島周邊舉辦的鐵人三項(xiàng)賽事、在市政廳附近舉辦的沙灘排球賽事、在麥考維灣舉辦的劃艇賽事。另外，如果高爾夫球仍然留在奧運(yùn)賽事之中，這里有奧林匹克俱樂(lè)部高爾夫球場(chǎng)和卵石灘高爾夫球場(chǎng)。

Supporters of Boston, Washington, Los Angeles might combat their disadvantages with snarky comparisons about summers in San Francisco and the coldest winters. Summer is fog season, and daytime temperatures in patches of the city can get stuck in the 50s. That is why armies of entrepreneurs sell cheap San Francisco jackets and sweatshirts to tourists who expected a July trip to Fisherman’s Wharf would include sunshine and warmth.

波士頓、華盛頓和洛杉磯的支持者們?yōu)榱搜陲椬约旱娜秉c(diǎn)，會(huì)惡聲惡氣地說(shuō)舊金山的夏天和最冷的冬天差不多(傳說(shuō)這句話出自馬克·吐溫之口——譯注)。這里的夏天是多霧的季節(jié)，在有些地方，白天的溫度讓人感覺(jué)好像是在50年代。所以舊金山的大批商家可以把便宜的外套和運(yùn)動(dòng)衫賣(mài)給在7月拜訪漁人碼頭，還指望能享受到陽(yáng)光和溫暖的游客。