Can China stay on top of the Olympics medal table?
2012年奥运会中国代表团派出的人数比往届比少一些——这暗示着中国对赢得金牌采取了一种更加务实的态度。
In the Olympic Games in Beijing in 2008, China won 51 gold medals and became world leader in the medal table for the first time. With the games in London now beginning, the BBC's Yuwen Wu looks at the current medal hopes of China - and what winning gold means to the country.
在2008年北京奥运会上，中国夺得51枚金牌并首次成为了奖牌榜上的领军人物。随着伦敦奥运会的即将开始，BBC的吴文宇看了看目前对中国夺得金牌数的预测，以及夺得的金牌数对中国意味着什么。
China's participation in the Olympics got off to an uncertain start.
中国参加奥运会开始向一个不确定的开始发展。
The People's Republic of China (PRC) first competed at the Olympic Games in 1952 - at the summer games in Helsinki - only participating in one event.
中华人民共和国（PRC）于1952年开始参加奥运会——赫尔辛基的夏季运动会——而且只参加了一个项目的比赛。
At that time the International Olympic Committee allowed both the PRC and the Republic of China - which had recently relocated to Taiwan after the Chinese Civil War - to compete, although the latter withdrew in protest over the PRC's inclusion.
那时候国际奥委会允许中华人民共和国和中华民国——那时候的地理位置位于中国内战后的台湾——同时参加，尽管后者对中华人民共和国的参加表示抗议。
The dispute over the political status of China meant that the PRC did not participate in the Olympics again until the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid.
这一关于中国政治地位的争议带来的后果即为，直到1980年普莱西德湖冬季奥运会，中国才再次回归奥运会。
Its first appearance at the summer Olympic Games after 1952 was at the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles, when it took 15 gold medals and came fourth on the medal table, largely in gymnastics, shooting and diving. Their success was partly due to the fact that the Eastern Bloc countries boycotted the games.
1952年后，中国在夏季奥运会上的首次亮相出现在1984年的洛杉矶奥运会，那时中国夺得了15枚金牌，并列于奖牌榜的第四位，多数金牌来自于体操、射击和跳水。这一成功某种程度上源于中欧国家抵制奥运会而没参加。
The first ever gold medal for China, won by Mr Xu Haifeng in the men's pistol event in the Los Angeles Games, was hailed as the "great breakthrough", ending China's shame over its "sick man of Asia" image.
中国首枚金牌是由许海峰在洛杉矶奥运会的手枪射击项目上夺得的。这一成绩被视为是“重大突破”，终结了中国“中亚病夫”的耻辱形象。
All the gold medallists became instant national heroes and were given all sorts of honours.
所有的金牌得主立即成为了民族英雄，并给予了各种荣誉。
First or second?
第一还是第二？
Since then, China has steadily climbed the medal table, finally claiming top spot on home soil in the 2008 Beijing Olympics Games.
从那时候起，中国开始稳步在奖牌榜上爬升，最终在2008年北京奥运会上在自己家乡的土壤上来到了第一位。
It defeated its fierce rivals, the US and Russia, to second and third place respectively.
中国战胜了强有力的竞争对手美国和俄罗斯，使他们分列二三位。
Apart from strong performances in traditional favourite categories such as table tennis and diving, China also won gold in more diverse sports including boxing and yachting.
除了传统优势项目，如乒乓球和跳水，中国也在其他各项体育项目中夺得了金牌，如拳击和游艇。
The question on everybody's mind for the London games is whether China can sustain its dominant position and continue occupying the top spot in 2012.
每个人都很好奇的问题就是中国能否在伦敦奥运会上维持其霸主地位并在本届奥运会上仍然占据第一的位置。
Not likely, if you believe the predictions given by Goldman Sachs.
如果你相信由高盛给出的预测，那这种说法是不太可能出现的。
According to them, China stripped of home advantage will come second in the medal table with 33 gold medals, while the US will come first with 37 gold medals.
根据高盛银行的说法，没了主场优势的中国会在奖牌榜上以33枚金牌的成绩位列第二，而美国会以37枚金牌的成绩位列第一。
However the Chinese official news agency Xinhua is more optimistic.
然而中国官方新闻通讯社新华表现得更加乐观。
It predicts that London 2012 will see China and the US fighting for dominance - and if all goes well China will ultimately prevail, with 37 gold medals.
