VOA标准英语2009-Opening of Confederations Cup Celebrated in

The Confederations Cup is underway in South Africa, after an opening ceremony at Johannesburg's Ellis Park Stadium. In the opening match, South Africa played to a scoreless tie with Iraq.

It was a cool, sunny afternoon in Johannesburg, as South Africa took a large step in its preparations for the 2010 World Cup, with the opening of the Confederations Cup in front of nearly 50,000 spectators¹ at Ellis Park stadium.

The pre-match atmosphere was a mixture of jubilance and expectation, as the countdown wound towards the opening whistle of the first match. Fans lined the streets outside the stadium from the early morning, and the stadium slowly filled to near capacity as the opening ceremony drew near.

The crowd was anxious to see the match get underway, and put an end to the long wait for international soccer on the highest level in South Africa. Patrick Clocoyi is a tour operator from Johannesburg who attended the match.

"I am so excited," said Patrick Clocoyi. "I can not even describe the feeling that I have. It has been a long time since we have waited for this coming to South Africa, and Africa in general, to be precise. As we have managed to host the Confederations Cup, that in itself is a great achievement. So whether win or lose we will not be disappointed next year."

The opening ceremony involved an original choreography of African dance and what was described by organizers as an explosion of colors representing the diversity of the country known as the rainbow nation.
　
FIFA President Joseph Blatter (l) and South Africa's President Jacob Zuma, 14 Jun 2009

As kickoff approached, FIFA President Joseph Blatter took the field alongside² South African President Jacob Zuma. In his opening remarks, Blatter emphasized FIFA's on-going support for football in South Africa, and the continent in general, before Mr. Zuma took the stage.

"I would like to declare the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup open," said President Zuma.

The crowd was jubilant at kickoff, but became gradually more subdued³ as they witnessed a drab affair without much quality soccer for the better part of the match. The Iraqis seemed content to sit back and counterattack, while the South Africans did their best to muster⁴ occasional chances.

The game livened up significantly in the final quarter hour, when South African coach Joel Santana made a pair of changes that breathed life into the attack of the Bafana Bafana. The hosts nearly snatched⁵ victory as time ran down, when Kagisho Dikgacoi powered a header that beat the Iraqi goalkeeper. But the South Africans found only dismay⁶ when the shot hit fellow South African striker Bernard Parker and ricocheted away from the open goal.

South African striker Stephen Peinaar reflected on the opening match.

"It is disappointing," said Stephen Peinaar. "We were expecting to win and we took it upon ourselves, and to get a draw was very disappointing. But we still have two games and it is now behind us. We just have to go forward."

The Confederations Cup continues when European champion Spain takes on New Zealand. Monday features two matches - Egypt will play Brazil, while defending World Cup champion Italy takes on the United States.

1 spectators   

n.观众，旁观者( spectator的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The spectators were wilting visibly in the hot sun. 看得出观众在炎热的阳光下快支撑不住了。
• The policemen asked the spectators to stand well back. 警察要求旁观者靠后站。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 alongside   

adv.在旁边；prep.和...在一起，在...旁边

参考例句：

• There was a butcher's shop alongside the theatre.剧院旁边有一家肉店。
• Alongside of him stood his uncle.他的身旁站着他叔叔。

3 subdued   

adj. 屈服的，柔和的，减弱的 动词subdue的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He seemed a bit subdued to me. 我觉得他当时有点闷闷不乐。
• I felt strangely subdued when it was all over. 一切都结束的时候，我却有一种奇怪的压抑感。

4 muster   

v.集合，收集，鼓起，激起；n.集合，检阅，集合人员，点名册

参考例句：

• Go and muster all the men you can find.去集合所有你能找到的人。
• I had to muster my courage up to ask him that question.我必须鼓起勇气向他问那个问题。

5 snatched   

突然伸手拿取，攫取，抓住( snatch的过去式和过去分词 )； 抓紧时间做； 乘机获得； 夺去

参考例句：

• The boy snatched a piece of cake and ate it hungrily. 男孩抢过一块饼便贪婪地吃起来。
• The thief snatched her handbag and ran. 盗贼抢了她的手提包就跑。

6 dismay   

n.灰心，沮丧，惊愕；vt.使沮丧，使惊愕

参考例句：

• The enemy retreated in perfect dismay.敌人沮丧地退去。
• I am filled with dismay at the news.我对这个消息极为震惊。