VOA标准英语2010年-Nigerian Fans Catch World Cup Fever in

Nigerian fans parade through the Hillsborough neighborhood of Johannesburg before their team's first game in the World Cup tournament.

World Cup Fever has taken over the city of Johannesburg.  Pubs² and restaurants are filled with fans watching the matches.  But the atmosphere is even more electric when an African team is playing.  We spent the day recording³ the sights and sounds of Johannesburg's Nigerian community as they watched the Nigerian team take on Argentina in the first round. 

As Nigeria and Argentina prepare to meet on the Pitch, an impromptu⁴ pre-match parade through the streets of Hillsborough, the heart of Johannesburg's Nigerian community.

This World Cup has special significance for the people of Hillsborough.  It is the first on African soil.

Philip, who is on his way to the stadium told us having the World Cup in Africa is one of the greatest moments of his life. "I spend money to buy my ticket and I will be the happiest person to go to the stadium today and watch the football and see my brothers there," he said.

Despite football being the most popular sport in Africa, ticket sales across the continent have been less than expected.  Many told us, even here in Johannesburg, it is difficult to get a ticket.  We met Prince, the Secretary of the Nigerian Union in South Africa at a Nigerian pub¹ in Yoeville. "I think there should be another system of getting tickets sold to people.  It is not that easy, you know what I am saying," he said.

For those who cannot get a ticket, pubs like this one are the venue⁵ of choice.  Here at the The Green House, the party started early, and the drink was flowing freely⁶.  That made for some unusual predictions from the crowd.  Charles Umeh was among them. "We know already that Nigeria has won, we are just looking for the replay," he said.

The crowd breaks into a Nigerian folk song as the teams come out to the pitch.

Nigeria gets off to a good start and almost scores.

But a few minutes later, Argentina answers with a goal.

By half-time, the mood in pub has grown somber⁷.  Some, like Ike, are hopeful.  He remembers what happened when the two teams met at the Atlanta Olympics. "They were one goal up, we still come back.  They give them penalty⁸ or controversial⁹ penalty, we still come back and later we win the match," he said.

This time it was not to be.  Argentina holds on to win.

It was a tough night for Nigeria on the pitch, but a good time to be a football fan in Johannesburg.  This party goes on late into the night.  There will be more matches tomorrow.

 

1 pub   

n.[英]旅馆，小店，酒馆

参考例句：

• He is the landlord of this pub.他是这家酒店的店主。
• They saw that four large men marched into the pub.他们看到四个彪形大汉走进了酒吧。

2 pubs   

酒店，酒馆( pub的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• I don't like pubs.They're noisy, smelly, and what's more, expensive. 我不喜欢酒吧。那里又吵，气味又难闻，更重要的是，花费太多。
• We did/went the rounds of all the pubs in town. 我们逐一光顾了城里所有的酒店。

3 recording   

n.录音，记录

参考例句：

• How long will the recording of the song take?录下这首歌得花多少时间？
• I want to play you a recording of the rehearsal.我想给你放一下彩排的录像。

4 impromptu   

adj.即席的，即兴的；adv.即兴的(地)，无准备的(地)

参考例句：

• The announcement was made in an impromptu press conference at the airport.这一宣布是在机场举行的临时新闻发布会上作出的。
• The children put on an impromptu concert for the visitors.孩子们为来访者即兴献上了一场音乐会。

5 venue   

n.犯罪地点，审判地，管辖地，发生地点，集合地点

参考例句：

• The hall provided a venue for weddings and other functions.大厅给婚礼和其他社会活动提供了场所。
• The chosen venue caused great controversy among the people.人们就审判地点的问题产生了极大的争议。

6 freely   

adv.自由地，随便地，无拘无束地

参考例句：

• She was unable to keep back her tears,and wept freely.她抑制不住泪水，痛痛快快地哭了起来。
• A liquid flows freely and has no fixed shape.液体能自由流动，无固定形态。

7 somber   

adj.昏暗的，阴天的，阴森的，忧郁的

参考例句：

• He had a somber expression on his face.他面容忧郁。
• His coat was a somber brown.他的衣服是暗棕色的。

8 penalty   

n.处罚，刑罚，罚款

参考例句：

• If you knock the ball with your hand in football,you will suffer a penalty.如果在踢足球时你用手碰到球，你将受到处罚。
• One of those arrested could face the death penalty.被捕的那些人中有一人可能被判死刑。

9 controversial   

adj.引起争论的，有争议的

参考例句：

• The topic of argument is controversial.这个议题是很有争议的。
• Immigration is a controversial issue in many countries.在很多国家，移民都是一个颇有争议的问题。