2007年VOA标准英语-US Coach Criticized Following Team's Women's Wo

By Jim Stevenson
Shanghai
28 September 2007

United States women's soccer coach Greg Ryan is braving a storm of criticism one day after his heavily favored team was defeated at the Women's World Cup football tournament in China. VOA's Jim Stevenson reports from Shanghai, where the sting¹ of Brazil's 4-0 victory on Thursday in Hangzhou, is still being felt by the U.S. women.

The U.S. team canceled its scheduled practice Friday in Shanghai as it tries to regroup following the worst defeat in the squad's history.

Blame is being leveled squarely on the decisions of U.S. coach Greg Ryan. Before the Brazil game, he says he tried to reassure² goalkeeper Hope Solo³ after he replaced her in favor of veteran Brianna Scurry⁴.

"We spent some time together, just sitting down and talking about things today," Ryan said. "And you know, just telling her hey, she has done great at this World Cup. She has got four games under her belt without a loss. She is a young, very talented keeper who will, I am sure, lead this team many years into the future."

Still, after the game, Solo was baffled⁵ by the switch.

"It was the wrong decision," she said. "And I think anybody that knows anything about the game knows that. There is no doubt in my mind that I would have made those saves. And it does not make any sense to me. It does not make a whole lot of sense to many people."

Following Brazil's 4-0 victory, Ryan is now trying to make another switch, moving the focus from controversy⁶ to the third place game on Sunday.

"This game is one game. And it is over now," he said. "And we are moving on to prepare for our game against Norway, another very important match for our team."

Brazil will face defending champion Germany in the final Sunday in Shangahi.

1 sting   

vt.激怒，刺痛，刺伤，蛰伤；n.刺痛，刺伤

参考例句：

• Most flies do not sting.大多数苍蝇不叮人。
• The scorpion has a sting that can be deadly.蝎子有可以致命的螫针。

2 reassure   

v.使放心，使消除疑虑

参考例句：

• This seemed to reassure him and he continued more confidently.这似乎使他放心一点，于是他更有信心地继续说了下去。
• The airline tried to reassure the customers that the planes were safe.航空公司尽力让乘客相信飞机是安全的。

3 solo   

n.独奏，独唱；adj.单独的；adv.单独地；v.放单飞，单独表演

参考例句：

• Tara is currently working on a solo album.塔拉眼下正忙着制作个人专辑。
• There's wonderfully lyrical flute solo in the middle of this symphony.在交响乐中间有一段奇妙的抒情长笛独奏。

4 scurry   

vi.急匆匆地走；使急赶；催促；n.快步急跑，疾走；仓皇奔跑声；骤雨，骤雪；短距离赛马

参考例句：

• I jumped on the sofa after I saw a mouse scurry by.看到一只老鼠匆匆路过,我从沙发上跳了起来。
• There was a great scurry for bargains.大家急忙着去抢购特价品。

5 baffled   

adj.带有障板的，阻挡的v.使困难，使为难( baffle的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The question baffled me completely and I couldn't answer it. 这个问题把我彻底难倒了，我答不出来。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Her question has baffled me. 她的问题把我难倒了。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

6 controversy   

n.争论，辩论，争吵

参考例句：

• That is a fact beyond controversy.那是一个无可争论的事实。
• We ran the risk of becoming the butt of every controversy.我们要冒使自己在所有的纷争中都成为众矢之的的风险。