VOA慢速英语2016 美国女子篮球队：剑指冠军（在线收听）

US Women's Basketball Team Aims for More Olympic Gold 美国女子篮球队：剑指冠军

At the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, the U.S. women’s basketball team will work to win a sixth gold medal. The U.S. team has won the championship at every summer games since 1996.

在里约热内卢的奥运会，美国女子篮球队将努力赢得第六块金牌。自1996年以来，美国队赢得了每个夏季奥运会的冠军。

Both the women's and the men's basketball teams are staying on a cruise ship during the games. They hope that will help them avoid possible health and security problems in Rio. The nine-level, 196-cabin Silver Cloud is their floating hotel.

女子和男子篮球队在奥运会期间都会住在一艘游艇。他们希望这将帮助他们避免在力拓可能出现的健康和安全问题。九楼的196银云客舱是他们的浮动酒店。

Before leaving for Rio, the players gathered around USA Basketball Managing Director Jerry Colangelo. He told them their team will be a special target at the games.

在离开前往力拓之前，球员们聚集在美国男篮总经理杰里·科朗格洛那里。他告诉他们，他们的球队将会成为一个特别的目标。

Not only has the women's team won five gold medals in a row, they also have not lost a single game since the 1992 Olympics.

不仅女性的团队连续赢得了五枚金牌，自1992年奥运会以来他们也没有输过一场比赛。

Some players spoke to VOA during their last practice in the U.S.

一些球员在美国最后一次训练时接受美国之音的采访。

Tamika Catchings explained how the team mentally prepares for the competition.

塔米卡·卡钦斯基解释了球队如何准备好比赛的心理问题。

"We just have to know that we have a target on our backs and every single country has been preparing for the past three or four years for this opportunity to play in the Olympics," she said. "So, for us, we cannot just get comfortable and think we are just going to walk out on the court and automatically win. We have been preparing the way we always do, focusing on every single game individually, and we will be competitive."

“我们只需要知道，我们在我们的背后有一个目标，而且每一个国家已经在过去的三四年里为这次参加奥运会的机会做好了准备，”她说。“因此，对我们来说，我们不能舒舒服服地躺着，觉得只要我们去球场走一走就能自动获胜。我们一直按照我们总是做的方式进行准备，分别专注于每一场比赛，我们才会有竞争力。”

Catchings already has three gold medals. But, she is close to the end of her playing career at 37 years old. This Olympics is her chance to win one more gold medal.

蒂尔已经有三枚金牌。但是，她已经接近她职业生涯的37岁。这次奥运会是她再赢得一枚金牌的机会。

"I feel great about going. I am excited about representing my country another time, and this is my last time, so I am even more excited," she said.

“我感觉很好。我很兴奋再一次代表我的国家，这是我最后一次，所以我更加兴奋,”她说。

She is not the only player with more than one gold medal. The team has four one-time gold medalists, two two-time gold medalists and three women who brought home four gold medals.

她不是唯一一个获得不止一个金牌的球员。团队有四个一次性金牌、两个两届金牌和斩获四枚金牌的三个女人。

Maya Moore won at the 2012 Olympics in London. She told reporters that the final practice in Houston, Texas helped the team get ready for the games.

玛雅·摩尔在2012年伦敦奥运会上赢了。她告诉记者，在德克萨斯州休斯顿的最后练习帮助团队为奥运会做好准备。

"We are pushing each other," she said. "If we can do it against each other, we can do it against anyone in the world."

“我们相互激励，”她说。“如果我们能够对抗对方，我们可以对抗世界上任何人。”

The women's head coach, Geno Auriemma, told VOA he is not wasting time or energy thinking about the possible problems in Rio. They include the Zika virus, polluted water and hotel rooms in disrepair. There is also some political and social unrest and, of course, concern about possible terrorist attacks.

这个女人的主教练格诺·奥列马告诉美国之音，他考虑可能在里约热内卢出现的问题不是在浪费时间和精力。这些问题包括Zika病毒、污水和酒店房间的年久失修。也有一些政治和社会动荡，当然，可能的恐怖袭击的担心。

"The focus is on winning a gold medal. All the other stuff that's around there, whether we worry about it or not, it is not going to make any better. It is not going to make it go away, so we are just going to deal with it," Auriemma said.

“重点是赢得金牌。周围的其他东西，无论我们是否担心，它都不会变得更好。不会消失，所以我们要解决这个问题,”奥列马说。

Staying on a boat takes care of some of the health concerns. But the team members still need to be careful of mosquitoes when going outside. Getting to the games through heavy traffic is another problem.

呆在船上负责的一些健康问题。但是团队成员在外出时仍然需要小心蚊子。通过拥挤的交通到达比赛现场是另一个问题。

Player Brittney Griner is the team's tallest, at just over two meters. She told reporters she feels sure the U.S. Olympic Committee has dealt with all the issues of concern.

球员布兰妮·瑞纳是团队最高的人，超过两米。她告诉记者她确定美国奥林匹克委员会会处理所有大家关心的问题。

She is excited about staying with her teammates on a floating hotel.

她为和她的队友们住在一个浮动的酒店感到兴奋。

"We are staying on a boat the whole time," she said with a smile. "It will be my first time ... so I am pretty excited for that!"

“我们住在船上，”她微笑着说。“这是我第一次……所以我很兴奋!”

The women's first game will be Sunday, August 7. Team USA Women's Basketball team will play Senegal.

女子的第一场比赛将在8月7日星期天举行。美国队女子篮球队将对抗塞内加尔。

Words in this Story

medal - n. a piece of metal often in the form of a coin with designs and words in honor of a special event, a person, or an achievement

practice - v. to do something again and again in order to become better at it

opportunity - n. an amount of time or a situation in which something can be done

comfortable - adj. not causing any physically unpleasant feelings

automatically - adv. happening or done without deliberate thought or effort

focus - v. to direct your attention or effort at something specific