2006年VOA标准英语-Brazil Highlights World Cup Group F Action

By David Byrd
Washington
23 May 2006
 
When the World Cup gets under way in Germany next month, the odds-on favorite - Brazil - faces Croatia, Australia and Japan in the first round. The Brazilians should have an easy time making it out of group play and is considered the team to beat in Germany.

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Brazilian world cup team  
  

Brazil is synonymous with what is called "The Beautiful Game," a style of football that features precise passing, dazzling footwork, and amazing goal scoring.

Brazil lost only twice in 18 games on its way to the World Cup, and has captured the coveted¹ trophy² five times. Brazil is also the reigning³ champion, having defeated Germany, 2-0, in the final four years ago. International football expert commentator⁴ Derek Rae from Scotland says even if Brazil suffered a first-round setback⁵ this year, the South Americans are the team to beat.

"For me they are the overwhelming favorites to win the World Cup," Rae says. "You never know in a World Cup what is going to happen because they can run into one game - one nightmare game - such as the great Brazilian side of 1982 did against Italy - and all of a sudden the dream was over. But I do not see that game coming in the Group phase and even if it does, Brazil ought to be good enough to go through."
 

Ronaldo  
  
The Brazilians open their World Cup campaign against Croatia June 13 in Berlin. Australia and Japan are also in Group F.

Australia qualified⁶ for only its second World Cup with a nail biting penalty shoot-out win over Uruguay in a two-legged playoff. Croatia had an easier time winning its qualifying group.

Australia's fan base could be somewhat divided. There are a number of ethnic⁷ Croatians who live in Australia, and Derek Rae says divided loyalties⁸ could make life interesting for the so-called "Socceroos." Rae points out one of the players as an example.

"Josip Simunic is an interesting character in this game because he's a key member of the Croatian side who is Australian-born and bred and then decided⁹ he wanted to play for Croatia, the country of his parents," notes Rae. "That was very controversial in Australia a few years ago because he had gone through the Australian developmental system, which is funded by the Australian taxpayers¹⁰."

The Croatians finished third in the World Cup in 1998 but failed to qualify in 2002. Derek Rae says while Croatia should be favored to advance, Australia or Japan could also join Brazil in the second round.

"On experience you would probably say Croatia are the favorites. Again, the World Cup being in Europe is going to help them greatly. They are going to have plenty of support in Germany, there is little doubt about that," he says. "But there are one or two doubts in my mind about this particular Croatian side as to whether they have the quality that we saw from the Croatians back in 1998. But, Croatia, Australia, Japan, take your pick."

Japan finished atop its Asian qualifying group, but had to score last-minute wins over Oman and North Korea to get to Germany. The Japanese team qualified for the World Cup for the first time in 1998 and had an automatic berth¹¹ in 2002 because it was the co-host.

1 coveted   

adj.令人垂涎的；垂涎的，梦寐以求的v.贪求，觊觎(covet的过去分词)；垂涎；贪图

参考例句：

• He had long coveted the chance to work with a famous musician. 他一直渴望有机会与著名音乐家一起工作。
• Ther other boys coveted his new bat. 其他的男孩都想得到他的新球棒。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 trophy   

n.优胜旗，奖品，奖杯，战胜品，纪念品

参考例句：

• The cup is a cherished trophy of the company.那只奖杯是该公司很珍惜的奖品。
• He hung the lion's head as a trophy.他把那狮子头挂起来作为狩猎纪念品。

3 reigning   

adj.统治的，起支配作用的

参考例句：

• The sky was dark, stars were twinkling high above, night was reigning, and everything was sunk in silken silence. 天很黑，星很繁，夜阑人静。
• Led by Huang Chao, they brought down the reigning house after 300 years' rule. 在黄巢的带领下，他们推翻了统治了三百年的王朝。

4 commentator   

n.注释者，解说者；实况广播评论员

参考例句：

• He is a good commentator because he can get across the game.他能简单地解说这场比赛，是个好的解说者。
• The commentator made a big mistake during the live broadcast.在直播节目中评论员犯了个大错误。

5 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。

6 qualified   

adj.合格的，有资格的，胜任的，有限制的

参考例句：

• He is qualified as a complete man of letters.他有资格当真正的文学家。
• We must note that we still lack qualified specialists.我们必须看到我们还缺乏有资质的专家。

7 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。

8 loyalties   

n.忠诚( loyalty的名词复数 )；忠心；忠于…感情；要忠于…的强烈感情

参考例句：

• an intricate network of loyalties and relationships 忠诚与义气构成的盘根错节的网络
• Rows with one's in-laws often create divided loyalties. 与姻亲之间的矛盾常常让人两面为难。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

10 taxpayers   

纳税人，纳税的机构( taxpayer的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Finance for education comes from taxpayers. 教育经费来自纳税人。
• She was declaiming against the waste of the taxpayers' money. 她慷慨陈词猛烈抨击对纳税人金钱的浪费。

11 berth   

n.卧铺，停泊地，锚位；v.使停泊

参考例句：

• She booked a berth on the train from London to Aberdeen.她订了一张由伦敦开往阿伯丁的火车卧铺票。
• They took up a berth near the harbor.他们在港口附近找了个位置下锚。