美国人备战“超级碗星期日”

Americans Prepare for 'Super Bowl Sunday'

This is What’s Trending Today.

The Super Bowl is this Sunday. The game is the National Football League championship.

The Atlanta Falcons² play the New England Patriots³ in Houston, Texas. The Patriots are based in the northeast state of Massachusetts; the Falcons are from the southeast state of Georgia.

The Patriots will try to win their fifth Super Bowl title. The Falcons are aiming to win for the first time.

Tom Brady is the Patriots’ quarterback. He is 39 years old and has been the Patriots’ quarterback in the Super Bowl seven times.

Football fans have debated whether Brady should be considered the best quarterback of all time. If he wins on Sunday, that argument may end.

The Atlanta Falcons are a strong team, too. They are one of the most powerful offensive⁴ teams in the NFL. Atlanta scored the most points in the NFL this year.

The Falcons’ quarterback, Matt Ryan, is also one of the best at his position. This season was the most successful of his career so far. He often throws the ball to teammate Julio Jones, one of the best receivers in the league.

Experts are predicting this year’s Super Bowl to be a high-scoring game. They are predicting that the two teams could collectively⁵ score about 60 points.

But Super Bowl Sunday is not just a game day. It is also an all-day event. People plan parties around the game. Even people who do not pay any attention to football during the regular season watch the Super Bowl. Last year, almost 115 million people watched the game on television.

Some people are more interested in the commercials that play during the broadcast. Many are also interested in watching the halftime show. This year, Lady Gaga is performing. People are debating whether the singer will make a political statement during her performance.

Singer Tony Bennett is one of Lady Gaga’s friends. He told fans that her show will be “spectacular.”

Google created graphics⁷ that show how much attention the Super Bowl gets each year. One showed that the Patriots were the most-searched team in all but four states. People in Georgia, South Carolina, Tennessee and Alabama searched for news about the Falcons.

And, one of the other popular Google search terms this time of year is “Superb Owl¹.” That is a misspelling of Super Bowl.

Fans and experts have been talking about which team will win for two weeks. New England is expected to win by about three points. But it seems that many fans might be tired of seeing the Patriots win the Super Bowl.

In a public opinion study, 51 percent of those questioned said they thought Atlanta would win.

Others have been talking about what they plan to eat during the game. Some popular food items include pizza, chicken wings, chips, and, of course, beer.

One person said she was asked if she was excited for the Super Bowl. She responded: “Ohh, you mean food day? Yes.”

Although the Super Bowl is a big deal in America, there are still plenty of people who do not plan to watch the game. One person tweeted that she will be watching tennis instead.

And that’s What’s Trending Today.

Words in This Story

receiver – n. a player who catches passes thrown by the quarterback

quarterback – n. a player who leads a team's attempts to score usually by passing the ball to other players

offensive – adj. of or relating to the way that players try to score against an opponent⁸ in a game or contest

collectively – adv. shared or done by a group of people : involving all members of a group

halftime – n. the period of rest between the end of the first half and the beginning of the second half in games like football and basketball

spectacular– adj. causing wonder and admiration⁹ : very impressive¹⁰

graphic⁶ – n. a picture, drawing, or graph used as a decoration or to make something (such as magazine article) easier to understand

1 owl   

n.猫头鹰，枭

参考例句：

• Her new glasses make her look like an owl.她的新眼镜让她看上去像只猫头鹰。
• I'm a night owl and seldom go to bed until after midnight.我睡得很晚，经常半夜后才睡觉。

2 falcons   

n.猎鹰( falcon的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Peregrine falcons usually pluck the feathers and strip the flesh off their bird prey. 游隼捕到鸟类猎物时，通常是先拔掉它们的羽毛，再把肉撕下来。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Though he doubted the wisdom of using falcons, Dr. de la Fuente undertook the project. 虽然德·拉·富恩特博士怀疑使用游隼是否明智，但他还是执行了这项计划。 来自辞典例句

3 patriots   

爱国者，爱国主义者( patriot的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Abraham Lincoln was a fine type of the American patriots. 亚伯拉罕·林肯是美国爱国者的优秀典型。
• These patriots would fight to death before they surrendered. 这些爱国者宁愿战斗到死，也不愿投降。

4 offensive   

adj.令人不快的，侮辱的，攻击用的；n.进攻

参考例句：

• His mode of doing business is offensive to me.他干事情的方式叫我很不喜欢。
• If all else fails,I will take the offensive.如果其他方法不行，我将采取攻势。

5 collectively   

adv.全体地，共同地

参考例句：

• All members of the Cabinet are collectively responsible for decisions taken. 所有内阁成员对所作决定集体负责。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They collectively abstained (from voting) in the elections for local councilors. 他们在地方议会议员选举中集体弃权。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 graphic   

adj.生动的，形象的，绘画的，文字的，图表的

参考例句：

• The book gave a graphic description of the war.这本书生动地描述了战争的情况。
• Distinguish important text items in lists with graphic icons.用图标来区分重要的文本项。

7 graphics   

n.制图法，制图学；图形显示

参考例句：

• You've leveraged your graphics experience into the video area.你们把图形设计业务的经验运用到录像业务中去。
• Improved graphics took computer games into a new era.经改进的制图技术将电脑游戏带进了一个新时代。

8 opponent   

n.对手，敌手，反对者；adj.敌对的，反对的

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。
• After a fierce struggle,he got a beat on his opponent.经过殊死的较量，他占了对手的上风。

9 admiration   

n.钦佩，赞美，羡慕

参考例句：

• He was lost in admiration of the beauty of the scene.他对风景之美赞不绝口。
• We have a great admiration for the gold medalists.我们对金牌获得者极为敬佩。

10 impressive   

adj.给人深刻印象的，感人的

参考例句：

• This cinema is so impressive that we can't help crying.这影片如此感人以至我们禁不住流下泪来。
• The suit made him look especially impressive.他穿上这套衣服真精神。