Take Away English-Wimbledon Warm-up 温布尔登热身

Maria Sharapova - a star of women's tennis

With less than a month to go until the start of this year’s Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Championship, it’s time to take a look at some of the players in contention¹ for the most famous prize in tennis.

Roger Federer is the clear favourite to retain the men’s’ title, with some bookmakers offering odds² of 1-2 on another victorious³ campaign for the Swiss champion. The ladies’ event on the other hand is still very much up for grabs. In fact, this year the ladies’ championship could be a more attractive spectacle than the traditionally dominant⁴ male event. So who are the main contenders in ladies’ tennis?

The current world number one is Amelie Mauresmo from France. She won the Australian open in 2006, and reached the Wimbledon Doubles final last year. Although her busy tennis schedule doesn’t give her much time to relax, she doesn’t waste what time she has. Amelie enjoys skiing, riding horses and listening to the music of Dido. She was also the first ever French woman to become world number one in September 2004.

World number two, Kim Clijsters, comes from a sporting family. Her father was a footballer, and was Belgium’s 1988 Player of the Year. Like Mauresmo, Kim enjoys playing sports and skiing in her free time, and her groups are Bon Jovi and Destiny’s Child. The highlights of her career include winning the US Open in 2005.

One of the most glamorous⁵ players is world number four Maria Sharapova. The Russian player began tennis at the age of four and then moved to the USA when she was nine. One of her main interests off the court is fashion; she joined IMG Models, a modelling company, in September 2003.

Another Russian, Nadia Petrova, occupies third spot. She also comes from a sporting family - both her parents are athletics⁶ coaches. This aggressive player is sure to move up the rankings in 2006.

One player who is possibly less likely to win but is always well-received at Wimbledon is Venus Williams. With her sister Serena, Venus has become one of the most famous players in modern tennis. She won the Wimbledon Singles title in 2000, 2001 and 2005, and the Wimbledon doubles, playing with her sister, in 2000 and 2002. Currently 13th in the world rankings, some think she may be past her best.

GLOSSARY7 词汇表
in contention 争夺 bookmakers 以赌赛马为生的人, 以赌赛马为主的赌场 up for grabs 获取, 争取 main contenders 主要竞争者, 有实力的运动员 waste 浪费 career 事业 off the court 球场外 athletics coaches 体育教练 rankings 排行	retain 保持, 保留 odds 赌注与付款的差额..., 几率 attractive spectacle 吸引人的精彩场面 current 目前的 highlights 巅峰 glamorous 迷人的；富有魅力的... occupies third spot 位居世界第三 aggressive 主动进取的 well received 深受欢迎的, 受好评的

 

1 contention   

n.争论，争辩，论战；论点，主张

参考例句：

• The pay increase is the key point of contention. 加薪是争论的焦点。
• The real bone of contention,as you know,is money.你知道，争论的真正焦点是钱的问题。

2 odds   

n.让步，机率，可能性，比率；胜败优劣之别

参考例句：

• The odds are 5 to 1 that she will win.她获胜的机会是五比一。
• Do you know the odds of winning the lottery once?你知道赢得一次彩票的几率多大吗？

3 victorious   

adj.胜利的，得胜的

参考例句：

• We are certain to be victorious.我们定会胜利。
• The victorious army returned in triumph.获胜的部队凯旋而归。

4 dominant   

adj.支配的，统治的；占优势的；显性的；n.主因，要素，主要的人(或物)；显性基因

参考例句：

• The British were formerly dominant in India.英国人从前统治印度。
• She was a dominant figure in the French film industry.她在法国电影界是个举足轻重的人物。

5 glamorous   

adj.富有魅力的；美丽动人的；令人向往的

参考例句：

• The south coast is less glamorous but full of clean and attractive hotels.南海岸魅力稍逊，但却有很多干净漂亮的宾馆。
• It is hard work and not a glamorous job as portrayed by the media.这是份苦差，并非像媒体描绘的那般令人向往。

6 athletics   

n.运动，体育，田径运动

参考例句：

• When I was at school I was always hopeless at athletics.我上学的时候体育十分糟糕。
• Our team tied with theirs in athletics.在田径比赛中，我们队与他们队旗鼓相当。

7 glossary   

n.注释词表；术语汇编

参考例句：

• The text is supplemented by an adequate glossary.正文附有一个详细的词汇表。
• For convenience,we have also provided a glossary in an appendix.为了方便，我们在附录中也提供了术语表。