2006年NPR美国国家公共电台六月-Watching the World Cup: What You Need to

Here is a quiz for you. Who won the 2002 World Cup of soccer?

[Time running out. Kim Milton Nielsen looks at the watch, and blows it. Brazil are going to the finals!]

The winner was Brazil. And if you got that right, do you know which team Brazil beat in the semifinal game to make it to the finals? The tape here is from ESPN by the way? Well, never mind, if you know any of these then you probably know more than most Americans do about World Cup soccer. It is the sporting event that every 4 years for 1 month convulses the entire world except for the United States.

Here World Cup soccer is an event with room for, shall we say, some audience growth and since the World Cup begins in Germany on Friday, we thought we could offer a Cliff¹ Notes of short to potential World Cup viewers with the help of the editor of a new book, which is called, the Thinking Fan's Guide to the World Cup, Matt Weiland, Welcome to the program!

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"Thanks very much, very glad to be here!"

"And first of all, we'd like you to share with us some, some facts about world-class soccer, that most people know, but perhaps most Americans don't, shoot."

"Well, Brazil, of course, is the favorite. They've won five times; they feature the player that everyone agrees is the best player in the world named Ronaldinho. I think he is loved in part because he is an extraordinary player on the ball, but also because he plays with just incredible² sense of joy, smiling even when he makes a mistake. Other teams like Germany, Italy, Argentina are also favored, they've, they've won in the past, but there are lesser-known teams like the Dutch and Czechs, who play really exciting football and are fun to watch, and could surprise everyone."

"And you write in the preface³ to the Thinking Fans' Guide to the World Cup that the style of soccer that it's played really varies⁵ according to the country. And indeed, the World Cup is a wonderful occasion⁶ to indulge⁷ in complete stereotypes of nations through the kind of soccer they play."

"That is right, one of the pleasures of watching the World Cup is that the nations really are different and the fact is all the stereotypes⁸ are true. The Germans really are dogged and play boring soccer and the South Americans can be impetuous. So that's one of the best parts of watching international games as teams really are true to their, their national temperament⁹."

"You are of the generation for whom soccer growing up with a natural part of life in the United States, a big, big eye opener for you?"

"Absolutely, I grew up in, in Minnesota. And Minnesota can seem very far from the rest of the world, and I think soccer opened my eyes a bit to other countries. There was a team in my hometown--the Minnesota Kicks who were excellent and part of the reason they, they were so good was they had brought in players from, from other parts of the world. There was my real hero, a man named Ace⁴ Ntsoelengoe who is a black South African midfielder, who is someone like Ronaldinho now, was just a joy to watch and now I confess¹⁰ I didn't realize as an 8,9-year-old boy why a black South African soccer player would be playing so far from home at that time I didn't know much about apartheid in 1978. But I'd like to think that following him and getting interested in, in soccer around the world. I found out why in time."

"So let's look ahead to the first match of this year's World Cup, Germany-Costa Rica, for somebody who is a complete soccer idiot¹¹ and stuck in a room with soccer fans. Give us a couple of suggestions that something that a person might say while watching Germany and Costa Rica that might pass for something knowledgeable¹² and smart about the football."

"Well, on the soccer side of things, you can say that Germany as the host is the great favorite. They've won 3 times before, if they win once again, it will put them second only to Brazil. Costa Rica, on the other hand, is far from the favorite, they've, they've only appeared twice in the World Cup before. But by the same token¹³, you could contrast them quite apart from soccer, Germany's military record is widely known. What may be less known is that Costa Rica is the only country in the world without a professional army."

"Well, Matt Weiland, thank you very much for talking with us..."

"Thank so much for having me."

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Matt Weiland is the co-editor along with Sean Wilsey of the essay collection "the Thinking Fan's Guide to the World Cup". It includes statistics¹⁴ about the 32 nations in the Cup and a special feature, a list that reminds us that referees¹⁵ are human ,too. The World Cup, refs include a Mexican economist¹⁶, a tax inspector¹⁷ from Benin, an Egyptian Air Force major, and a concert pianist from Germany.

The first World Cup game kicks off this Friday in Munich!

