Pair Skating and Ice Dancing 双人花样滑冰与冰上舞蹈

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

这个月在美国盐湖城举行的冬季奥运会，最令人叹为观止的表演将在室内滑冰场举行。有时过于粗暴的冰上曲棍球使运动迷们失去了兴趣，他们可以观看较温和的花样滑冰赛。

奥运会花样滑冰的金牌颁发给四个比赛项目。两枚金牌颁给男女个人单项冠军。另两枚则授予男女混合双人赛的优胜者。在男女混合双人赛中，双人花样滑冰分为两个单独的项目：双人滑冰和冰上舞蹈。

双人滑冰中，一对选手表演一套协调的动作。他们加入若干旋转动作组合和精彩的抬举动作。成鲜明对照地，冰上舞蹈选手是决不允许表演双人滑冰选手那敏捷动作的，而且冰上舞蹈选手彼此也很少分开。作为替代，他们表演探戈和华尔兹这类舞蹈，同时还必须表达出乐曲的韵律。

花样滑冰是1924年首届冬季奥运会的比赛项目之一。在那之前，早在1908年的夏季奥运会，花样滑冰选手们就曾较量过。冰上舞蹈则是奥运会中一个比较新的比赛项目， 于1976年在奥地利因斯布鲁克冬季奥运会中首次登场。

从史前时代起，冰鞋在寒冷的北国就被当作一种交通工具使用。不过滑冰作为一项运动则起源于荷兰。它从那儿传到北欧的其它地区和北美洲。大约在17世纪末，全世界第一家滑冰俱乐部在苏格兰爱丁堡成立。

虽然滑冰是一项技术性很高的运动，欣赏起来却很容易。即使不知道运动员采用的那些特殊旋转或跳跃动作的名称，全世界数百万的人也乐于欣赏一对滑冰选手表演的和谐动作。他们仅仅是被这项高娱乐性的运动所展现的奇妙美感所吸引。