VOA标准英语2010年-Saints Win Super Bowl Debut, Beat Favo

New Orleans rallies from an early 10-point deficit¹ to beat Indianapolis for the US National Football League championship.

Steve Schy | Miami 08 February 2010

New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees celebrates with the Vince Lombardi Trophy² after the Saints' win in Super Bowl XLIV in Miami, 7 Feb. 2010

 

Just four years after Hurricane Katrina decimated the city of New Orleans, the Saints are the champions of the National Football League.  The New Orleans Saints defeated the Indianapolis Colts, 31-17, Sunday night in Super Bowl XLIV.

The Saints made the most of their first Super Bowl appearance in the team's 43-year history, overcoming an early 10-point deficit to upset the favored Colts at Sun Life Stadium in Miami.

Virginia Simoneau

 

Diehard Saints fan Virginia Simoneau exclaimed, "Lifelong dream!  It's absolutely wonderful.  It's been my whole life, 43 years, rooting for the Saints.  And to be here is totally awesome³."

The game featured two of the NFL's top offenses⁴, but it was big plays from the Saints special teams and defense⁵ that turned the game around.  Trailing 10-6, the Saints surprised the Colts by starting the second half with an on-side kick.  New Orleans recovered the ball and drove for a touchdown.

New Orleans Saints Coach Sean Payton after team's Super Bowl win, 7 Feb. 2010

 

New Orleans coach Sean Payton said, "You know, our guys did a good job of showing a normal kick-off coverage⁶ look.  It was something that we had seen and practiced all week.  The key was the kicker.  Thomas [Morestead] hit it good, our guys recovered and we were able to take advantage of it and get seven points."

The Colts retook the lead 17-16 on a touchdown from running back Joseph Addai, before the Saints went ahead for good on a 2-yard touchdown pass to Jeremy Shockey.  Tracy Porter closed out the scoring by intercepting⁷ a Manning pass and returning it for a 74-yard touchdown.

Saints quarterback Drew Brees, who has dedicated⁸ himself to helping⁹ both the Saints and city of New Orleans recover from 2005's Hurricane Katrina, was named the game's most valuable player.

Brees, who completed 32 of 39 passes for 288 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions, said, "You know, four years ago who ever thought this was going to happen.  Eighty-five percent of the city was underwater.  Most people not knowing if New Orleans would ever come back.  And we just all looked at one another and said, 'We're going to rebuild together; we're going to lean on each other.'  And that's what we've done here the last four years and this is the culmination¹⁰ of all that belief and that faith."

Colts quarterback Peyton Manning said the Saints "played well in all phases.  Made some critical plays on special teams.  Defense made stops when they had to and Drew did a good job getting his team in the end zone.  They deserved to win today."

It was the first time in 16 years the NFL's top two teams squared off for the league championship.  And so the Saints ended their storybook season by turning their first Super Bowl appearance into their first Super Bowl triumph.
 

1 deficit   

n.亏空，亏损；赤字，逆差

参考例句：

• The directors have reported a deficit of 2.5 million dollars.董事们报告赤字为250万美元。
• We have a great deficit this year.我们今年有很大亏损。

2 trophy   

n.优胜旗，奖品，奖杯，战胜品，纪念品

参考例句：

• The cup is a cherished trophy of the company.那只奖杯是该公司很珍惜的奖品。
• He hung the lion's head as a trophy.他把那狮子头挂起来作为狩猎纪念品。

3 awesome   

adj.令人惊叹的，难得吓人的，很好的

参考例句：

• The church in Ireland has always exercised an awesome power.爱尔兰的教堂一直掌握着令人敬畏的权力。
• That new white convertible is totally awesome.那辆新的白色折篷汽车简直棒极了.

4 offenses   

n.进攻( offense的名词复数 )；（球队的）前锋；进攻方法；攻势

参考例句：

• It's wrong of you to take the child to task for such trifling offenses. 因这类小毛病责备那孩子是你的不对。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Thus, Congress cannot remove an executive official except for impeachable offenses. 因此，除非有可弹劾的行为，否则国会不能罢免行政官员。 来自英汉非文学 - 行政法

5 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

6 coverage   

n.报导，保险范围，保险额，范围，覆盖

参考例句：

• There's little coverage of foreign news in the newspaper.报纸上几乎没有国外新闻报道。
• This is an insurance policy with extensive coverage.这是一项承保范围广泛的保险。

7 intercepting   

截取（技术），截接

参考例句：

• The police had been intercepting my mail, ie reading it before it was delivered. 警方一直截查我的邮件。
• We've been intercepting radio transmissions from Moscow. 我们已从莫斯科拦截到无线电信号。

8 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。

9 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

10 culmination   

n.顶点；最高潮

参考例句：

• The space race reached its culmination in the first moon walk.太空竞争以第一次在月球行走而达到顶峰。
• It may truly be regarded as the culmination of classical Greek geometry.这确实可以看成是古典希腊几何的登峰造级之作。