Pair Skating and Ice Dancing 雙人花樣滑冰與冰上舞蹈

At this month's Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, U.S.A., some of the most spectacular action will take place on the indoor ice rink. Sports fans who are turned off by the sometimes brutal intensity of ice hockey can tune in to the gentler figure skating competition.

Gold medals are awarded in four categories of Olympic figure skating. Two medals go to the winners of the male and female individual events. The other two are awarded to mixed pairs. Within this group, there are two separate events for pair figure skating: pair skating and ice dancing.

In pair skating, a couple performs a program of movements in harmony. They add a number of combined spins and spectacular lifts. Ice dancers, in contrast, are not allowed to perform the athletic moves of pair skaters, and the couple rarely separates. Instead, they perform dances such as tangos and waltzes, and they must interpret the rhythm of the music.

Figure skating was one of the events at the very first Winter Olympics in 1924. Before that, figure skaters had competed at the Summer Games as early as 1908. Ice dancing is a relatively new addition to the Games, making its debut at the 1976 Winter Olympics in Innsbruck, Austria.

The use of skates as a means of transportation in cold northern regions of the world began in prehistoric times. Ice-skating as a sport, however, originated in Holland. From there, it spread to the rest of northern Europe and North America. The world's first ice-skating club was formed in Edinburgh, Scotland, sometime around the end of the seventeenth century.

Though ice-skating is a highly technical activity, it is easy to appreciate. Millions of people around the world enjoy watching the harmonious movements of a skating couple even if they don't know the names of the particular spins or jumps being used. They are simply attracted by the graceful beauty of this highly entertaining sport.

-by Martin Kelly

這個月在美國鹽湖城舉行的冬季奧運會，最令人嘆為觀止的表演將在室內滑冰場舉行。有時過于粗暴的冰上曲棍球使運動迷們失去了興趣，他們可以觀看較溫和的花樣滑冰賽。

奧運會花樣滑冰的金牌頒發給四個比賽項目。兩枚金牌頒給男女個人單項冠軍。另兩枚則授予男女混合雙人賽的優勝者。在男女混合雙人賽中，雙人花樣滑冰分為兩個單獨的項目：雙人滑冰和冰上舞蹈。

雙人滑冰中，一對選手表演一套協調的動作。他們加入若干旋轉動作組合和精彩的抬舉動作。成鮮明對照地，冰上舞蹈選手是決不允許表演雙人滑冰選手那敏捷動作的，而且冰上舞蹈選手彼此也很少分開。作為替代，他們表演探戈和華爾茲這類舞蹈，同時還必須表達出樂曲的韻律。

花樣滑冰是1924年首屆冬季奧運會的比賽項目之一。在那之前，早在1908年的夏季奧運會，花樣滑冰選手們就曾較量過。冰上舞蹈則是奧運會中一個比較新的比賽項目， 于1976年在奧地利因斯布魯克冬季奧運會中首次登場。

從史前時代起，冰鞋在寒冷的北國就被當作一種交通工具使用。不過滑冰作為一項運動則起源于荷蘭。它從那兒傳到北歐的其它地區和北美洲。大約在17世紀末，全世界第一家滑冰俱樂部在蘇格蘭愛丁堡成立。

雖然滑冰是一項技術性很高的運動，欣賞起來卻很容易。即使不知道運動員采用的那些特殊旋轉或跳躍動作的名稱，全世界數百萬的人也樂于欣賞一對滑冰選手表演的和諧動作。他們僅僅是被這項高娛樂性的運動所展現的奇妙美感所吸引。