2007年VOA标准英语-Football Action Resumes at Women's World Cup in

By Jim Stevenson
Shanghai, China
20 September 2007

Clouds and wind remain in eastern China from the remnants¹ of typhoon Wipha. But the rain has stopped and play is resuming² at the 16-nation Women's World Cup football tournament. VOA's Jim Stevenson has this update.

First-round action concluded in Chengdu, Hangzhou, and Tianjin. Group C and Group D each sent two teams to the single-elimination quarterfinal round.

Norway trounced Ghana, 7-2, in Hangzhou to finish as the top team from Group C. Australia also advances after playing Canada to a 2-2 draw in Chengdu.

Brazil became the only team to win all three of its first round games with a 1-0 victory over Denmark in Hangzhou. The other team to advance from Group D is host China, which scored an impressive³ 2-0 win over New Zealand in Tianjin.

The high level of play has been noticed by U.S. coach Greg Ryan. He says the parity⁴ of overall⁵ skills will make for an exciting quarterfinal round.

"Everybody in our group was good," he said. "And I think in some of the other groups you have seen some of matches that have been very lopsided. I think overall there is great parity. The top teams are no longer the top teams by miles. It is going to be a great match between the next eight teams. And some very good teams are going home."

Among those teams going home is Sweden, the 2003 runner-up. This tournament marks the first time the Swedes have failed to reach the quarterfinals at a World Cup.

The quarterfinal round opens Saturday with the United States facing England Tianjin, while defending champion Germany plays North Korea in Wuhan. The other two quarterfinals are on Sunday, and feature Brazil against Australia, while Norway plays China. The final is September 30 in Shanghai.

1 remnants   

剩余部分( remnant的名词复数 )； 残余； 零料； 零头布

参考例句：

• The woods are remnants of a huge forest which once covered the whole area. 这片树林只是剩下的一部分，原来这一带是一大片森林。
• Even today remnants of this practice remain. 甚至在今天这种做法还未绝迹。

2 resuming   

v.重新开始( resume的现在分词 )；重新获得；重新占用；恢复

参考例句：

• It was a strange experience, like suddenly resuming a previous incarnation. 这真是一个离奇的经验，好像突然回到了前世一样。
• He ate a snack before resuming work. 他吃了一份快餐而后继续工作。

3 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。

4 parity   

n.平价，等价，比价，对等

参考例句：

• The two currencies have now reached parity.这两种货币现已达到同等价值。
• Women have yet to achieve wage or occupational parity in many fields.女性在很多领域还没能争取到薪金、职位方面的平等。

5 overall   

n.工作服，工装裤；全面的，全体的

参考例句：

• The shop assistant was wearing a white overall.那店员穿着白色的工作服。
• How much will it cost overall?一共多少钱？