Test1 Reading Passage 1
How tennis rackets have changed¶
In 2016, the British professional tennis player Andy Murray was ranked as the world's number one. It was an incredible achievement by any standard - made even more remarkable by the fact that he did this during a period considered to be one of the strongest in the sport's history, competing against the likes of Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic, to name just a few. Yet five years previously, he had been regarded as a talented outsider who entered but never won the major tournaments.
Of the changes that account for this transformation, one was visible and widely publicised: in 2011, Murray invited former number one player Ivan Lendl onto his coaching team - a valuable addition that had a visible impact on the player's playing style. Another change was so subtle as to pass more or less unnoticed. Like many players, Murray has long preferred a racket that consists of two types of string: one for the mains (verticals) and another for the crosses (horizontals). While he continued to use natural string in the crosses, in 2012 he switched to a synthetic string for the mains. A small change, perhaps, but its importance should not be underestimated.
The modification that Murray made is just one of a number of options available to players looking to tweak their rackets in order to improve their games. ‘Touring professionals have their rackets customised to their specific needs,’ says Colin Triplow, a UK-based professional racket stringer. 'It's a highly important part of performance maximisation.’ Consequently, the specific rackets used by the world’s elite are not actually readily available to the public; rather, each racket is individually made to suit the player who uses it. Take the US professional tennis players Mike and Bob Bryan, for example: 'We're very particular with our racket specifications,’ they say, 'All our rackets are sent from our manufacturer to Tampa, Florida, where our frames go through a ... thorough customisation process.’ They explain how they have adjusted not only racket length, but even experimented with different kinds of paint. The rackets they use now weigh more than the average model and also have a denser string pattern (i.e. more crosses and mains).
The primary reason for these modifications is simple: as the line between winning and losing becomes thinner and thinner, even these slight changes become more and more important. As a result, players and their teams are becoming increasingly creative with the modifications to their rackets as they look to maximise their competitive advantage.
Racket modifications mainly date back to the 1970s, when the amateur German tennis player Werner Fischer started playing with the so-called spaghetti-strung racket. It created a string bed that generated so much topspin that it was quickly banned by the International Tennis Federation. However, within a decade or two, racket modification became a regularity. Today it is, in many ways, an aspect of the game that is equal in significance to nutrition or training.
Modifications can be divided into two categories: those to the string bed and those to the racket frame. The former is far more common than the latter: the choice of the strings and the tension with which they are installed is something that nearly all professional players experiment with. They will continually change it depending on various factors including the court surface, climatic conditions, and game styles. Some will even change it depending on how they feel at the time.
At one time, all tennis rackets were strung with natural gut made from the outer layer of sheep or cow intestines. This all changed in the early 1990s with the development of synthetic strings that were cheaper and more durable. They are made from three materials: nylon (relatively durable and affordable), Kevlar (too stiff to be used alone) or co-polyester (polyester combined with additives that enhance its performance). Even so, many professional players continue to use a 'hybrid set-up', where a combination of both synthetic and natural strings are used.
Of the synthetics, co-polyester is by far the most widely used. It's a perfect fit for the style of tennis now played, where players tend to battle it out from the back of the court rather than coming to the net. Studies indicate that the average spin from a co-polyester string is 25% greater than that from natural string or other synthetics. In a sense, the development of co-polyester strings has revolutionised the game.
However, many players go beyond these basic adjustments to the strings and make changes to the racket frame itself. For example, much of the serving power of US professional player Pete Sampras was attributed to the addition of four to five lead weights onto his rackets, and today many professionals have the weight adjusted during the manufacturing process.
Other changes to the frame involve the handle. Players have individual preferences for the shape of the handle and some will have the handle of one racket moulded onto the frame of a different racket. Other players make different changes. The professional Portuguese player Goncalo Oliveira replaced the original grips of his rackets with something thinner because they had previously felt uncomfortable to hold.
Racket customisation and modification have pushed the standards of the game to greater levels that few could have anticipated in the days of natural strings and heavy, wooden frames, and it's exciting to see what further developments there will be in the future.
