US Women Gear Up for World Cup

    The sixth FIFA Women's World Cup kicks off in Germany in June, with the team from the host nation as the two-time defending champion.  The United States women's soccer team won the gold medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics and is ranked number-one in the world.  But the American team named this week will face a difficult challenge in its quest¹ for the title.

    When the first World Cup for women was played in China in 1991, the United States was clearly a dominant² team.  Four years later at the second World Cup in Sweden, the USA came in third, then recaptured the crown at home in 1999 with a stirring final shootout victory over China.

    But during the past decade, women's football teams around the globe have made huge improvements to where next month's World Cup in Germany is expected to be the most tightly³ contested ever.

    U.S. coach Pia Sundhage says that is good for the sport.  Sundhage is a former player from Sweden and was hired after the U.S. finished a disappointing third at the 2007 World Cup in China.  She says she has brought a different philosophy to the team that helped lead to Olympic gold in 2008.

    "Coming from the fact that U.S. Soccer was brave enough to hire a coach from Sweden and try to get that gold medal, and the fact that the players embraced that change made the difference," said Sundhage.  "Now we are working on certain things, and now we are talking about change again.  It's a different way.  It's a different road to Germany."Sundhage says more changes were needed because the Americans nearly missed qualifying⁴ for this year's World Cup.  They were beaten by Mexico in regional qualifying, 2-1, failing to gain an automatic berth⁵.  They had to survive a tight two-game playoff with Italy to earn their spot in Germany.

    "If we can deal with that pressure, which we did against Italy - and that was amazing - and we came out stronger after those games," added Sundhage.  "And the other thing is I think it is so important to look at whatever the game teaches us.  So I look back and there are a lot of chances to bring up certain things and tell the team, 'You know what, we made it.'  And I think that's a good feeling."Coach Sundhage says it was difficult selecting the 21 players who will represent the United States at next month's tournament in Germany.  Twelve have no World Cup experience.  And only one, captain Christie Rampone, a defender⁶, played on the 1999 U.S. team that won the World Cup.

    Star forward Abby Wambach, who missed the Beijing Olympics with a broken leg, is expected to lead the offense⁷.

    "It's not going to be easy," said Wambach.  "It's going to be the most difficult world championship to win - World Cup or Olympics - and I'm excited to get started.  It's going to be an amazing tournament.  But what is it going to take?  It's going to take some guts⁸.  It's going to take some luck.  It's going to take some skill, some goals, some defending.  You have to do everything."The U.S. women begin the last of their World Cup warm-up matches on Saturday in Columbus, Ohio, against fourth ranked Japan.  They will also face the Japanese May 18 in Cary, North Carolina, and will have their send-off match June 5 against Mexico in Harrison, New Jersey⁹.

    Coach Sundhage says that although they are friendly matches and offer a chance to experiment with line-ups, winning is a priority¹⁰.

    "Games are very important," Sundhage explained.  "We talk about the gold medal.  We talk about this and that.  For me, it's to win the next game, and win it in such a way that you learn from that game and you have a bigger chance to win the next game."For the World Cup in Germany, which runs from June 26 to July 17, the United States women are drawn¹¹ in Group C for the opening round and will face North Korea, Colombia and Sweden..(本文由在线英语听力室整理编辑)

1 quest   

n.寻求，搜索，追求

参考例句：

• Man will suffer many disappointments in his quest for truth.人类在探索真理过程中必然会遭受挫折。
• His quest for perfection is relentless.他不断追求完美。

2 dominant   

adj.支配的，统治的；占优势的；显性的；n.主因，要素，主要的人(或物)；显性基因

参考例句：

• The British were formerly dominant in India.英国人从前统治印度。
• She was a dominant figure in the French film industry.她在法国电影界是个举足轻重的人物。

3 tightly   

adv.紧紧地，坚固地，牢固地

参考例句：

• My child holds onto my hand tightly while we cross the street.横穿马路时，孩子紧拉着我的手不放。
• The crowd pressed together so tightly that we could hardly breathe.人群挤在一起，我们几乎喘不过气来。

4 qualifying   

使具有资格的

参考例句：

• players who fail at the pre-qualifying stage 在预选赛中淘汰掉的选手
• A doctoral candidate is required to pass a qualifying examination. 考博士需通过一个资格考试。

5 berth   

n.卧铺，停泊地，锚位；v.使停泊

参考例句：

• She booked a berth on the train from London to Aberdeen.她订了一张由伦敦开往阿伯丁的火车卧铺票。
• They took up a berth near the harbor.他们在港口附近找了个位置下锚。

6 defender   

n.保卫者，拥护者，辩护人

参考例句：

• He shouldered off a defender and shot at goal.他用肩膀挡开防守队员，然后射门。
• The defender argued down the prosecutor at the court.辩护人在法庭上驳倒了起诉人。

7 offense   

n.犯规，违法行为；冒犯，得罪

参考例句：

• I hope you will not take any offense at my words. 对我讲的话请别见怪。
• His words gave great offense to everybody present.他的发言冲犯了在场的所有人。

8 guts   

v.狼吞虎咽，贪婪地吃，飞碟游戏（比赛双方每组5人，相距15码，互相掷接飞碟）；毁坏（建筑物等）的内部( gut的第三人称单数 )；取出…的内脏n.勇气( gut的名词复数 )；内脏；消化道的下段；肠

参考例句：

• I'll only cook fish if the guts have been removed. 鱼若已收拾干净，我只需烧一下即可。
• Barbara hasn't got the guts to leave her mother. 巴巴拉没有勇气离开她妈妈。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 jersey   

n.运动衫

参考例句：

• He wears a cotton jersey when he plays football.他穿运动衫踢足球。
• They were dressed alike in blue jersey and knickers.他们穿着一致，都是蓝色的运动衫和灯笼短裤。

10 priority   

n.优先处理的事，居先，优先（权）

参考例句：

• The development of the national economy is a top priority.发展国民经济是应予以最优先考虑的事。
• Things should be taken up in order of priority.办事应有个先后次序。

11 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。