Curling, the game with the ice, and the rocks, and the sweeping, and the yelling.
冰壶,是一个结合了冰、冰壶石、刷冰、叫喊于一体的项目。
Each game starts with a handshake and a coin to determine who goes first.
每场比赛以双方握手致意开始,通过掷硬币决定谁先投冰壶。
Then, two teams of four people take turns throwing 44-pound stones down a sheet of ice.
随后,两支由四人组成的队伍,轮流在冰面上投掷一个44磅重的冰壶石。
The target, a 12-foot house, that looks like a bull's-eye, just under 150 feet away.
目标是一个直径12英尺、看起来像靶心、位于150英尺开外的得分区。
Each team throws 8 rocks, and the team closest to the center after all the rocks are thrown will score the points.
每队需要投掷8个冰壶石,在所有冰壶石投掷完毕后,离中心最近的队伍得分。
This process is repeated for 6 to 10 rounds, called "ends", until one team is victorious.
这个过程重复6到10个回合,每回合称为“局”,直到一支队伍取得胜利。
It's just that simple, or is it?
真的就这么简单吗?
Each team has a captain called "the skip".
每支队伍都有一个队长,称为“主将”。
Like a general on the battlefield, the skip calls the shots that will best ensure victory.
就像战场上的将军一样,主将会就最能确保胜利而进行指挥。
Stones are delivered with a predetermined rotation, so they actually curl as they travel down the ice.
冰壶石是通过预先设定的旋转运行的,所以它们在冰面上的运动轨迹其实是一个曲线。
Of course, this is why the sport is called "curling".
这就是为什么这项运动被称为“curling”。
Over the course of each end, players can throw guards to block the house, draws to try to score, or take-outs to remove the opponent's stones.
在每一局比赛的过程中,队员们可以投掷出“保护壶”来保护得分区,“悬壶”来得分,或者是“击打壶”来打掉对手的冰壶石。
The skips then spend the rest of the time yelling like a crazy person.
主将会在剩余时间内里像个疯子一样大喊大叫。
What they're actually doing is emphatically advising their players to brush the ice in front of the stone.
实际上,他们这么做是为了强调并指导队员如何去刷冰壶石前面的冰。
Brushing can drastically affect the speed and direction of the shot.
刷冰可以极大地影响投掷的速度和方向。
After each team throws its eight shots, the team closest to the center of the house will score.
在每支队伍投掷8次后,离得分区中心最近的队伍可以得分。
Or if they have more than one rock closer than the opposition, they count as well.
或者,如果他们有不止一个冰壶石比对手的更接近得分区,也会计入得分。
Once all the ends have been played, whoever has the most points wins.
在所有局结束后,得分更多的一方是为优胜。