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quiz:a competition or game in which people have to answer questions;测验, 提问, 恶作剧
semifinal:one of two sports games whose winners then compete against each other to decide who wins the whole competition;半决赛
in part:to some degree, but not completely;部分地
stereotype:a belief or idea of what a particular type of person or thing is like. Stereotypes are often unfair or untrue;铅版, 陈腔滥调, 老套
dogged:dogged behaviour shows that you are very determined to continue doing something; 顽固的, 顽强的
impetuous:tending to do things very quickly, without thinking carefully first, or showing this quality;冲动的, 猛烈的, 激烈的
midfielder:a player in a game of football who usually plays in the midfield;(足球运动中的)中场队员
by the same token:for the same reasons - used when you want to say that something else is also true, especially something very different or surprising; 出于同样原因
kick off:if a meeting, event, or a football game kicks off, it starts ;足球的中线开球,引申为某事件的开始

1 cliff   

n.悬崖，峭壁

参考例句：

• The cliff edge is dangerous and should be railed.崖边危险，应该用栏杆围起来。
• He took the measure of the cliff before he climbed it.他把悬崖的高度估量一下后再攀登。

2 incredible   

adj.难以置信的，不可信的，极好的，大量的

参考例句：

• Some planets run at incredible speed.某些星球以难以置信的速度运行着。
• Her answer showed the most incredible stupidity.她的回答显示出不可思议的愚蠢。

3 preface   

n.序文，绪言，前言；v.作序，写前言，以...开始

参考例句：

• He has written a fine preface to the play.他为这个剧本写了一篇精彩的序言。
• This book has a preface written by the author.这本书有作者写的序言。

4 ace   

n.A牌；发球得分；佼佼者；adj.杰出的

参考例句：

• A good negotiator always has more than one ace in the hole.谈判高手总有数张王牌在手。
• He is an ace mechanic.He can repair any cars.他是一流的机械师,什么车都会修。

5 varies   

变化( vary的第三人称单数 )； [生物学]变异； 相应变化； 呈现不同

参考例句：

• The need for sleep varies considerably from person to person. 不同的人对睡眠的需要差异相当大。
• the stultifying effects of work that never varies 一成不变的工作造成的使人呆滞的后果

6 occasion   

n.场合，时机，机会，诱因，理由；vt.惹起，引起

参考例句：

• Her dress was too showy for such a formal occasion.在如此正式的场合，她的服装过分华丽了。
• Her tears were fought back on such an occasion.在这种场合下她忍住了眼泪。

7 indulge   

vt.沉溺（于），纵容，迁就，肆意从事

参考例句：

• I never indulge children with plenty of pocket money.我从不放任子女，给他们大量零用钱。
• Everyone should indulge in fantasy on occasion.每个人都应偶尔沉浸在想像之中。

8 stereotypes   

n.老套，模式化的见解，有老一套固定想法的人( stereotype的名词复数 )v.把…模式化，使成陈规( stereotype的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Such jokes tend to reinforce racial stereotypes. 这样的笑话容易渲染种族偏见。
• It makes me sick to read over such stereotypes devoid of content. 这种空洞无物的八股调，我看了就讨厌。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

9 temperament   

n.气质，性格，性情

参考例句：

• The analysis of what kind of temperament you possess is vital.分析一下你有什么样的气质是十分重要的。
• Success often depends on temperament.成功常常取决于一个人的性格。

10 confess   

vt.承认，坦白；vi.承认，坦白，忏悔

参考例句：

• Many Christians regularly confess their guilty actions and thoughts to a priest.很多基督徒都定期向牧师忏悔他们的罪行和恶念。
• I confess to some suspicion of your honesty.我承认对你的诚实有所怀疑。

11 idiot   

n.白痴，傻子，笨蛋

参考例句：

• Only an idiot would make such a thoughtless remark.只有草包才会说出这样没有头脑的话来。
• You are behaving like a perfect idiot.你表现得像个十足的白痴。

12 knowledgeable   

adj.知识渊博的；有见识的

参考例句：

• He's quite knowledgeable about the theatre.他对戏剧很有心得。
• He made some knowledgeable remarks at the meeting.他在会上的发言颇有见地。

13 token   

n.筹码，信物，纪念品，礼券；adj.象征性的

参考例句：

• This little gift is a token of our regard.这点礼物是我们大家的一点心意。
• Black is a token of mourning.黑色是沮丧的象征。

14 statistics   

n.统计，统计数字，统计学

参考例句：

• We have statistics for the last year.我们有去年的统计资料。
• Statistics is taught in many colleges.许多大学都教授统计学。

15 referees   

n.裁判员( referee的名词复数 )；证明人；公断人；（专业性强的文章的）审阅人

参考例句：

• The fiery player has had numerous run-ins with referees. 这位脾气暴躁的队员曾和裁判员发生过无数次争吵。
• If you want to appeal, the Court of Referees will decide. 如果你要上诉，可以由仲裁法庭去判决。 来自辞典例句

16 economist   

n.经济学家，经济专家，节俭的人

参考例句：

• He cast a professional economist's eyes on the problem.他以经济学行家的眼光审视这个问题。
• He's an economist who thinks he knows all the answers.他是个经济学家，自以为什么都懂。

17 inspector   

n.检查员，监察员，视察员

参考例句：

• The inspector was interested in everything pertaining to the school.视察员对有关学校的一切都感兴趣。
• The inspector was shining a flashlight onto the tickets.查票员打着手电筒查看车票。