VOA常速英语2007年-Americans Take 2-0 Lead Over Russia at Davis Cu

By Steve Schy
Portland, Oregon
01 December 2007

The United¹ States has taken a 2-0 lead over Russia after the first day of play at the best-of-five match Davis Cup Tennis finals in Portland, Oregon. As VOA's Steve Schy reports from Memorial² Coliseum, Americans Andy Roddick and James Blake both won their opening singles matches.

Roddick dominated³ Dmitry Tursunov in straight sets, getting revenge⁴ for last year's 17-15 fifth-set loss⁵ that gave Russia the 2006 title. The 25-year-old American fired 25 aces⁶ and broke Tursunov's serve four times on the way to a 6-4, 6-4, 6-2 win.

With Roddick leading 5-2 in the final set, the crowd stood and cheered during the final game as he served out the match. Roddick says the home-crowd support meant a lot to him. "It's amazing. I mean, I have kind of thought about it for a long time and the crowd was amazing. I mean, that last game when they just stood up was probably one of the coolest moments of my career so far. And you know we are a third of the way there, which is even more important."

James Blake gave Team USA a 2-0 lead with a hard-fought win in the second singles match, overcoming Mikhail Youzhny, 6-3, 7-6, 6-7, 7-6. Blake says his previous Davis Cup experience has taught him he has to play an aggressive⁷ style.  "If I would have gone out and played this match soft and a little tentative⁸ and playing not to lose, I would have been sitting here a loser. That's for sure. So I know I had to play that way and there was a chance I was still going to lose but I had to go out and give myself the best opportunity."

On Saturday, the United States will have the chance to earn its first Davis Cup title since 1995, when twin brothers Bob and Mike Bryan are scheduled to face Russia's Nikolay Davydenko and Igor Andreev in doubles.

1 united   

adj.和谐的；团结的；联合的，统一的

参考例句：

• The whole nation is closely united.全国人民紧密团结。
• The two men were united by community of interests.共同的利益使两个人结合在一起。

2 memorial   

adj.记忆的；纪念的；n.纪念碑，纪念堂

参考例句：

• We visited the Lincoln Memorial.我们参观了林肯纪念堂。
• He wrote a memorial of the late author.他写了一篇纪念这位已故作家的文章。

3 dominated   

受控的 -tive

参考例句：

• As a child he was dominated by his father. 他小时候由父亲主宰一切。
• His personality dominated over the other members of the committee. 他的人格影响委员会的其他成员。

4 revenge   

v.报...之仇，为...报仇 ；n.报仇，复仇

参考例句：

• She poisoned his mind with ideas of hate and revenge.她用复仇的思想来毒害他的心灵。
• There was anger in his eyes and revenge in his heart.他两眼闪现怒火，一心只想复仇。

5 loss   

n.损失，遗失，失败，输，浪费，错过，[军]伤亡，降低

参考例句：

• His death was a great loss to the country.他的逝世对这个国家是一大损失。
• Because of the continued loss,the factory closed down.由于连续亏损，工厂关闭了。

6 aces   

abbr.adjustable convertible-rate equity security (units) 可调节的股本证券兑换率；aircraft ejection seat 飞机弹射座椅；automatic control evaluation simulator 自动控制评估模拟器n.擅长…的人( ace的名词复数 )；精于…的人；（ 网球 ）（对手接不到发球的）发球得分；爱司球

参考例句：

• The local representative of ACES will define the local area. ACES的当地代表将划定当地的范围。 来自互联网
• Any medical expenses not covered by ACES insurance are the sole responsibility of the parents. 任何ACES保险未包括的医疗费用一律是父母的责任。 来自互联网

7 aggressive   

adj.侵略的，好斗的；敢作敢为的

参考例句：

• You'd better keep the two aggressive boys apart.你最好把那两个好斗的男孩分开。
• These fish are very aggressive.这些鱼极具攻击性。

8 tentative   

adj.试验性质的，暂时的，犹豫不决的

参考例句：

• I have some tentative suggestions.我有几点不成熟的想法。
• Please come out with your tentative ideas at the meeting.请把你的初步设想在会上讲一讲。