美国国家公共电台 NPR--Winner of the France-Morocco semifinal game will face Argentina in the finals

Winner of the France-Morocco semifinal game will face Argentina in the finals

Transcript¹

World Cup semifinals continue Wednesday. Defending champ France plays Morocco — the first African and majority-Arab nation to make it this far in the tournament. The winner faces Argentina on Sunday.

A MART?NEZ, HOST:

Now, the question today at the World Cup in Qatar - can the fever pitch of excitement get any higher? The answer? Si. That's because France plays Morocco in a hugely anticipated semifinal match. All right, here's a mini tale of the tape. France, defending champ with a top scorer so far in Kylian Mbappe. Morocco is a self-described Rocky Balboa of the tournament, the first-ever African and majority-Arab nation to get this far. So, yo, Adrian, indeed. NPR sports correspondent² Tom Goldman is in Doha. All right, Tom, so set the scene for us. How did these two teams get there?

TOM GOLDMAN, BYLINE³: Thanks for going there with the yo, Adrian, A.

MART?NEZ: (Laughter).

GOLDMAN: As I am sure you know by now, Morocco is everyone's tournament's surprise, winning its group and then taking down European powers Spain and Portugal in the knockout stage matches. But maybe not so surprising. You know, you heard soccer experts early on saying, watch out, this team's for real, especially the defense⁴. And sure enough, Morocco hasn't given up a goal to an opponent the entire World Cup. The only score against them, an own goal against Canada. Morocco is also running on tons of emotion, fueled by crowds at their matches. The roaring, the whistling is deafening⁵. They have become such a source of pride throughout the Arab world. From common people to rulers, the Atlas⁶ Lions are it.

MART?NEZ: What about France?

GOLDMAN: An interesting contrast. France has this feel of an NFL player who scores a touchdown and hands the ball to the ref instead of spiking⁷ it, you know? Been there, done that.

MART?NEZ: (Laughter) Jerry Rice. Yeah. Yeah.

GOLDMAN: And the French have won it all. You know, they won it all in 2018. They've gone through this tournament with confidence. The confidence has grown with each match. And, you know, sure, they've provided excitement, too, and their on-field celebrations are solid. But you really get a sense of quiet and calm self-belief with these guys.

MART?NEZ: All right. So, Tom, you're there. Care to make a prediction?

GOLDMAN: Not at all.

MART?NEZ: (Laughter).

GOLDMAN: But I have got Briana Scurry⁸ for you, A. She is the former U.S. goalkeeper who starred in the memorable⁹ 1999 Women's World Cup. I talked to her about this match. She's very impressed by Morocco's style of play, the way she says they hang back, they take the opponent's best shots and then explode in a counterattack. But she thinks a savvy¹⁰ French team can deal with that strategy and be the team that breaks through against Morocco in a big way. Here she is.

BRIANA SCURRY: The funny thing is about Morocco, they've only given up one own goal, but I could totally see them giving up three goals in the next game. Like, they absorbed so much pressure, so much pressure. And I don't want them to be on borrowed time, but I feel like they might be.

GOLDMAN: Oh, that's so sad. But, of course, like any good World Cup prognosticator, Scurry also says it could end up being 0-0 and go into penalty¹¹ kicks, where either team can win. So she's covered herself.

MART?NEZ: And whichever team wins, they've got a date with Argentina in Sunday's final. And, I mean, it kind of feels like this is Lionel Messi's big chance to finally kind of catch Diego Maradona and not kind of be behind him in terms of legacy¹².

GOLDMAN: It does. It does. You know, and he said yesterday after this big win over Croatia that the win - the loss, excuse me, against Saudi Arabia to start this World Cup that we were all hyperventilating about, it lit a fire. And he says every match after that was a must win. And so Argentina has done that and gotten better and better. One prediction I will make, A - whoever plays Argentina Sunday, I'm going to predict a thrilling match.

MART?NEZ: I'll predict it for you. It'll be Mbappe and Messi going head-to-head for the cup. That's what I think, but that's just me. NPR's Tom Goldman in Doha.

GOLDMAN: I like that.

MART?NEZ: Tom, thanks a lot.

GOLDMAN: You're welcome.

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 correspondent   

n.记者，通信者；adj.符合的，一致的，相当的

参考例句：

• He volunteered as a correspondent for the war.他自愿担任作报道这次战争的记者。
• The result was correspondent with my wishes.结果与我的愿望是一致的。

3 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

4 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。

5 deafening   

adj. 振耳欲聋的, 极喧闹的 动词deafen的现在分词形式

参考例句：

• The noise of the siren was deafening her. 汽笛声震得她耳朵都快聋了。
• The noise of the machine was deafening. 机器的轰鸣声震耳欲聋。

6 atlas   

n.地图册，图表集

参考例句：

• He reached down the atlas from the top shelf.他从书架顶层取下地图集。
• The atlas contains forty maps,including three of Great Britain.这本地图集有40幅地图，其中包括3幅英国地图。

7 spiking   

n.尖峰形成v.加烈酒于( spike的现在分词 )；偷偷地给某人的饮料加入（更多）酒精（ 或药物）；把尖状物钉入；打乱某人的计划

参考例句：

• High spiking fever with chills is suggestive of a complicating pylephlebitis. 伴有寒战的高热，暗示合并门静脉炎。 来自辞典例句
• We could be spiking our own guns. 我们可能要遭到失败。 来自辞典例句

8 scurry   

vi.急匆匆地走；使急赶；催促；n.快步急跑，疾走；仓皇奔跑声；骤雨，骤雪；短距离赛马

参考例句：

• I jumped on the sofa after I saw a mouse scurry by.看到一只老鼠匆匆路过,我从沙发上跳了起来。
• There was a great scurry for bargains.大家急忙着去抢购特价品。

9 memorable   

adj.值得回忆的，难忘的，特别的，显著的

参考例句：

• This was indeed the most memorable day of my life.这的确是我一生中最值得怀念的日子。
• The veteran soldier has fought many memorable battles.这个老兵参加过许多难忘的战斗。

10 savvy   

v.知道，了解；n.理解能力，机智，悟性；adj.有见识的，懂实际知识的，通情达理的

参考例句：

• She was a pretty savvy woman.她是个见过世面的漂亮女人。
• Where's your savvy?你的常识到哪里去了？

11 penalty   

n.处罚，刑罚，罚款

参考例句：

• If you knock the ball with your hand in football,you will suffer a penalty.如果在踢足球时你用手碰到球，你将受到处罚。
• One of those arrested could face the death penalty.被捕的那些人中有一人可能被判死刑。

12 legacy   

n.遗产，遗赠；先人(或过去)留下的东西

参考例句：

• They are the most precious cultural legacy our forefathers left.它们是我们祖先留下来的最宝贵的文化遗产。
• He thinks the legacy is a gift from the Gods.他认为这笔遗产是天赐之物。