VOA慢速英语2019 荣归故里：骑士队问鼎全国篮球锦标赛

A Virginia City Overcomes Dark Times with Basketball Win

In the United States, a city known for racial tensions and violence welcomed home the national men’s college basketball champions on Tuesday.

美国一个以种族关系紧张和种族暴力闻名的城市周二迎来了美国大学男篮冠军。

Charlottesville, Virginia, is the home of the University of Virginia (UVA). The UVA men’s basketball team, the Cavaliers, defeated Texas Tech for the national championship Monday night. The game was played in Minnesota.

弗吉尼亚州夏洛茨维尔市是弗吉尼亚大学的所在地。周一晚上，弗吉尼亚大学男篮，也就是弗吉尼亚大学骑士队，击败了德克萨斯理工大学获得全国冠军。这场比赛在明尼苏达州举行。

Less than 24 hours later, college students and other people were celebrating in the streets of Charlottesville. Supporters gathered outside the school’s basketball stadium to give the team a hero’s welcome.

不到24小时后，大学生们和其他人走上夏洛茨维尔的街头开始庆祝。支持者们聚集在学校篮球场外，给球队带来了英雄般的欢迎。

Students broke into cheers as they waited for the players. Some retold stories of the Cavalier’s successful season, which included several last-minute victories.

学生们在等待球员时发出了欢呼。有些人在重述骑士队这个成功赛季的故事，其中包括几场最后关头的胜利。

The crowd cheered when the team finally arrived with the championship trophy¹. Many people were so happy they cried.

当球队最终带着冠军奖杯抵达时，人们欢呼雀跃，很多人喜极而泣。

UVA men’s basketball coach Tony Bennett said he was pleased to see the victory bring so much happiness “in light of all this community’s been through.”

弗吉尼亚大学男子篮球队的教练托尼·班纳特（Tony Bennett）表示，考虑到这个社区经历的种种，他很高兴这场胜利带来了这么多的欢乐。

He added, “There’s an amazing story that has been written from this and I think it’s going to encourage a lot of people.”

他还说：“这场胜利写下了一个令人惊讶的故事，我认为它会鼓励到很多人。”

The cheering was a marked change from nearly two years ago, when a protest organized by white nationalists led to violence in Charlottesville. A few years earlier, a national magazine claimed a violent rape² had taken place at the university. The story was later found to be untrue.

这次欢呼声跟近两年前相比有了显著变化，当时白人民主主义者组织的暴力事件在夏洛茨维尔引发了暴力事件。几年前，一份全国性杂志声称该大学发生了暴力强奸事件，后来发现这是条假新闻。

“We were due for some good coverage³ for a change,” said Matilda Foster⁴, as she waited for the basketball team to arrive on Tuesday. She said the Cavaliers’ success has united the city and surrounding area.

玛蒂尔达·福斯特（Matilda Foster）周二在等待球队抵达时表示，“我们是时候改变一下，做些正面报道了。”她说，骑士队的成功将这座城市和周边地区联系在一起。

David Toscano once served as Charlottesville’s mayor. He said the team has helped unite the community in ways few other things can.

大卫·托斯卡诺（David Toscano）曾担任夏洛茨维尔的市长。他说，这支球队用一种其它东西很少能做到的方式帮助团结了社区。

“This is a really big event for this…city,” he said.

他说：“对于这座城市来说，这是一次大事件。”

Charlottesville and the University of Virginia have had several painful incidents.

夏洛茨维尔以及弗吉尼亚大学发生过几次痛心的事件。

In August 2017, white nationalists gathered to protest the removal of a statue of Robert E. Lee, who led Confederate forces during the U.S. Civil War. They fought with people who went to Charlottesville to protest racism⁵. Later, a white supremacist drove his car into a group of people, killing⁶ a woman and injuring others.

2017年8月，白人民族主义者齐聚一堂，抗议拆除美国内战期间领导南方联邦军队的罗伯特·李的雕像。他们与前往夏洛茨维尔抗议种族主义的人们打了起来。后来，一位白人至上主义者开车冲入人群，造成一名妇女死亡，还有其他人受伤。

In 2014, Rolling Stone magazine published a story that described UVA as a school where sexual⁷ attacks were common and often unpunished. A woman named “Jackie” told the magazine she was raped⁸ by seven men at the university in September 2012. An investigation⁹ by police in Charlottesville said there was no evidence to back up her claims.

