Berlin 柏林之旅-4

The Bermas walk back through the Hackeschen Hofe headed for a special event which Alexander M has lined up specially¹ for soccer fan Jants. Let's see if he takes the bait. This year, with the World Cup taking place in Germany, there are loads of event connected with football happening all over Berlin too. Like this international football film festival in the cinema Zentral . But it looks like football is still man's stuff in the Berma household.

So you know, Germany is feverishly² awaiting the big event of this year which is the Football World Cup. There are a lot of exciting activities going on everywhere in the run-up to it. And since I know, that Jants is a real football fanatic³, I included a small detour⁴ just for him.

Together Jants and Alexander watch a Cuban-German short film about an enthusiastic young soccer player.
Jants is really excited about the World Cup. He himself won a ticket in the soccer tournament for the match between France and South Korea. Congratulations!
Jants is a goalkeeper for his local football club and is missing a tournament to come on this trip to Berlin. This miniature version may not be the real thing, but Jants and Alexander certainly seem to be enjoiying it.

So we are now going to Potsdamer Platz. Its history really is unbelievable. Back in the 20th, it was the vibrant⁵ center of Berlin, but when the city was divided after the war, the Square faded to become a gloomy barren wasteland on the frontier between the East and the West. And now , some years ago, its fate changed once again, and this wasteland was transformed into the new center of Berlin. There is loads going on there, we are going to go and get the share of our action.

The daring plan of creating a brand new town center from scratch really has worked here. Potsdamer Platz offers everything you'd expect in a metropolis⁶. Musical theatre, a casino, cinemas, shopping malls, hotels, bars and restaurants.
The SONY Center has a huge covered courtyard. Its roof is the size of a soccer pitch, but seems to float above the courtyard like a feather, despite being made of 2500 tons of glass and steel. Yet, right in the midst of this futuristic center lies an architectural classic .

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feverishly: adv. 兴奋地
fanatic: n. 入迷者
enthusiastic: adj. 热情的
wasteland:n. 荒地
from scratch: 白手起家，从无到有
casino: n. 娱乐城
futuristic: adj. 未来派的

1 specially   

adv.特定地；特殊地；明确地

参考例句：

• They are specially packaged so that they stack easily.它们经过特别包装以便于堆放。
• The machine was designed specially for demolishing old buildings.这种机器是专为拆毁旧楼房而设计的。

2 feverishly   

adv. 兴奋地

参考例句：

• Feverishly he collected his data. 他拼命收集资料。
• The company is having to cast around feverishly for ways to cut its costs. 公司迫切须要想出各种降低成本的办法。

3 fanatic   

n.狂热者，入迷者；adj.狂热入迷的

参考例句：

• Alexander is a football fanatic.亚历山大是个足球迷。
• I am not a religious fanatic but I am a Christian.我不是宗教狂热分子，但我是基督徒。

4 detour   

n.绕行的路，迂回路；v.迂回，绕道

参考例句：

• We made a detour to avoid the heavy traffic.我们绕道走，避开繁忙的交通。
• He did not take the direct route to his home,but made a detour around the outskirts of the city.他没有直接回家，而是绕到市郊兜了个圈子。

5 vibrant   

adj.震颤的，响亮的，充满活力的，精力充沛的，(色彩)鲜明的

参考例句：

• He always uses vibrant colours in his paintings. 他在画中总是使用鲜明的色彩。
• She gave a vibrant performance in the leading role in the school play.她在学校表演中生气盎然地扮演了主角。

6 metropolis   

n.首府；大城市

参考例句：

• Shanghai is a metropolis in China.上海是中国的大都市。
• He was dazzled by the gaiety and splendour of the metropolis.大都市的花花世界使他感到眼花缭乱。