美国的时代周刊出了一期奥运特刊，并将刘翔作为亚洲版的封面人物。封面故事是100名奥运选手介绍。从澳大利亚到津巴布韦，从中国到美国，时代带你进行一次世界之旅，为你介绍将在北京奥运会上看到的最引人注目的运动员们。在百名运动员中，刘翔名列第四、姚明第五、郭晶晶名列第九。

When Liu Xiang claimed victory in the 110-m hurdles in Athens, delivering China its first ever sprint gold, you could almost sense the alarm in the announcers' voices. Few had heard of this mystery athlete, much less knew how to pronounce his given name. What a difference four years make. In Beijing, Liu, 25, along with basketball star Yao Ming, will be the poster boy for China's mighty Olympic squad. Here's a quick language guide: his name (pronounced Sheeahng) means "to soar" in Chinese.
当2004 年刘翔在雅典奥运会上夺得110米栏的冠军的时候，他为中国夺得了第一枚短跑金牌，你能从主播们的声音中感受到这种震惊。几乎没有人听说过这个神奇的运动员，知道怎么读他名字的人更少。四年带来了多大的变化啊！在北京，25岁的刘翔和篮球明星姚明将成为中国强大的奥运代表团的领军人物。我们来个语言快速入门：他的名字（发音为Sheeahng），在汉语中是“飞翔”的意思。

Soaring is just what China expects Liu to do. A recent Internet poll found that the Chinese citizenry's No. 1 Olympic wish is for Liu to win gold. The Chinese Sports Ministry, which has three doctors dedicated to Liu's well-being, apparently holds similarly high hopes. Just how important is Liu to the Chinese nation? Well, an insurance company has valued his legs at $13.5 million.
飞翔正是中国期待刘翔做到的。一份近期的网络调查显示，中国人的奥运愿望排名第一的就是刘翔拿到金牌。中国体育总局显然也同样有着很高的期望，安排了三个医生照顾他的健康。刘翔对国家来说有多重要？一个保险公司为他的腿估价1350万美元。

Yes, that's just a teeny bit of pressure. And there's no sign of its letting up. In June, Cuba's Dayron Robles — wearing an oversize gold cross, a chunky watch and a pair of glasses — almost casually broke the world record that Liu had set two years earlier. Now Liu must strike gold and try to reclaim the world mark. "In China, I don't think even the Prime Minister is as famous as he is," says former British world champion Colin Jackson of Liu, who demolished Jackson's world record. "There's a lot of pressure on him to deliver that gold medal, but he has incredible competition. That must be hell for him."
对，那只是一点点压力，但这压力并没有减少的迹象。六月，来自古巴的罗伯斯——戴着超大的金十字架、一块粗笨的表和一副眼镜的家伙很随便的就打破了刘翔两年前创造的世界记录。现在刘翔必须为金牌奋斗重夺世界纪录。说到曾打破了杰克逊的世界纪录的刘翔，这位前英国世界冠军柯林·杰克逊说：“在中国，大概总理都没他有名，要拿金牌他必须面对很大的压力，此外还有非常激烈的竞争，我想这一定挺难熬的。”