Meanwhile，scientific development also means performances can be measured and studied far more accurately.Not only are winning times more accurately recorded，but cheating athletes are easier to catch out.According to International Olympic Committee （IOC）requirements，two independent measuring systems should be used at all venues.Athens 2004organizers have promised to use only the very latest equipment to measure distance and speed.
同时，科技的进步也使运动成绩能够更精确地被记录和研究。不仅选手所用的比赛时间可以精确地记录下来，而且还可很容易地揪出舞弊者。按照国际奥委会的要求，在所有的比赛地点，都应当使用两种独立的比赛计量系统。2004年雅典奥运会组委会已承诺，将使用最新设备计量距离和速度。
Beat the Cheats 拒绝欺骗
The Olympic Games are seen as the greatest test of an athlete’s ability and are supposed to celebrate the spirit of fair play.But in fact，sportsmen have been using drugs to cheat their way to victory since the Games first began.
奥运会被看作是测验运动员能力的最重要的比赛，因此它也被认为最能体现公平竞赛的精神。但事实上，从第一届奥运会开始，就有一些运动员使用药物去骗取胜利。
In the early years，athletes ate mushrooms and plant seeds to improve their performance.Nowadays，this kind of cheating has a name—doping.
早些年，为了提高比赛成绩，运动员吃蘑菇和植物种子。如今，这种欺骗方式有了名字——服用兴奋剂。
Just last month，Britain’s top sprinter Dwain Chambers and several American athletes tested positive for the drug THG.Until a coach secretly gave a sample of THG to scientists，no one knew how to test for it.
就在上个月，英国顶级赛跑选手达文·钱伯斯和其他几名美国选手在变体兴奋剂检测中，结果呈阳性。如果不是一位教练秘密地将变体兴奋剂样本送交到科学家手里，人们甚至不知道如何检测这种兴奋剂。
“We’re like cops chasing criminals—athletes are always adapting and looking for areas we haven’t investigated，”said Jacques de Ceaurriz，a French anti doping expert.
“我们就像追踪罪犯的警察——运动员总是在寻找我们尚未涉及的领域，”法国反兴奋剂专家雅克·德·瑟赫里兹说到。
Since the first drugs test was carried out at the 1968Olympics in Mexico City，many cheats have been caught out.The most famous case in history is that of Canadian sprinter Ben Johnson.
自从1968年墨西哥奥运会上第一次实行兴奋剂检测以来，很多运动员被查出有欺诈行为。有史以来最著名的案例当属加拿大赛跑选手本·约翰逊服药事件。
He broke the 100metres world record in winning gold at the 1988Seoul Olympics.But days later，he tested positive for drug use，lost his gold medal and was banned from the sport.Five years later，he returned to action—only to be found positive again and banned forever.
他在1988年汉城奥运会上打破了100米短跑世界纪录并且获得金牌。但是几天后，他被检测出服用兴奋剂。他由此而失去了金牌，还被禁止参加短跑比赛。5年后，他重返体坛——结果被发现再度服用兴奋剂而受到了终身禁赛的惩罚。
China has also had problems with drug cheats.At the 1994Asian Games，11Chinese athletes—seven of them swimmers—tested positive for banned drugs.Sports organizations promised that cheating on this scale would not happen again.
中国运动员中也曾经出现过兴奋剂作弊行为。在1994年亚运会期间，11名中国运动员，其中包括7名游泳运动员，被检测出服用违禁药物。中国体育组织承诺一定杜绝此类大规模作弊行为的再次发生。
Experts are also worried that doping can damage a person’s health.It is believed to increase the risk of liver and kidney diseases，and women may experience reproductive problems.As long as they can stay ahead of the scientists，it is unlikely the cheats will stop.But experts say there is a limit to what can be achieved—and that athletes will not be able to change their bodies using gene technology.
专家还担心兴奋剂会有损于人体健康。专家认为，服用兴奋剂会增加肝肾疾病的发生几率，女性服用兴奋剂还将影响生育。只要作弊者比科学家手段先进，作弊行为就不会停止。但是专家认为目前兴奋剂能起到的作用还是有限的——因为运动员无法通过基因技术改变身体状况。
“For the moment，genetic doping does not exist，”said de Ceaurriz.“Even in 10or 15years it will not be done easily—the scientific community will not let it happen.”
“目前，基因型兴奋剂还不存在，”德·瑟赫里兹说到，“即使在10到15年后，基因型兴奋剂也不会轻易造出来——科学界不会允许此类事情发生。”