英语听力精选进阶版 6342

Oh no, not again! England’s football team have crashed out of the Euro 2012 football tournament after losing another penalty shootout.

The ‘Three Lions’, as England are known, were almost pipped at the post by a strong Italian team who came close to scoring before the final whistle. But the match hung in the balance at nil¹-nil after extra time.

England fans – frustrated² at failing on penalties in six previous tournaments – were hopeful this would be their winning night.

The psychological pressure on the players was massive. After two successful penalties, the omens³ looked good. However, England players Ashley Young and Ashley Cole misplaced their spot-kicks and fans were left with their hearts in their mouths.

The skilful⁴ Italians soon thwarted⁵ any hope of English victory. The Italian striker Alessandro Diamanti put the final nail in the coffin⁶ by coolly slotting in the winner past England goalkeeper Joe Hart.

As Italian fans and players celebrated⁷, English dreams were left shattered and deflated⁸. England captain, Steven Gerrard, said his players were heartbroken at their departure from the tournament. The agonising jinx of losing a match on penalties continues to haunt the England team.

The players must now return home with their tails between their legs. But there is some consolation⁹: the young team only lost by a narrow margin¹⁰ and the setback¹¹ will last just two years before England mount their next challenge at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.

But if faced with another penalty shootout, can England finally overcome the odds¹² and triumph?

Quiz 测验

1. By what other name is the England football team known?

The Three Lions

2. What phrase describes when a result is not known and remains¹³ in suspense¹⁴?

hung in the balance

3. What word in the article means zero?

nil

4. What verb means 'stopped' or 'prevented'?

thwarted

5. What word means something has bad luck?

jinx

Glossary 词汇表

crashed out 出局，被淘汰

penalty shootout 罚点球

pipped at the post 在最后一刻被击败，功败垂成

hung in the balance 不相上下，胜败未定

the omens 预兆

misplaced 错误判断

with their hearts in their mouths 悬心吊胆，心惊肉跳

thwarted 挫败

the final nail in the coffin 盖馆定论，最终失败

shattered 粉碎，破灭

deflated 泄气

heartbroken 伤心的

jinx 厄运

to haunt 萦绕

with their tails between their legs 夹着尾巴

consolation 安慰

a narrow margin 比分相差极小

setback 挫折

overcome the odds 克服困难

1 nil   

n.无，全无，零

参考例句：

• My knowledge of the subject is practically nil.我在这方面的知识几乎等于零。
• Their legal rights are virtually nil.他们实际上毫无法律权利。

2 frustrated   

adj.挫败的，失意的，泄气的v.使不成功( frustrate的过去式和过去分词 )；挫败；使受挫折；令人沮丧

参考例句：

• It's very easy to get frustrated in this job. 这个工作很容易令人懊恼。
• The bad weather frustrated all our hopes of going out. 恶劣的天气破坏了我们出行的愿望。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 omens   

n.前兆，预兆( omen的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The omens for the game are still not propitious. 这场比赛仍不被看好。 来自辞典例句
• Such omens betide no good. 这种征兆预示情况不妙。 来自辞典例句

4 skilful   

(=skillful)adj.灵巧的，熟练的

参考例句：

• The more you practise,the more skilful you'll become.练习的次数越多，熟练的程度越高。
• He's not very skilful with his chopsticks.他用筷子不大熟练。

5 thwarted   

阻挠( thwart的过去式和过去分词 )； 使受挫折； 挫败； 横过

参考例句：

• The guards thwarted his attempt to escape from prison. 警卫阻扰了他越狱的企图。
• Our plans for a picnic were thwarted by the rain. 我们的野餐计划因雨受挫。

6 coffin   

n.棺材，灵柩

参考例句：

• When one's coffin is covered,all discussion about him can be settled.盖棺论定。
• The coffin was placed in the grave.那口棺材已安放到坟墓里去了。

7 celebrated   

adj.有名的，声誉卓著的

参考例句：

• He was soon one of the most celebrated young painters in England.不久他就成了英格兰最负盛名的年轻画家之一。
• The celebrated violinist was mobbed by the audience.观众团团围住了这位著名的小提琴演奏家。

8 deflated   

adj. 灰心丧气的

参考例句：

• I was quite deflated by her lack of interest in my suggestions.他对我的建议兴趣不大，令我感到十分气馁。
• He was deflated by the news.这消息令他泄气。

9 consolation   

n.安慰，慰问

参考例句：

• The children were a great consolation to me at that time.那时孩子们成了我的莫大安慰。
• This news was of little consolation to us.这个消息对我们来说没有什么安慰。

10 margin   

n.页边空白；差额；余地，余裕；边，边缘

参考例句：

• We allowed a margin of 20 minutes in catching the train.我们有20分钟的余地赶火车。
• The village is situated at the margin of a forest.村子位于森林的边缘。

11 setback   

n.退步，挫折，挫败

参考例句：

• Since that time there has never been any setback in his career.从那时起他在事业上一直没有遇到周折。
• She views every minor setback as a disaster.她把每个较小的挫折都看成重大灾难。

12 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？

13 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

14 suspense   

n.（对可能发生的事）紧张感，担心，挂虑

参考例句：

• The suspense was unbearable.这样提心吊胆的状况实在叫人受不了。
• The director used ingenious devices to keep the audience in suspense.导演用巧妙手法引起观众的悬念。