新华通讯社预测2012年伦敦奥运会上中国会和美国争夺霸主地位——如果一切进展顺利，中国会以37枚金牌的成绩最终获得第一。
Their prediction is based on two factors: First, China should do well in traditional categories of table tennis, badminton, diving, gymnastics, shooting and weightlifting - securing about 28 gold medals.
他们的预测来自两个因素：第一，中国应该会在传统项目（如乒乓球、羽毛球、跳水、体操、射击和剧举重）上表现优异，在这些项目上会夺得28枚金牌。
On top of this, there is credible potential to get another 10 golds in competitions such as swimming, athletics, judo, boxing and taekwondo. If this happens, Xinhua says, China will once again top the table.
在此基础上，中国还有潜力再夺得10枚金牌，如游泳、田径、柔道、拳击和跆拳道。如果能像新华社所说的那样这一情况能实现，那么中国会再一次在奖牌榜上位列第一。
BBC Chinese Olympics reporter Chen Zhuang - who has studied past performances and present form of the Chinese and US teams - sits somewhere in between these two predictions. He thinks that the US will somehow overcome China's challenge and become dominant again, with 37 gold medals compared to 34 for China.
BBC的中国奥运记者陈壮研究了中国和美国代表团以前和现在的表现，他的观点介于此前的两种预测之间。他认为美国会以某种形式解决来自中国的挑战，会以37枚金牌战胜中国34枚金牌的成绩，重回霸主地位。
But in contrast to the games four years ago, when China faced immense pressure to perform at its best, the pressure seems to be lessened somewhat this time around.
但与四年前的奥运会相比，那时的中国面临巨大的压力，必须做到最好，而现在这段时间压力相对似乎有所减轻。
For starters, China is sending a smaller delegation, with some 200 fewer athletes than four years ago, suggesting a more pragmatic approach.
首先，中国派出了小一点的代表团阵容，运动员人数比四年前少了200左右，这意味着中国在走一条更务实的道路。
Secondly, the authorities seem to be playing down medal expectations, stressing the unpredictable nature of sport.
其次，官方好像淡化了夺金的期望值，这一举动强调了体育运动的不可预知性。
Just one goal
只有一个目标
A closer look at media reports reveals, however, that the hunger for gold is just as fierce as before.
不过，再仔细看一下媒体的报道，我们会发现中国对金牌的渴望依然和以前一样强烈。
The head of the gymnastics delegation, Huang Yubin, told the team that there is just one goal in London - to win more gold medals.
体操队的总教练黄玉斌告诉全队，面对伦敦奥运会只有一个目标——夺得更多的金牌。
Table tennis team leader Huang Biao is equally ambitious, telling BBC Chinese that his members are confident of winning gold in all four competitions.
乒乓球队黄飚也一样很雄心勃勃，他告诉BBC的中国记者他的队员对在4个单项上都获得金牌充满信心。
There is a political dimension as well, as expressed by Liu Peng, chairman of China's Olympic Committee.
中国奥委会主席刘鹏表示，同时还有一个政治层面的原因。
This will be the first Olympics after the Beijing games, he says, and will show that China is becoming a big sporting nation.
伦敦奥运会是北京奥运会后的第一届奥运会，这届奥运会会告诉全世界中国正在成为一个体育强国。
He asks Chinese sportsmen and women to remember the "historic responsibilities" on their shoulders and do their best for their country as a positive contribution to the important party congress later this year at which the country's new leadership will be unveiled.
他让中国男女运动员谨记肩膀上的“历史性责任”，做到最好，为国家作出积极的贡献。在今年下半年，全国代表大会上新的领导班子会出席。
So it seems that sport cannot be separated from politics after all.
所以看来体育和政治终究是无法分割的。
There will be rich rewards for the gold medallists financially as well.
而且对那些获得金牌的运动员也会有丰厚的奖励。
Officials deny that a fixed sum of money will be presented to the winners, but according to Chinese media reports, hundreds of thousands of Yuan will be presented to medallists. The top stars can also expect lucrative sponsorship deals.
官方否认会有一笔固定的钱用于奖励夺牌的运动员，但是根据来自中国媒体记者的消息，会有数十万元用于奖励夺得奖牌的运动员。
For some this is in itself a win-win situation. More medals are good for the country and provide bigger pockets for the medallists.
对一些人来说，这本身就是种双赢的局面。对一个国家来说，奖牌多当然好，同时也能让夺牌运动员有更多的收入。
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