March Madness is coming down to the wire. Champions will be crowned in April

March Madness is coming down to the wire. Champions will be crowned in April

　　Transcript¹

　　The Final Four in the men's Division 1 college basketball tournament is set: Duke, North Carolina, Kansas and Villanova. The women are halfway² to their Final Four.

　　A MARTINEZ, HOST:

　　March Madness is coming down to the wire. The Final Four in the men's Division 1 college basketball tournament is now set. Although for those who love unknowns and underdogs - a little disappointment. Now, the women are halfway to their Final Four, and so far it's power teams as well in that area, as well - No. 1 seed South Carolina and Stanford qualifying last night. Here to talk some hoops³ and a little bit more - NPR sports correspondent Tom Goldman. Tom, so the men's Final Four - really a big four in the sport - Duke, North Carolina, Kansas, Villanova. What do we really want to know? Because here's the thing - Saint Peter's is not in that Final Four, and I'm wondering why.

　　TOM GOLDMAN, BYLINE⁴: Boohoo.

　　MARTINEZ: I know.

　　GOLDMAN: The team we fell in love with as it ruined our brackets lost, convincingly, 69-49 to North Carolina yesterday in the Elite⁵ Eight. To recap, A, the Saint Peter's Peacocks were a 15 seed with three big upset wins, starting with that first-round stunner over No. 2 Kentucky. The Peacocks were a bunch of scrappy kids from New York, New Jersey⁷ and several African countries. But against North Carolina, they barely put up a fight. The Tar⁶ Heels opened the game with a 9-0 run, never trailed, and the Saint Peter's dream was no more. Still, the Peacocks will be remembered for making history - first 15 seed to make the men's Elite Eight.

　　MARTINEZ: Yeah, an amazing run. All right, so we're just left with Goliaths, no Davids. There still is a good story next weekend with two major rivals going at it, isn't there?

　　GOLDMAN: You know, it's hard to believe that in all the years Duke and North Carolina have played against and hated each other, they have never met in an NCAA tournament. They will next Saturday. And there's a juicy element of revenge, too. This, of course, is Duke Head Coach Mike Krzyzewski's last season. He's retiring when it's over. Now, about three weeks ago, N.C. spoiled his last regular season home game by beating Duke. At the time, Coach K worried that his young players were thinking too much about him, trying too hard to give him the great finish. Now, they've refocused and have played great basketball during this tournament, but Coach K still sounds worried about the whole win-it-for-Coach thing. A reporter asked a Duke player about it after Duke beat Arkansas Saturday to move Krzyzewski into his record 13th Final Four, and Coach K answered before his player could.

　　(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

　　MIKE KRZYZEWSKI: Enough about, you know, doing it for the old man here. And we're not going to do it unless we all own it. We all own this moment together. That's what we're playing for.

　　MARTINEZ: All right, now turning to the women. What should we know about the two teams so far that have made it to the Final Four?

　　GOLDMAN: That they're really good and they showed it last night. South Carolina thumped⁸ Creighton - 80-50. Stanford won a battle against a tough and physical Texas team - 59-50. Two more teams have to fill out the Final Four. Those trying to qualify today include No. 1 seeds Louisville and North Carolina State and perennial⁹ power UConn. But South Carolina and Stanford appear to be the cream. A, this past weekend, I was at the regional where Stanford was playing and saw up close a team that's so talented and big and deeper than any of the top teams. They've got 10, 11 players Coach Tara VanDerveer uses in games. They - I think they've got a good chance to defend their title.

　　MARTINEZ: I'm going to squeeze in one more sports topic while I got the chance. The U.S. men's national soccer team is this close to qualifying for the World Cup - big win yesterday. Tell us about them.

　　GOLDMAN: Five to one over Panama. Now, the U.S. didn't quite clinch¹⁰, but piling on the goals is good because it gives the Americans a good cushion called goal differential. So when they play Costa Rica this week, they don't even have to win. Just don't lose by six goals or more and they're in, which would be a giant step away from the embarrassment¹¹ of not qualifying for the last World Cup.

　　MARTINEZ: Ecuador got in last week. I'm good. I'm good. I'd like it if the U.S. got in, too. But Ecuador has it made.

　　GOLDMAN: (Laughter) Go Ecuador.

　　MARTINEZ: NPR sports correspondent Tom Goldman. Tom, thanks.

　　GOLDMAN: You're welcome.

　　(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

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 halfway   

adj.中途的，不彻底的，部分的；adv.半路地，在中途，在半途

参考例句：

• We had got only halfway when it began to get dark.走到半路，天就黑了。
• In study the worst danger is give up halfway.在学习上，最忌讳的是有始无终。

3 hoops   

n.箍( hoop的名词复数 )；（篮球）篮圈；（旧时儿童玩的）大环子；（两端埋在地里的）小铁弓

参考例句：

• a barrel bound with iron hoops 用铁箍箍紧的桶
• Hoops in Paris were wider this season and skirts were shorter. 在巴黎，这个季节的裙圈比较宽大，裙裾却短一些。 来自飘（部分）

4 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。

5 elite   

n.精英阶层；实力集团；adj.杰出的，卓越的

参考例句：

• The power elite inside the government is controlling foreign policy.政府内部的一群握有实权的精英控制着对外政策。
• We have a political elite in this country.我们国家有一群政治精英。

6 tar   

n.柏油，焦油；vt.涂或浇柏油/焦油于

参考例句：

• The roof was covered with tar.屋顶涂抹了一层沥青。
• We use tar to make roads.我们用沥青铺路。

7 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。

8 thumped   

v.重击， （指心脏）急速跳动( thump的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Dave thumped the table in frustration . 戴夫懊恼得捶打桌子。
• He thumped the table angrily. 他愤怒地用拳捶击桌子。

9 perennial   

adj.终年的；长久的

参考例句：

• I wonder at her perennial youthfulness.我对她青春常驻感到惊讶。
• There's a perennial shortage of teachers with science qualifications.有理科教学资格的老师一直都很短缺。

10 clinch   

v.敲弯，钉牢；确定；扭住对方 [参]clench

参考例句：

• Clinch the boards together.用钉子把木板钉牢在一起。
• We don't accept us dollars,please Swiss francs to clinch a deal business.我方不收美元，请最好用瑞士法郎来成交生意。

11 embarrassment   

n.尴尬；使人为难的人(事物)；障碍；窘迫

参考例句：

• She could have died away with embarrassment.她窘迫得要死。
• Coughing at a concert can be a real embarrassment.在音乐会上咳嗽真会使人难堪。