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Lack of will is a bigger problem than lack of means
缺乏意愿是比缺乏手段更大的问题
Eight years ago Lance Armstrong, the winner of an unprecedented seven Tours de France, admitted to using performance-enhancing drugs. His confession bookended the "heroic age" of doping in cycling. Between the 1990s and the mid-2000s drug use was widespread and blatant. Doping is harder to get away with now than in Mr Armstrong's day. But cycling's reputation has never fully recovered. Fans watching this year's Tour, due to finish in Paris on July 18th, discuss drugs as much as they discuss tactics or which riders are on form. Fairly or not, suspicion dogs every race.
八年前，兰斯·阿姆斯特朗，这位史无前例的七届环法自行车赛冠军，坦白使用了提高成绩的药物。他的坦白宣告了自行车运动中使用兴奋剂的“黄金时代”的结束。在20世纪90年代到2000年代中期（2005年），使用药物的现象非常普遍且明目张胆。与阿姆斯特朗先生的时代相比，现在使用兴奋剂更难逃脱处罚。但自行车运动的声誉从未完全恢复。今年的环法自行车赛将于7月18日在巴黎结束，粉丝们在讨论药物问题时，就像讨论战术或哪个车手的状态一样多。无论公平与否，每场比赛都有怀疑的声音。
The earliest Olympic doping tests were in 1968. The apparent intractability of the problem leads some liberals to throw up their hands and suggest removing the restrictions entirely. Humans are a technological species, after all. Physics is already allowed to boost performance—think of lighter bikes, or springy shoes—so why not let chemistry rip, too?
最早的奥运会兴奋剂检测是在1968年。这一明显棘手的问题导致一些自由主义者举手投降，建议完全取消这些限制。毕竟，人类是一个科技物种。物理学已经被允许用来提高性能——想想更轻的自行车，或者有弹性的鞋子——那么为什么不让化学也能发挥作用？
However, many doping drugs have grave side-effects. Athletes dosed with steroids by the East German authorities during the cold war suffered problems including severe liver damage and stunted growth. Women—for whom the drugs were most effective—underwent the irreversible development of male characteristics such as deep voices and body hair. A free-for-all would hand victory to those most prepared to take reckless quantities of dope.
然而，许多兴奋剂有严重的副作用。冷战期间，东德当局给运动员服用类固醇后，出现了严重的肝损伤和发育迟缓等问题。对女性来说，这些药物最有效，但她们却经历了男性特征不可逆转的发展，比如低沉的嗓音和体毛。一场混战将把胜利拱手让给那些最愿意不计后果地大量服用兴奋剂的人。
