VOA标准英语2010年-World Cup Quarterfinals Set for Friday

Brazil's soccer players, from left, Kaka, Robinho, Luis Fabiano, and Julio Baptista joke during a training session in Johannesburg, South Africa, 30 Jun 2010

In the Friday's first match, Brazil will play the Netherlands at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Port Elizabeth, South Africa.  Some are calling this game worthy¹ of a World Cup final.  Both teams seem to be in top form before the game.

 

The Dutch have won all four of their World Cup matches, and Brazil coach Dunga describes them as a very difficult opponent.  He says they are a solid team with technical quality and their style of soccer is very similar to South American football.

Brazil is one of four South American teams to reach the final eight. 

The five-time World Cup champions will be without midfielder Elano, who scored in each of Brazil's first two matches.  He has been ruled out of the game against the Netherlands after bruising² a bone in his right ankle during a victory over Ivory Coast.  But, the Brazilians have so much talent and depth that Elano's absence is not expected to have much impact.  They have won three matches and drawn³ with Portugal, and are coming off a convincing three-nil victory over South American rival Chile.

The winner of the Brazil-Netherlands match will face either Ghana or Uruguay in the semifinals.  Those teams meet in Friday's second quarterfinal at Soccer City Stadium in Johannesburg. 

Uruguay, which lifted the World Cup trophy⁴ in 1950 and at the inaugural⁵ tournament in 1930, is aiming for its first World Cup semifinal appearance in 40 years.  "The Black Stars" of Ghana, meanwhile, are bidding to make history for Africa.  No African team has ever reached the World Cup semifinals. 

Ghana's Serbian coach, Milovan Rajevac, says the prospect⁶ of becoming the first African team to reach the final four will motivate his squad⁷.  And Asamoah Gyan, who has a team-leading three World Cup goals for Ghana in South Africa, says "The Black Stars" are delighted to be representing Africa at this stage.

"We are so happy for this qualification because it is so important for we Ghanaians and the whole of Africa," said Gyan.  "We qualified⁸ for the 1/16th [Round of 16], that was four years ago in Germany.  And this time, we were able to qualify to the quarterfinals.  So, I think it is a big achievement for the Black Stars."

Another member of "The Black Stars," midfielder Sulley Muntari, says Ghana has much respect for Uruguay.

"They are a very good side - a very, very, very good side.  So, we are not going to underrate them.  We are just going in to play our football and try our best to win," said Muntari.

Uruguay features top strikers Luis Suarez and Diego Forlan, who was born into a family of footballers.  His father, Pablo, played for Uruguay at both the 1966 World Cup in England and the 1974 World Cup in Germany.  Ghana coach Rajevac describes Forlan as a fine player and his team will need to beware of Uruguay's attacking threat.

 

1 worthy   

adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的

参考例句：

• I did not esteem him to be worthy of trust.我认为他不值得信赖。
• There occurred nothing that was worthy to be mentioned.没有值得一提的事发生。

2 bruising   

adj.殊死的；十分激烈的v.擦伤(bruise的现在分词形式)

参考例句：

• He suffered cracked ribs and bruising. 他断了肋骨还有挫伤。
• He slipped and fell, badly bruising an elbow. 他滑倒了，一只胳膊肘严重擦伤。 来自辞典例句

3 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

4 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。

5 inaugural   

adj.就职的；n.就职典礼

参考例句：

• We listened to the President's inaugural speech on the radio yesterday.昨天我们通过无线电听了总统的就职演说。
• Professor Pearson gave the inaugural lecture in the new lecture theatre.皮尔逊教授在新的阶梯讲堂发表了启用演说。

6 prospect   

n.前景，前途；景色，视野

参考例句：

• This state of things holds out a cheerful prospect.事态呈现出可喜的前景。
• The prospect became more evident.前景变得更加明朗了。

7 squad   

n.班，小队，小团体；vt.把…编成班或小组

参考例句：

• The squad leader ordered the men to mark time.班长命令战士们原地踏步。
• A squad is the smallest unit in an army.班是军队的最小构成单位。

8 qualified   

adj.合格的，有资格的，胜任的，有限制的

参考例句：

• He is qualified as a complete man of letters.他有资格当真正的文学家。
• We must note that we still lack qualified specialists.我们必须看到我们还缺乏有资质的专家。