VOA文化艺术2022--女子马球运动员获得第一个世界杯

Women Polo Players Get Their First World Cup

For the past week, Argentina was home to the first-ever women's polo World Cup. The event, held from April 9 to 16, included teams from Argentina, the United States, England, Ireland, Brazil and Italy.

Italian-Argentine polo player Camila Rossi plays for Italy. Ten years ago, she said, there were no teams for girls. When she started the sport, she played on boys' teams. Back then, she added, the boys gave her funny looks.

For American Erica Gandocomar, the tournament is "a dream come true." She said that for a long time, leaders of the sport in the United States refused to start a women's team.

"Polo has been dominated by men for a long time," she said. "And now ... women are being heard."

Horacio Areco is the Argentina president of the International Polo Federation¹. He said it is "impressive how many women started playing" in recent years.

History of polo

Sports historians say polo is one of the world's oldest team sports. Until recently, it was always played by men.

The sport is played with two teams on a field about 275 meters long. Each team has four players who ride horses. They score points by hitting a ball through the other team's goal. The players on horseback use long wooden sticks called mallets to hit the ball.

The game came to Argentina with the arrival of immigrants from Great Britain in the 1800s.

Today, Argentina has a long polo tradition. It also trains horses for the sport and sends them to polo players around the world. The horses can cost up to $100,000.

New age for polo

Rossi said with the arrival of the World Cup, the sport can be promoted and grown around the world.

Clara Cassino is a player from Argentina. She said "the growth of women's polo has been so impressive." She noted² that the sport is now growing more quickly for women than for men.

About five years ago, another women's polo competition took place in Argentina. It was held at the same time as a men's tournament. Many of today's players say that tournament made Great Britain and the United States more interested in starting women's teams.

Azucena Uranga is a member of the team from Argentina. She called the World Cup event "an incredible opportunity."

Uranga's father, Delfin, is the president of Argentina's polo association. He said his country's leadership in the sport is important, because other countries often follow Argentina's example.

"It sends a message to the world," he said. "To give women an opportunity to compete at the same level as men."

Words in This Story

tournament – n. a sports competition that involves many players and teams over a number of days

dominate – v. to have control over something or someone

impressive – adj. deserving attention or admiration³

promote – v. to make people aware of something through advertising⁴

incredible – adj. difficult or impossible to believe

1 federation   

n.同盟，联邦，联合，联盟，联合会

参考例句：

• It is a federation of 10 regional unions.它是由十个地方工会结合成的联合会。
• Mr.Putin was inaugurated as the President of the Russian Federation.普京正式就任俄罗斯联邦总统。

2 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

3 admiration   

n.钦佩，赞美，羡慕

参考例句：

• He was lost in admiration of the beauty of the scene.他对风景之美赞不绝口。
• We have a great admiration for the gold medalists.我们对金牌获得者极为敬佩。

4 advertising   

n.广告业；广告活动 a.广告的；广告业务的

参考例句：

• Can you give me any advice on getting into advertising? 你能指点我如何涉足广告业吗?
• The advertising campaign is aimed primarily at young people. 这个广告宣传运动主要是针对年轻人的。