2007年VOA标准英语-United States, Germany Reach Women's World Cup

By Jim Stevenson
Tianjin, China
23 September 2007

Top ranked United States and defending champion Germany have advanced to the semifinals of the Women's World Cup football (soccer) tournament in China. VOA's Jim Stevenson reports both teams had similar paths to the semifinal round.

The United States and Germany each faced an opponent¹ that put up a strong fight in the first half of their quarterfinal games Saturday. England held the United States scoreless until the 48th minute

U.S. coach Greg Ryan said the goal by forward Abby Wambach turned the game for the Americans. "The first goal is always critical in a match. And I think it was difficult for England to get their game going again after that because they lost their momentum². We kept pressing and going after them. So, it is very, very difficult to play from one down. It was great for us. We were able to put in one and then two others very quickly," he said.

The other scores came from midfielder Shannon Boxx in the 57th minute and from U.S. captain Kristine Lilly, who netted her score in the 60th minute.

The goal was her first of the tournament after several missed opportunities in the first three games. And with tighter results in the first round, Lilly said her score gave the team a much needed boost³. "It felt good. And it felt good more so for this team. To win a decisive⁴ game 3-0 is really good for this group right now," she said.

The U.S. women will next travel to Hangzhou to play either Brazil or Australia. Those two teams play later Sunday in Tianjin.

Defending champion Germany easily ended North Korea's run with a 3-0 victory in Wuhan. Despite the North Koreans dominating⁵ in possession time (56 to 44 percent), Germany broke a scoreless deadlock⁶ near the end of the first half with a goal by midfielder Kerstin Garefrekes (44th minute).

 

The second half belonged to the Germans with scores by Renate Lingor (67th minute) and Annike Krahn (72nd minute).

Germany moves to Tianjin for a semifinal on Wednesday against the winner of the Norway and China quarterfinal Sunday in Wuhan.

1 opponent   

n.对手，敌手，反对者；adj.敌对的，反对的

参考例句：

• The boxer gave his opponent a punch on the nose.这个拳击手朝他对手的鼻子上猛击一拳。
• After a fierce struggle,he got a beat on his opponent.经过殊死的较量，他占了对手的上风。

2 momentum   

n.动力，冲力，势头；动量

参考例句：

• We exploit the energy and momentum conservation laws in this way.我们就是这样利用能量和动量守恒定律的。
• The law of momentum conservation could supplant Newton's third law.动量守恒定律可以取代牛顿第三定律。

3 boost   

n.鼓励，激励，提高；v.鼓励，使增强信心

参考例句：

• This will be a great boost to the economy.这对于经济发展将是一个巨大的促进。
• These changes will help to boost share prices.这些变化将有助于提高股票价格。

4 decisive   

adj.决定性的，坚定的，果断的，决断的

参考例句：

• A decisive person acts quickly and often succeeds.果断的人行动迅速，常常成功。
• Man is a decisive factor in doing everything.人是做每件事情的决定性因素。

5 dominating   

adj.有领导作风的；统治的，独裁的v.控制( dominate的现在分词 )；在…中占首要地位；在…中具有最重要（或明显）的特色；在…中拥有最重要的位置

参考例句：

• He is dominating and active in manner. 他有领导作风而且能采取主动。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Gradually commodity production becomes the dominating form. 商品生产逐渐地成了统治的形式。 来自英汉非文学 - 家庭、私有制和国家的起源

6 deadlock   

n.僵局，僵持

参考例句：

• The negotiations reached a deadlock after two hours.两小时后，谈判陷入了僵局。
• The employers and strikers are at a deadlock over the wage.雇主和罢工者在工资问题上相持不下。