美国国家公共电台 NPR The Science Behind The World Cup Ball

The Science Behind The World Cup Ball

DAVID GREENE, HOST:

If you've been watching the World Cup, maybe you've noticed that there is a custom-designed soccer ball being used. NPR's Merrit Kennedy reports that scientists ran tests in a wind tunnel to understand how the new ball plays.

MERRIT KENNEDY, BYLINE¹: It's called the Telstar 18. It has six panels and a slick black-and-white design inspired by Russian cityscapes. But is it actually a good soccer ball? To find out, scientists stuck it in a wind tunnel with a bunch of sensors².

JOHN ERIC GOFF: It's actually recording³ the size of the forces on the ball.

KENNEDY: That's John Eric Goff, a physics professor at Lynchburg College. Adidas has redesigned the World Cup ball for each tournament since 1970, and Goff says tiny changes to the design can make a big difference in how the ball responds during play. For example...

GOFF: The dreaded⁴ 2010 Jabulani ball that was used in South Africa.

KENNEDY: It was too smooth, he says, which caused it to behave in ways that players sometimes weren't expecting. The smoothness issue was basically fixed⁵ for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. The ball had longer seams joining its panels, which roughened it up a bit. After crunching⁶ the numbers, Goff says this year's ball probably won't create big controversies⁷.

GOFF: I don't see that this ball is going to be so drastically different from the 2014 ball.

KENNEDY: But there is one way the players might notice a difference - on high-speed kicks, the kind that a goalkeeper might do to send the ball way down the field. The scientists expect an 8 to 9 percent drop in range with the new ball. So why do they change the ball every time?

GOFF: It's an interesting phenomena⁸ that the world's most popular sporting event for the world's most popular sport and the most important piece of equipment in that sport is changed every World Cup.

KENNEDY: Goff says it's not about physics; it's about money and marketing⁹. Adidas sells these balls to the public for a hundred and twenty-four bucks¹⁰ each. Merrit Kennedy, NPR News.

1 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

2 sensors   

n.传感器，灵敏元件( sensor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• There were more than 2000 sensors here. 这里装有两千多个灵敏元件。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Significant changes have been noted where sensors were exposed to trichloride. 当传感器暴露在三氯化物中时，有很大变化。 来自辞典例句

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 dreaded   

adj.令人畏惧的；害怕的v.害怕，恐惧，担心( dread的过去式和过去分词)

参考例句：

• The dreaded moment had finally arrived. 可怕的时刻终于来到了。
• He dreaded having to spend Christmas in hospital. 他害怕非得在医院过圣诞节不可。 来自《用法词典》

5 fixed   

adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的

参考例句：

• Have you two fixed on a date for the wedding yet?你们俩选定婚期了吗？
• Once the aim is fixed,we should not change it arbitrarily.目标一旦确定，我们就不应该随意改变。

6 crunching   

v.嘎吱嘎吱地咬嚼( crunch的现在分词 )；嘎吱作响；（快速大量地）处理信息；数字捣弄

参考例句：

• The horses were crunching their straw at their manger. 这些马在嘎吱嘎吱地吃槽里的草。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The dog was crunching a bone. 狗正嘎吱嘎吱地嚼骨头。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 controversies   

争论

参考例句：

• We offer no comment on these controversies here. 对于这些争议，我们在这里不作任何评论。 来自英汉非文学 - 历史
• The controversies surrounding population growth are unlikely to subside soon. 围绕着人口增长问题的争论看来不会很快平息。 来自辞典例句

8 phenomena   

n.现象

参考例句：

• Ade couldn't relate the phenomena with any theory he knew.艾德无法用他所知道的任何理论来解释这种现象。
• The object of these experiments was to find the connection,if any,between the two phenomena.这些实验的目的就是探索这两种现象之间的联系，如果存在着任何联系的话。

9 marketing   

n.行销，在市场的买卖，买东西

参考例句：

• They are developing marketing network.他们正在发展销售网络。
• He often goes marketing.他经常去市场做生意。

10 bucks   

n.雄鹿( buck的名词复数 )；钱；（英国十九世纪初的）花花公子；（用于某些表达方式）责任v.（马等）猛然弓背跃起( buck的第三人称单数 )；抵制；猛然震荡；马等尥起后蹄跳跃

参考例句：

• They cost ten bucks. 这些值十元钱。
• They are hunting for bucks. 他们正在猎雄兔。 来自《简明英汉词典》