VOA标准英语2010年-US Women Eye Hockey Gold Medal in Vanc

Women's ice hockey is still a relatively¹ new addition to the Olympic movement, first introduced in Nagano, Japan at the 1998 Winter Olympics.  This year, the U.S. Women's Hockey team is one of eight squads  competing for a gold medal at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, Canada. 

Forward Julie Chu is the first player of Asian descent on the U.S. Women's Hockey Team, and is competing in her third Olympics. "We're really young.  We have six returning Olympians out of the 23 person roster², so out with that youth brings a lot of energy and excitement," she said.

Since the team began competing together last year, one of the challenges for Coach Mark Johnson is getting his young first-time Olympians ready for the world stage. "When you step on the ice, and the entire world is watching you," Johnson said. "You can talk about those things, but you don't know how kids are going to react until they are put in the setting."

Johnson speaks from experience.

He played on the U.S. Men's Team at the 1980 Lake Placid³ Olympics and scored two goals to help the U.S. defeat the Soviet⁴ Union in what became known as the "Miracle on Ice." That paved the way to a Gold medal win against Finland. 

"You've just got to eliminate all the distractions⁵, and the most important thing is what happens on the ice," Johnson said.

There will be plenty of distractions in Vancouver, and a lot of fans rooting against the Americans.

Jesse Vetter, the team's goaltender, says she welcomes the attention. She's making her Olympic debut⁶. "It doesn't matter if the fans are screaming against you or for you, it's going to be against us when we are in Vancouver, I just love having people in the stands," she said.

The road to the Gold medal in Vancouver could very well run through team Canada.  The U.S. women faced off against the Canadians in December, losing 2-1. 

But Angela Ruggerio, one of four team captains, says she believes there will be more pressure on Canada at the Olympics. "They're hosting the Olympics, they're the defending gold medalist, and hockey is the IR national sport," she said.  "So in a way, we are the underdog."

"It's definitely a huge rivalry⁷, it's always a good game, you never know who's going to come out on top," Jesse Vetter said.

Win or lose, Coach Johnson is more concerned about the journey that brought the team together. "When we get all said and done and we get on a plane out of Vancouver, the group and the support staff can look back on these previous six months and look back and have a smile on their face and really have enjoyed the process, enjoyed the journey," Johnson stated.

Ruggerio agrees.  This is her fourth Olympics. She says her teammates are more than just athletes, they are also role models.

"It is a tremendous opportunity for our sport to be visible, and to have other young girls look up to us," Ruggerio said.

The U.S. Women's team hits the ice on Sunday February 14th, against China.

 

1 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

2 roster   

n.值勤表，花名册

参考例句：

• The teacher checked the roster to see whom he would teach this year.老师查看花名册，想了解今年要教的学生。
• The next day he put himself first on the new roster for domestic chores.第二天，他把自己排在了新的家务值日表的第一位。

3 placid   

adj.安静的，平和的

参考例句：

• He had been leading a placid life for the past eight years.八年来他一直过着平静的生活。
• You should be in a placid mood and have a heart-to- heart talk with her.你应该心平气和的好好和她谈谈心。

4 Soviet   

adj.苏联的，苏维埃的；n.苏维埃

参考例句：

• Zhukov was a marshal of the former Soviet Union.朱可夫是前苏联的一位元帅。
• Germany began to attack the Soviet Union in 1941.德国在1941年开始进攻苏联。

5 distractions   

n.使人分心的事[人]( distraction的名词复数 )；娱乐，消遣；心烦意乱；精神错乱

参考例句：

• I find it hard to work at home because there are too many distractions. 我发觉在家里工作很难，因为使人分心的事太多。
• There are too many distractions here to work properly. 这里叫人分心的事太多，使人无法好好工作。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 debut   

n.首次演出，初次露面

参考例句：

• That same year he made his Broadway debut, playing a suave radio journalist.在那同一年里，他初次在百老汇登台，扮演一个温文而雅的电台记者。
• The actress made her debut in the new comedy.这位演员在那出新喜剧中首次登台演出。

7 rivalry   

n.竞争，竞赛，对抗

参考例句：

• The quarrel originated in rivalry between the two families.这次争吵是两家不和引起的。
• He had a lot of rivalry with his brothers and sisters.他和兄弟姐妹间经常较劲。