美国国家公共电台 NPR Reporter's Notebook: In Small-Town Russia, 'Football Is My Life'

 

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

Now, at the World Cup in Russia, one group of fans is watching with special interest - Russians who play soccer as well as watch it. NPR's Alina Selyukh grew up in Russia and is covering the World Cup. She spoke¹ with three generations of Russian soccer players, starting with her own family.

ALINA SELYUKH, BYLINE²: My father parks the car in front of a five-story apartment building - red brick, balconies jutting³ out.

ALEKSANDR SELYUKH: (Speaking Russian).

ALINA SELYUKH: He says, that window on the first floor, that was his room as a kid. I immediately see the stadium. It's directly across the street.

ALEKSANDR SELYUKH: (Through interpreter) Mom would send me off to do homework, but I'd go quietly to the window - hop⁴ - and off to the stadium.

ALINA SELYUKH: It was hockey in the winter, soccer in the summer. Though, of course, my father would call it football. This was the '60s in the Soviet⁵ Union. And today, my dad - his name is Aleksandr, by the way - he brought me back to his hometown of Otradny - population 50,000 - to meet one of his best friends from childhood. His name is also Aleksandr - Purgayev. He grew up one door down. Together with my dad in the '70s, he joined the town's soccer team. And Purgayev, he's still on it. Well, he's the coach.

(SOUNDBITE OF BIRD CHIRPING)

ALINA SELYUKH: His office has two birds in hanging cages and trophies⁶ and plaques⁷ propped⁹ up everywhere there's a flat surface. His team is one of the best in the region. His players occasionally go on to professional leagues. Here in Otradny, the players do get paid, but they're amateurs with other day jobs, except for Purgayev, for whom soccer is the day job.

ALEKSANDR PURGAYEV: (Through interpreter) Football is my life. It's everything. For a long time now, all my family has understood. My wife and kids, they know. They used to say, you and your football. But now, they say, Dad is at work.

ALINA SELYUKH: Purgayev says their town soccer games draw all kinds of people, up to a thousand in the stands. A lot of retired¹⁰ men, sure, but also girls and moms with children. Plus, soccer is also more accessible to play. It doesn't require expensive equipment, just some shoes and a patch of dirt. It's just something you do as a kid during recess¹¹ in school, with friends in the yard, or in today's case, on a fancy soccer field.

Here in the stadium, on one side, there's a cluster of tiny children, maybe 5 or 6 years old, kicking the ball around. On another side, a tall man towers over a squad¹² of teenagers. His name is Valeriy Kruntiayev. He plays on Purgayev's adult team and also trains this youth lineup, which is where he got his own start back in the day.

VALERIY KRUNTIAYEV: (Through interpreter) I remember when I was little. We had a shortage of players, and our coach went to different schools and talked to boys trying to convince them to come to practice. But now, we don't have such a problem. We might get 30, 40, even 50 people coming. Everyone wants to train.

ALINA SELYUKH: Kruntiayev had left Otradny to attend football academies and play semi-pro⁸ and pro for a while, got an education degree and came back to train the next generation of players.

(LAUGHTER)

ALINA SELYUKH: Amir Tabarov draws the short straw to have to talk to the reporter lady. He is 14, and so are most of his teammates, one of whom is actually a girl. I ask him to name his favorite players.

AMIR TABAROV: Ronaldhino.

ALINA SELYUKH: Brazil's Ronaldinho.

AMIR: Cristiano Ronaldo.

ALINA SELYUKH: Second place is Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo. And third place...

AMIR: (Speaking Russian).

ALINA SELYUKH: His brother, who plays on the town's adult men's team together with the youth coach, Kruntiayev. From where the teenagers are playing today, it's about 50 miles to the Samara Arena¹³, one of the stadiums hosting this year's World Cup. The youth team was actually in the drawing to be ball boys for the tournament but didn't get in. Coach Kruntiayev is wearing a World Cup T-shirt. He says he's been using the matches as material for training and has even overheard the little preschoolers discussing the games.

KRUNTIAYEV: (Through interpreter) You watch TV and think it's like a parallel universe that you'll never see or know except on TV, but here you realize they're real. And here they are in Samara. You can go there and see.

ALINA SELYUKH: The boys on the youth team told me they're feeling motivated by the World Cup, wanting to be on the Russian team when the next one rolls around. Amir Tabarov points out they'll be 18 by then.

Alina Selyukh, NPR News, Samara, Russia.

1 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

2 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。

3 jutting   

v.（使）突出( jut的现在分词 )；伸出；（从…）突出；高出

参考例句：

• The climbers rested on a sheltered ledge jutting out from the cliff. 登山者在悬崖的岩棚上休息。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The soldier saw a gun jutting out of some bushes. 那士兵看见丛林中有一枝枪伸出来。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

4 hop   

n.单脚跳，跳跃；vi.单脚跳，跳跃；着手做某事；vt.跳跃，跃过

参考例句：

• The children had a competition to see who could hop the fastest.孩子们举行比赛，看谁单足跳跃最快。
• How long can you hop on your right foot?你用右脚能跳多远？

5 Soviet   

adj.苏联的，苏维埃的；n.苏维埃

参考例句：

• Zhukov was a marshal of the former Soviet Union.朱可夫是前苏联的一位元帅。
• Germany began to attack the Soviet Union in 1941.德国在1941年开始进攻苏联。

6 trophies   

n.（为竞赛获胜者颁发的）奖品( trophy的名词复数 )；奖杯；（尤指狩猎或战争中获得的）纪念品；（用于比赛或赛跑名称）奖

参考例句：

• His football trophies were prominently displayed in the kitchen. 他的足球奖杯陈列在厨房里显眼的位置。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The hunter kept the lion's skin and head as trophies. 这猎人保存狮子的皮和头作为纪念品。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

7 plaques   

（纪念性的）匾牌( plaque的名词复数 )； 纪念匾； 牙斑； 空斑

参考例句：

• Primary plaques were detectable in 16 to 20 hours. 在16到20小时内可查出原发溶斑。
• The gondoliers wore green and white livery and silver plaques on their chests. 船夫们穿着白绿两色的制服，胸前别着银质徽章。

8 pro   

n.赞成，赞成的意见，赞成者

参考例句：

• The two debating teams argued the question pro and con.辩论的两组从赞成与反对两方面辩这一问题。
• Are you pro or con nuclear disarmament?你是赞成还是反对核裁军？

9 propped   

支撑，支持，维持( prop的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He sat propped up in the bed by pillows. 他靠着枕头坐在床上。
• This fence should be propped up. 这栅栏该用东西支一支。

10 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

11 recess   

n.短期休息，壁凹（墙上装架子，柜子等凹处）

参考例句：

• The chairman of the meeting announced a ten-minute recess.会议主席宣布休会10分钟。
• Parliament was hastily recalled from recess.休会的议员被匆匆召回开会。

12 squad   

n.班，小队，小团体；vt.把…编成班或小组

参考例句：

• The squad leader ordered the men to mark time.班长命令战士们原地踏步。
• A squad is the smallest unit in an army.班是军队的最小构成单位。

13 arena   

n.竞技场，运动场所；竞争场所，舞台

参考例句：

• She entered the political arena at the age of 25. 她25岁进入政界。
• He had not an adequate arena for the exercise of his talents.他没有充分发挥其才能的场所。