2016 年，英国职业网球选手安迪·穆雷登上了世界第一的宝座。无论以何种标准衡量，这都是一项了不起的成就——而他是在这项运动史上被认为最强的一个时期做到这一点的，这一事实让这项成就显得更加了不起。当时他的对手有拉斐尔·纳达尔、罗杰·费德勒、诺瓦克·德约科维奇等人，仅举几例。然而就在五年前，他还被视为一名有天赋的“局外人”——能参赛，却从未在大赛中夺冠。
在促成这一转变的诸多变化中，有一项显而易见且广为人知：2011 年，穆雷邀请前世界第一伊万·伦德尔加入自己的教练团队——这一宝贵的补充对穆雷的打法产生了明显的影响。而另一项变化则细微到几乎不为人察觉。和许多选手一样，穆雷长期以来偏好使用由两种线组成的球拍：竖线用一种线，横线用另一种线。虽然横线他仍继续使用天然线，但在 2012 年，竖线他改用了合成线。这也许只是一个小小的变化，但其重要性不容低估。
穆雷所做的改动，只是希望微调球拍以提升球技的选手们可选的众多方式之一。“巡回赛职业选手的球拍都是按各自的具体需求定制的，”英国职业穿线师科林·特里普洛说，“这是实现成绩最大化极为重要的一环。”因此，世界顶尖选手所使用的具体球拍实际上并不向公众供应；相反，每一支球拍都是为使用者量身打造的。以美国职业网球选手迈克·布莱恩和鲍勃·布莱恩为例：“我们对球拍的规格非常讲究，”他们说，“我们所有的球拍都由制造商寄到佛罗里达州坦帕，在那里，我们的球拍框要经过……一道彻底的定制工序。”他们解释说，他们不仅调整过球拍的长度，甚至尝试过不同种类的涂料。他们现在使用的球拍比普通款更重，线床也更密（即横线竖线都更多）。
这些改动的主要原因很简单：随着胜负之间的界限变得越来越细微，即便是这些微小的变化也变得愈发重要。因此，选手及其团队在对球拍进行改动时越来越有创意，以期最大限度地获取竞争优势。
球拍改动主要可追溯到 20 世纪 70 年代，当时德国业余网球选手维尔纳·菲舍尔开始使用所谓的“意大利面式穿线”球拍。这种球拍形成的线床能产生极大的上旋，以至于很快就被国际网球联合会禁用了。然而，不到一二十年，改动球拍便成了常态。如今，在许多方面，它已成为这项运动中与营养或训练同等重要的一环。
改动可分为两类：一类针对线床，一类针对球拍框。前者远比后者常见：对线材的选择以及上线的磅数，几乎是所有职业选手都会尝试调整的。他们会根据各种因素不断改变这一点，包括场地表面、气候条件以及打法风格。有些人甚至根据自己当下的手感来调整。
曾经，所有的网球拍都用天然肠线穿线，这种线由羊或牛的肠衣外层制成。这一切在 20 世纪 90 年代初随着合成线的问世而改变——合成线更便宜，也更耐用。合成线由三种材料制成：尼龙（相对耐用且价格实惠）、凯夫拉（太硬，无法单独使用）或共聚酯（聚酯与提升性能的添加剂相结合）。即便如此，许多职业选手仍在使用“混合配置”，即同时使用合成线与天然线。
在合成线中，共聚酯是使用最为广泛的。它与如今网球的打法风格完美契合——如今的选手倾向于在底线后展开对攻，而不是上网。研究表明，共聚酯线所产生的平均旋转比天然线或其他合成线高出 25%。从某种意义上说，共聚酯线的发展彻底改变了这项运动。
然而，许多选手并不满足于这些对线材的基本调整，而是进一步对球拍框本身进行改动。例如，美国职业选手皮特·桑普拉斯的发球威力，在很大程度上被归因于他在球拍上加了四到五个铅制配重；而如今，许多职业选手的配重都是在制造过程中就调整好了的。
对球拍框的其他改动涉及手柄。选手们对手柄的形状各有偏好，有些人会把一支球拍的手柄塑模到另一支球拍的框上。另一些选手则会做不同的改动。葡萄牙职业选手贡萨洛·奥利维拉把自己球拍原来的握把换成了更薄的，因为原来的握把握起来不舒服。
球拍的定制与改动已将这项运动的水平推向了更高境界——这是在使用天然线和笨重木框的年代里，几乎无人能预见的。而未来还会有怎样的进一步发展，令人期待。
Expressions¶
- be ranked as the world's number one 被列为世界第一
- by any standard 以任何标准来衡量
- to name just a few 仅举几例
- be regarded as 被视为
- account for 解释；是……的原因
- have a visible impact on 对……产生明显影响
- pass more or less unnoticed 几乎不被人察觉
- consist of 由……组成
- switch to 改用；转向
- a number of 许多；若干
- be customised to 被定制以适应
- be particular about 对……很讲究（挑剔）
- go through 经历；经受
- experiment with 尝试；用……做实验
- competitive advantage 竞争优势
- date back to 追溯到
- within a decade or two 在一二十年内
- in many ways 在许多方面
- be divided into 被分为
- depending on 取决于
- climatic conditions 气候条件
- at one time 曾经；一度
- be made from 由……制成
- by far 显然；远远
- be a perfect fit for 非常适合
- battle it out 奋力拼杀；激烈争夺
- rather than 而不是
- in a sense 从某种意义上说
- go beyond 超越；超出
- make changes to 对……做出改变
- be attributed to 归因于
- have a preference for 对……有偏好
- replace A with B 用 B 替换 A
- in the days of 在……的年代