VOA慢速英语2014 13岁女棒球选手在世界系列赛创造历史

 

AS IT IS 2014-08-21 Girl Making History in Little League World Series 13岁女棒球选手在世界系列赛创造历史

To many people, it may look like just another child’s baseball game in the United States.  But the Little League World Series is more than that.  It is the largest competition, for the best, the most dedicated¹ and the most disciplined of the world’s young baseball players.

This year, there is a player getting special attention for throwing the ball very fast.  But this player is getting even more attention because, in a game mainly played by boys, she is a girl.         

You Throw Like A Girl

A common insult² to a boy is to tell them they throw like a girl.  But, those days may be over -- especially when you see Mo’ne Davis throw a baseball. 

The 13-year old baseball player is making history at this year’s Little League World Series in Williamsport, Pennsylvania.  This is not only because she is one of the few girls to have made it this far, but because she is such a good player.  

Mo’ne Davis is currently³ one of the most talked about athletes in the U.S.

She has been on the front page of her hometown paper, The Philadelphia Inquirer⁴.  TV ratings⁵ of her games are the highest ever on the sports network ESPN for Little League baseball.  And she will be the first Little League player ever to appear on the cover of Sports Illustrated⁶ magazine in late August.   

Why all the attention?

Mo’ne Davis is not the first girl to play Little League baseball. Kathryn Johnston Massar was.

Back in 1950, Kathryn Johnston Massar cut her hair, called herself “Tubby”, and joined a Little League baseball team in the city of Corning, New York. When it was discovered that she was a girl, the league created a rule banning girls from playing.  The “Tubby rule,” as it was known, would stand for 24 years.

Baseball is mainly a boys sport, but Mo’ne Davis is outstanding at it.  She plays on the U.S. Mid-Atlantic Regional team called the Taney Dragons.  They are a group of kids from the city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.  The city is known for its working-class culture and for its love of sports.  Philadelphia is where the legend of the boxer⁷ “Rocky” was born.

The Taney Dragons made it to the World Series after Mo’ne Davis pitched a shutout game against a team from Newark, New Jersey⁸ in a regional championship game. 

In baseball, a “shutout” is a game in which the pitcher⁹ does not let the other team score.  Without scoring, you cannot win a baseball game.  And that is how her team made it to the World Series – no one could hit Mo’ne’s pitches.

It is reported that she can throw the ball over 100 kilometers an hour.  She is the first girl to have pitched a shutout in the Little League World Series tournament.   

Dawn Staley is also a Philadelphia native and a basketball player who won three gold medals in the Olympics.  Staley says Mo’ne represents an important sports message.

“It’s just a baseball,” Ms. Staley says.  “We need to really look at it like that.  It’s just a baseball.  Anybody who picks up a ball is just playing.”

Ms. Staley says that the Little League World Series gave Mo’ne a huge opportunity to show her baseball abilities.  She reminds us that there are many girls playing just as well but who have not had this much attention.  She calls them “diamonds in the rough,” or unpolished diamonds. 

“It’s Not Just About Me.”

Mo’ne Davis is not just a good player.  She is a good teammate.   She is quick to point out that it takes a team to win a baseball game.

One reporter from The Inquirer asked Davis, “What would you like the public to know about your teammates?”

Mo'ne smiled and said, "These guys should be interviewed more.  It's not just about me.  It's about the whole team.  And without them, we wouldn't be here right now."

1 dedicated   

adj.一心一意的；献身的；热诚的

参考例句：

• He dedicated his life to the cause of education.他献身于教育事业。
• His whole energies are dedicated to improve the design.他的全部精力都放在改进这项设计上了。

2 insult   

vt.侮辱，凌辱；n.侮辱的言词或行为

参考例句：

• You will insult her if you don't go to her party. 你要是不去参加她举办的聚会，就对她太无礼了。
• I can't sit down with that insult.我不能忍受那种侮辱。

3 currently   

adv.通常地，普遍地，当前

参考例句：

• Currently it is not possible to reconcile this conflicting evidence.当前还未有可能去解释这一矛盾的例证。
• Our contracts are currently under review.我们的合同正在复查。

4 inquirer   

询问的人，探究的人，调查者

参考例句：

• "You can get it at the news-stands," he added politely, seeing how pretty the inquirer was. "你可以在报摊上买到的。 "看见来询问的人这么漂亮，他客气地又加了一句。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
• The fellow turned a keen, watchful face on the inquirer. 这个小伙子把脸转向问话的人，表情敏锐而机警。

5 ratings   

n.等级( rating的名词复数 )；收视率；表示电影分级的数字（或字母）；（海军）水兵

参考例句：

• He won high ratings [marks] in all his examinations. 他所有的考试都获得高分。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The boat was operated by two naval ratings in dress whites. 船由两个穿着白色礼服的水兵驾驶。 来自辞典例句

6 illustrated   

adj. 有插图的，列举的 动词illustrate的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• His lecture was illustrated with slides taken during the expedition. 他在讲演中使用了探险时拍摄到的幻灯片。
• The manufacturing Methods: Will be illustrated in the next chapter. 制作方法将在下一章说明。

7 boxer   

n.制箱者，拳击手

参考例句：

• The boxer gave his opponent a punch on the nose.这个拳击手朝他对手的鼻子上猛击一拳。
• He moved lightly on his toes like a boxer.他像拳击手一样踮着脚轻盈移动。

8 jersey   

n.运动衫

参考例句：

• He wears a cotton jersey when he plays football.他穿运动衫踢足球。
• They were dressed alike in blue jersey and knickers.他们穿着一致，都是蓝色的运动衫和灯笼短裤。

9 pitcher   

n.(有嘴和柄的)大水罐；(棒球)投手

参考例句：

• He poured the milk out of the pitcher.他从大罐中倒出牛奶。
• Any pitcher is liable to crack during a tight game.任何投手在紧张的比赛中都可能会失常。