美国国家公共电台 NPR--Hoops fans can now start filling out those March Madness brackets

Hoops¹ fans can now start filling out those March Madness brackets

Transcript²

March Madness is set. The men's and women's brackets for the NCAA basketball tournaments have been finalized³.

SACHA PFEIFFER, HOST:

Hoops fans can now start filling out those March Madness brackets. The Men and Women's Division I tournaments have revealed which teams have earned a berth⁴ in the 68-team tournament so fans can begin wrestling with profound questions, like could Furman really beat Virginia in the first round? NPR sports correspondent Tom Goldman is here with us with the answers, maybe, Tom?

TOM GOLDMAN, BYLINE⁵: The answer is yes, but let's move on.

PFEIFFER: All right. So as you know, college basketball fans cherish this time of year. But for fans of Alabama, the celebration might be subdued⁶, even though it has one of the best men's teams in the country. What can you tell us about that?

GOLDMAN: Yeah. Well, according to the men's selection committee, Sacha, Alabama is not just one of the best; it's the best. The Crimson⁷ Tide were given the overall No. 1 seed in the tournament - first time as a No. 1 seed. Alabama could win its first tournament title. But this phenomenal run is stained by the shooting death in January of Jamea Harris, a 23-year-old mother of a 5-year-old boy. Three Alabama players were connected to the incident. One was kicked off the team, indicted⁸ for murder last week. Two other players were at the scene, including star Brandon Miller⁹. He allegedly delivered the gun used in the shooting.

Now, neither has been charged with anything. They've kept playing, raising questions of the school, the coach, the athletic¹⁰ director - why Miller in particular wasn't suspended during the investigation¹¹. It is an enormous elephant in this March Madness room. The NCAA and Alabama officials would rather not talk about it, but it's going to follow the Crimson Tide as they go through the tournament.

PFEIFFER: That is very somber¹², and it feels tough to pivot¹³ back to the rest of the men's tournament after that.

GOLDMAN: Yeah.

PFEIFFER: But I'm still going to ask you, what other teams and players stand out to you?

GOLDMAN: Yeah. Well, the other No. 1 seeds are Purdue, Houston, which is also the city that will host the Final Four, and Kansas. Now, the Jayhawks are the defending champions. They're trying to become the first team to win back-to-back titles since Florida did it about 15 years ago. And, you know, we usually talk about teams dealing¹⁴ with player injuries, but the talk with Kansas is about head coach Bill Self. He was hospitalized last week for an undisclosed illness. In his absence, the Jayhawks lost in their conference tournament, but he's out of the hospital and expected back this week.

PFEIFFER: Let's turn to the women's tournament. South Carolina is back to defend its title. How do the Gamecocks look?

GOLDMAN: Powerful, ready to repeat. And that's why they're the overall No. 1 seed. They are undefeated this season, led by the reigning¹⁵ player of the year, power forward Aliyah Boston. The other No. 1 seeds - Indiana. It's a great offensive team that won the Big Ten regular season title this year. Then Virginia Tech earned its first-ever women's No. 1 seed. And Stanford, a well-known top program, won the title two years ago and is still really good. Now, a few players to watch other than Aliyah Boston - Iowa's Caitlin Clark is a dynamic guard. She's got a good shot at this year's Player of the Year award, Maddy Siegrist of Villanova, the nation's top scorer. And then there's defensive¹⁶ whiz Cameron Brink¹⁷ of Stanford.

PFEIFFER: And, Tom, for people who might not know their way around a bracket like you do, any tips?

GOLDMAN: Well, I'll try. Talking about the men's tournament - No. 1 seeds - pretty good bet to take all the way. In the last 10 men's tournaments, the No. 1 seeds have won the title eight times. Now, a traditional upset in the first round is the 12 seed over the five seed since 1985. That's happened more than 50 times. It's often a good bet. So, you know, have fun. Take the College of Charleston over No. 5, San Diego State. But, Sacha, it's all a guessing game, so happy guessing.

PFEIFFER: That's NPR sports correspondent Tom Goldman getting us ready for a little madness in March. Tom, thank you.

GOLDMAN: You're welcome.

(SOUNDBITE OF FUNKY DL SONG, "DON'T EVEN TRY IT")

1 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）

2 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。

3 finalized   

vt.完成（finalize的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• The draft of this article has been finalized [done]. 这篇文章已经定稿。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The draft was revised several times before it was finalized. 稿子几经删改才定下来。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

4 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。

5 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。

6 subdued   

adj. 屈服的，柔和的，减弱的 动词subdue的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He seemed a bit subdued to me. 我觉得他当时有点闷闷不乐。
• I felt strangely subdued when it was all over. 一切都结束的时候，我却有一种奇怪的压抑感。

7 crimson   

n./adj.深(绯)红色(的)；vi.脸变绯红色

参考例句：

• She went crimson with embarrassment.她羞得满脸通红。
• Maple leaves have turned crimson.枫叶已经红了。

8 indicted   

控告，起诉( indict的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The senator was indicted for murder. 那位参议员被控犯谋杀罪。
• He was indicted by a grand jury on two counts of murder. 他被大陪审团以两项谋杀罪名起诉。

9 miller   

n.磨坊主

参考例句：

• Every miller draws water to his own mill.磨坊主都往自己磨里注水。
• The skilful miller killed millions of lions with his ski.技术娴熟的磨坊主用雪橇杀死了上百万头狮子。

10 athletic   

adj.擅长运动的，强健的；活跃的，体格健壮的

参考例句：

• This area has been marked off for athletic practice.这块地方被划出来供体育训练之用。
• He is an athletic star.他是一个运动明星。

11 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

12 somber   

adj.昏暗的，阴天的，阴森的，忧郁的

参考例句：

• He had a somber expression on his face.他面容忧郁。
• His coat was a somber brown.他的衣服是暗棕色的。

13 pivot   

v.在枢轴上转动；装枢轴，枢轴；adj.枢轴的

参考例句：

• She is the central pivot of creation and represents the feminine aspect in all things.她是创造的中心枢轴，表现出万物的女性面貌。
• If a spring is present,the hand wheel will pivot on the spring.如果有弹簧，手轮的枢轴会装在弹簧上。

14 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

15 reigning   

adj.统治的，起支配作用的

参考例句：

• The sky was dark, stars were twinkling high above, night was reigning, and everything was sunk in silken silence. 天很黑，星很繁，夜阑人静。
• Led by Huang Chao, they brought down the reigning house after 300 years' rule. 在黄巢的带领下，他们推翻了统治了三百年的王朝。

16 defensive   

adj.防御的；防卫的；防守的

参考例句：

• Their questions about the money put her on the defensive.他们问到钱的问题，使她警觉起来。
• The Government hastily organized defensive measures against the raids.政府急忙布置了防卫措施抵御空袭。

17 brink   

n.(悬崖、河流等的)边缘，边沿

参考例句：

• The tree grew on the brink of the cliff.那棵树生长在峭壁的边缘。
• The two countries were poised on the brink of war.这两个国家处于交战的边缘。