>21 The Origin of Sports
    When did sport begin? If sport is, in essence, play, the claim might be made that sport is much older than humankind, for, as we all have observed, the beasts play. Dogs and cats wrestle and play ball games. Fishes and birds dance. The apes have simple, pleasurable games. Frolicking infants, school children playing tag, and adult arm wrestlers are demonstrating strong, transgenerational and transspecies bonds with the universe of animals - past, present, and future. Young animals, particularly, tumble, chase, run, wrestle, mock, imitate, and laugh(or so it seems) to the point of delighted exhaustion. Their play, and ours, appears to serve no other purpose than to give pleasure to the players, and apparently, to remove us temporarily from the anguish of life in earnest. Some philosophers have claimed that our playfulness is the most noble part of our basic nature. In their generous conceptions, play harmlessly and experimentally permits us to put our creative forces, fantasy, and imagination into action. Play is release from the tedious battles against scarcity and decline which are the incessant, and inevitable, tragedies of life. This is a grand conception that excites and provokes. The holders of this view claim that the origins of our highest accomplishments - liturgy, literature, and law - can be traced to a play impulse which, paradoxically, we see most purely enjoyed by young beasts and children. Our sports, in this rather happy,nonfatalistic view of human nature, are more splendid creations of the nondatable, transspecies play impulse.

    体育的起源
    体育运动开始于何时?如果体育运动的本质就是游戏的话，我们就可以宣称体育运动比人类古老，因为正如我们所观察到的，野兽也进行嬉戏。 狗和猫会扭抱玩球，鱼和鸟翩翩 起舞，猿类会进行一些简单的、愉快的游戏。 雀跃的幼儿，捉迷藏的学童和成年摔跤者展 示出人与动物界的有力的跨越世代与物种的永恒的联系--特别是幼兽，它们翻筋斗、追逐、 奔跑、扭打、模仿、嬉笑(或者看起来是)，直到愉快地精疲力尽。 他们的玩耍，同我们的 一样，似乎并没有别的目的而只是给游戏者以愉悦，暂时把我们从严肃生活的痛苦中拉出来。 一些哲学家称我们的嬉戏是我们本质中最崇高的部分。 依他们这些随意性很大的见解，游 戏无害而且实验性地允许我们的创造力、幻想和想象发挥作用。 游戏让人们从永不间断亦 不可避免的生活悲剧-与乏匮和衰退进行的枯燥抗争中得到一种解脱。 这是一个令人兴奋、 给人启发的伟大见解。 这种见解的持有者宣称，我们的最高成就如宗教典礼、文学、法律 的起源可以追溯到游戏的冲动。 但令人不解的是我们看到只有幼兽和小孩子才最纯粹地享 受着这种冲动。 从这种比较豁达和非宿命的人性观来看，我们的运动是超时代、跨物种的 辉煌的创造。
  >22 Collectibles
    Collectibles have been a part of almost every culture since ancient times. Whereas some objects have been collected for their usefulness, others have been selected for their aesthetic beauty alone. In the United States, the kinds of collectibles currently popular range from
traditional objects such as stamps, coins, rare books, and art to more recent items of interest like dolls, bottles, baseball cards, and comic books.
    Interest in collectibles has increased enormously during the past decade, in part because some collectibles have demonstrated their value as investments. Especially during cycles of high inflation, investors try to purchase tangibles that will at least retain their current market values. In general, the most traditional collectibles will be sought because they have preserved their value over the years, there is an organized auction market for them, and they are most easily sold in the event that cash is needed. Some examples of the most stable collectibles are old masters, Chinese ceramics, stamps, coins, rare books, antique jewelry, silver, porcelain, art by well-known artists, autographs, and period furniture. Other items of more recent interest include old photograph records, old magazines, post cards, baseball cards, art glass, dolls, classic cars, old bottles, and comic books. These relatively new kinds of collectibles may actually appreciate faster as short-term investments, but may not hold their value as long-term investments. Once a collectible has had its initial play, it appreciates at a fairly steady rate, supported by an increasing number of enthusiastic collectors competing for the limited supply of collectibles that become increasingly more difficult to locate.

    收藏品
    从古代开始，收藏品就是文化的一部分。 一些物品因它们的有用性被收藏，而另一些 则纯粹因为它们的美被收藏。 在美国，当今流行的收藏品种类从传统物件，如邮票、硬币、 珍本书籍、艺术品，到更近期一些的有趣的东西，如布娃娃、瓶子、垒球卡、连环漫画册。 对收藏品的兴趣在过去十年中大大地增长，部分原因是一些收藏品显示出了它们的投资价 值。 尤其在高通货膨胀时期，投资者尽量购买那些至少会保持他们现有市场价值的有形资 产。 一般来说，最传统的收藏品受青睐，因为它们多年后仍保持其价值。 它们拥有完善的 拍卖市场，在需要现金的时候最容易被卖掉。 一些最稳当的收藏品是古老的画作、中国陶 器、邮票、硬币、珍本书籍、古代珠宝、银器、瓷器、著名艺术家的作品、亲笔签名和有时 代特征的家具。 其它更近期的物品有旧唱片、旧杂志、明信片、垒球卡片、彩色玻璃、布 娃娃、早期汽车、古瓶和连环画册。 作为短期投资这些相对说来较新颖的收藏品的确可能 更快地增值，但作为长期投资则可能不能保值。 一旦一件收藏品有了它第一次交易，它便 以一个相当稳定的比率增值，这个增值率受到越来越多的热情的收藏者的支持，他们为有限 的而且越来越难找到的收藏品而竞争。