Germany beat China 3-1 in Winter Olympic ice hockey qualification

 　　WEDEN, Germany, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- Pre-tournament favorites Germany overcame China 3-1 in their first match of the women's ice hockey qualification tournament of 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi.

　　Winning the shots 16-6, eighth-ranked Germany opened the account through Julia Zorn's strike 10:52 into the encounter.

　　After they got used to Germany's game, 13-ranked China launched a strong comeback in the second period. Assisted by Zhang Ben and Jin Fengling, China's star striker Sun Rui tied the game 1-1 at 10:24 of the second period and helped the Chinese team remain in the game.

　　Germany finally withstood the Chinese pressure, with 8:41 left Tanja Eisenschmid scored from a feed by Manuela Anwander to give the Germans a 2-1 lead, and minutes later, Zorn grabbed her second of the evening to make it 3-1 and the German team moved one step closer to Sochi.

　　China will be looking to atone¹ themselves on Saturday against Kazakhstan. The Czech Republic, who earlier beat Kazakhstan 5-1, will be next up for Germany.

　　The top five teams in the world rankings and host Russia have received automatic berths² in the Olympics, and all other teams will have an opportunity to qualify for the remaining two spots.

　　The two pre-qualification winners join the teams ranked seventh through 20th, to determine the final two Olympic qualifiers. Two round robins³ will be played from February 7-10, 2013 in Poprad, Slovakia and Weiden, Germany. The winners of each group qualify for the Olympics.

1 atone   

v.赎罪，补偿

参考例句：

• He promised to atone for his crime.他承诺要赎自己的罪。
• Blood must atone for blood.血债要用血来还。

2 berths   

n.（船、列车等的）卧铺( berth的名词复数 )；（船舶的）停泊位或锚位；差事；船台vt.v.停泊( berth的第三人称单数 )；占铺位

参考例句：

• Berths on steamships can be booked a long while in advance. 轮船上的床位可以提前多日预订。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Have you got your berths on the ship yet? 你们在船上有舱位了吗？ 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

3 robins   

n.知更鸟，鸫( robin的名词复数 )；（签名者不分先后，以避免受责的）圆形签名抗议书（或请愿书）

参考例句：

• The robins occupied their former nest. 那些知更鸟占了它们的老窝。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Benjamin Robins then entered the fray with articles and a book. 而后，Benjamin Robins以他的几篇专论和一本书参加争论。 来自辞典例句