2006年VOA标准英语-Hockey Favorites Melt On Olympic Ice

By Steve Schy
Turin, Italy
24 February 2006

At any Olympic Games, some of the favorites falter¹, while lowly-regarded athletes and teams appear to come from nowhere to end up on the medals podium.  During these Turin Olympics, this has been especially true in the men's and women's ice hockey tournaments, where the upsets have been plentiful². 

------------------------------------------------

US women battle Finland for bronze medal   
  

It was no shock Monday night when the United States won a women's ice hockey medal. It was expected. The surprising thing was that they were playing for the bronze medal.

Since women's hockey became an Olympic sport at the 1998 Games in Nagano, the United States has always played Canada for the gold medal.  The U.S. won it in 1998, while Canada took the top spot on the podium at the 2002 Olympics in Salt Lake City, and again here in Turin.

There have been a number of major hockey upsets, not the least of which was the Swedish women's shocking 3-2 win over Team USA after a penalty³ shootout last Friday.  It was the first time a European women's team had defeated either of the North American giants, Canada and the United States, in the Winter Olympics or World Championships.
 
But Ed Hula, editor of Olympic news Web site, Around the Rings.com, says it is a good thing for women's hockey.
 

Ed Hula  
  
"This is the sort of thing that the sport needs, to prove that it is a bit more universal than a Canadian - U.S. match every four years," he explained.  "The IOC is very concerned about universality for sports.  It does make a difference for the IOC, especially next year, when the IOC takes a look at the winter sports program, and decides whether to make any changes. This is the sort of result that is needed, perhaps, to make sure that the women's hockey tournament remains⁴ part of the Olympic program."

Julie Chu, a forward on the U.S. women's hockey team, is glad to see more competition from other countries.

"I definitely think the gap is closing, and I think it is great for our sport," she said.  "Part of us has to step back and say, 'Well, this is what we want for our sport.' We want it to be competitive⁵.  We want to have a number of teams that can compete every day out there."

There have been even more surprises in the men's hockey tournament.  Switzerland and Finland shut out defending men's gold medalist Canada 2-0 last Saturday and Sunday. Number-10 Latvia tied the sixth-seeded 2002 Olympic silver medalist United States 3-3 in their opening match.  Team USA lost to Sweden 2-1 Sunday, and fell to Slovakia by that same score on Saturday.

The defending world champion Czech Republic was upset by Switzerland and Finland 3-2 and 4-2 respectively, while in another surprise, Russia beat Sweden, 5-0.

In perhaps the biggest shock, Canada, the defending Olympic champion, failed to make the medals round, falling to Russia, 2-0, in the quarterfinals.  The Americans also were ousted⁶ in the quarterfinals Wednesday night, losing to Finland, 4-3. 

American-born Kimberly Benneduce, who now lives in London, likes the trend of more competitive countries.

"I think, actually, the level of play is increasing in other countries," she noted⁷.  "It's nice now, because there are other teams besides just the United States and Canada.  And I think it's the other countries now starting to invest a bit more time and money, and see it is a worthwhile sport."

Some have blamed the run of upsets in the men's tournament on the fact that many of the Olympians double as players in the National Hockey League, which did not take its Olympic break until the Sunday before the opening ceremony. 

The U.S. and Canadian Olympic teams are comprised entirely⁸ of NHL players, while all but one member of the Czech team plays in the NHL.

National Hockey League players had already been playing four months before the Olympic tournament started.  Contrast that with the teams made up of players from the European national leagues.  Most arrived in Turin at least one week before their NHL counterparts⁹.

1 falter   

vi.(嗓音)颤抖，结巴地说；犹豫；蹒跚

参考例句：

• His voice began to falter.他的声音开始发颤。
• As he neared the house his steps faltered.当他走近房子时，脚步迟疑了起来。

2 plentiful   

adj.富裕的，丰富的

参考例句：

• Their family has a plentiful harvest this year.他们家今年又丰收了。
• Rainfall is plentiful in the area.这个地区雨量充足。

3 penalty   

n.处罚，刑罚，罚款

参考例句：

• If you knock the ball with your hand in football,you will suffer a penalty.如果在踢足球时你用手碰到球，你将受到处罚。
• One of those arrested could face the death penalty.被捕的那些人中有一人可能被判死刑。

4 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。

5 competitive   

adj.竞争的，比赛的，好竞争的，有竞争力的

参考例句：

• Some kinds of business are competitive.有些商业是要竞争的。
• These businessmen are both competitive and honourable.这些商人既有竞争性又很诚实。

6 ousted   

驱逐( oust的过去式和过去分词 )； 革职； 罢黜； 剥夺

参考例句：

• He was ousted as chairman. 他的主席职务被革除了。
• He may be ousted by a military takeover. 他可能在一场军事接管中被赶下台。

7 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

8 entirely   

ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
• His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。

9 counterparts   

与对方地位相当的人，与另一方作用相当的物( counterpart的名词复数 )； 同仁

参考例句：

• Deep-sea valleys are the counterparts of the mountain chains. 深海里的峡谷相当于陆地上的山脉。
• Many states have enacted their own counterparts to RCRA and CERCLA. 许多州都已经针对《资源保护和恢复法》和《综合性环境反应、赔偿与责任法案》制定了他们各自的实施细则。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法