2014年，《滚石》杂志发表了一篇新闻，称弗吉尼亚大学是一所经常发生性侵且得不到惩罚的学校。一位名叫杰姬的女孩告诉该杂志，她于2012年9月被该大学7名男子强奸。夏洛茨维尔警方的调查表明，没有证据支持她的说法。

Rolling Stone later withdrew the story and apologized. Also that year, a UVA student was murdered after leaving a Charlottesville bar. In 2010, a student killed his former girlfriend, another student.

《滚石》杂志后来撤回了这篇报道并道歉。同年，弗吉尼亚大学一名学生在离开夏洛茨维尔一家酒吧时被谋杀。2010年，一位学生杀害了另一位学生，也就是他的前女友。

Finally, last month, city schools closed for two days over online racist¹⁰ threats. Police later arrested a 17-year-old boy.

最后，在上个月，城市学校因为网络种族威胁关闭了两天，警方后来逮捕了一名17岁的男孩。

UVA basketball team fan Heidi Price came to welcome the national champions.

弗吉尼亚大学篮球队粉丝海蒂·普莱斯（Heidi Price）前来迎接这支全国冠军球队。

“It’s a great day,” she said, pleased to put the past behind her.

她说：“这是美好的一天。”她高兴地把过去抛到了脑后。

I’m Jonathan Evans.

Words in this Story

stadium – n. a large building that is used for sports events, musical performances and other shows

trophy – n. an object (such as a large cup or sculpture) that is given as a prize for winning a competition

coach – n. someone who trains or educates others

encourage – v. to give support, advice or hope to

1 trophy   

n.优胜旗，奖品，奖杯，战胜品，纪念品

参考例句：

• The cup is a cherished trophy of the company.那只奖杯是该公司很珍惜的奖品。
• He hung the lion's head as a trophy.他把那狮子头挂起来作为狩猎纪念品。

2 rape   

n.抢夺，掠夺，强奸；vt.掠夺，抢夺，强奸

参考例句：

• The rape of the countryside had a profound ravage on them.对乡村的掠夺给他们造成严重创伤。
• He was brought to court and charged with rape.他被带到法庭并被指控犯有强奸罪。

3 coverage   

n.报导，保险范围，保险额，范围，覆盖

参考例句：

• There's little coverage of foreign news in the newspaper.报纸上几乎没有国外新闻报道。
• This is an insurance policy with extensive coverage.这是一项承保范围广泛的保险。

4 foster   

vt.收养，培养，促进；adj.收养的，收养孩子的

参考例句：

• Nowadays young couple sometimes foster.现今年轻夫妇有时领养别人的孩子。
• The captain did his best to foster a sense of unity among the new recruits.队长尽力培养新成员之间的团结精神。

5 racism   

n.民族主义；种族歧视(意识)

参考例句：

• He said that racism is endemic in this country.他说种族主义在该国很普遍。
• Racism causes political instability and violence.种族主义道致政治动荡和暴力事件。

6 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

7 sexual   

adj.性的，两性的，性别的

参考例句：

• He was a person of gross sexual appetites.他是个性欲旺盛的人。
• It is socially irresponsible to refuse young people advice on sexual matters.拒绝向年轻人提供性方面的建议是对社会不负责任。

8 raped   

v.以暴力夺取，强夺( rape的过去式和过去分词 )；强奸

参考例句：

• A young woman was brutally raped in her own home. 一名年轻女子在自己家中惨遭强暴。 来自辞典例句
• We got stick together, or we will be having our women raped. 我们得团结一致，不然我们的妻女就会遭到蹂躏。 来自辞典例句

9 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

10 racist   

n.种族主义者，种族主义分子

参考例句：

• a series of racist attacks 一连串的种族袭击行为
• His speech presented racist ideas under the guise of nationalism. 他的讲话以民族主义为幌子宣扬种族主义思想。