2006年VOA标准英语-US Soccer Looks to Future After World Cup

By Parke Brewer¹
Nuremberg
23 June 2006

U.S. soccer must look to the future, after a disappointing first round exit from the World Cup in Germany. VOA Sports Editor Parke Brewer followed their matches in Germany and has a report.

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Bruce Arena²   
  
The speculation³ has already started about the future of U.S. soccer and particularly that of head coach Bruce Arena.

The 55-year-old Arena has been the coach for eight years, the longest for any team at the World Cup. He has been the most successful coach in U.S. soccer history. After he led the USA to a surprising quarterfinal berth⁴ at the 2002 World Cup, there were high hopes for the team in Germany.

But Arena and other followers⁵ of U.S. soccer knew when the tournament draw was held last December that the Americans would face a daunting⁶ challenge. They were placed in one of the most, if not the most, difficult groups with Italy, the Czech Republic and Ghana.
  
 
Ghana's Haminu Draman (l) with US team's Landon Donovan
  
In the first match against the Czech Republic, ranked second in the world, the USA conceded a goal in the first five minutes, and that seemed to set the tone for the team's fate. The Americans lost, 3-0. They also fell behind by yielding goals before the 30-minute mark in their other two group games. They gained a valiant⁷ 1-1 tie with powerful Italy, playing a man down for nearly the entire second half, but lost to Ghana in their third match Friday, 2-1, sending the African nation to the second round in its World Cup debut⁸. A win would have put the Americans through.

Coach Arena said the U.S. team's failure to equal its performance from four years ago should not have a negative impact on the game in the United States.

"U.S. soccer has a bright future. I think in another group we would have had better chances to advance. I think we were among the top half of the teams in this tournament. I think, in the future, I would say to FIFA, they should be seeding the 32 teams, and not have groups like this. But I think we continue to get better. Despite the two losses, I think we demonstrated that we could, play. You see, some of the other groups, some of the games were very lopsided. This group was a real battle," he said.

US midfielder Ben Olsen, left, tries to hold defender⁹ Chris Albright back as they warm up during training in Norderstedt, Germany  
  
U.S. Soccer Federation¹⁰ President Sunil Gulati was as disappointed as other followers, and put the team's first-round exit in perspective.

"I guess all of us feel a little like the 100-yard [meter] sprinters do when you work for four years [for the Olympics], and you've got 10 seconds to make it or break it. And so [at the World Cup] it comes down to three [first round group] games, and everything gets evaluated on those three games. But it's been a pretty good four-year period in qualifying, and so on. But this is where the entire world is watching. This is where you measure yourself. That didn't come out well. So we'll certainly look at it and see what we do," he said.

Bruce Arena's coaching contract with the U.S. soccer team runs until the end of this year, and Gulati said there will be no hasty decision.

"I said it before the tournament, where our heads [thoughts] were on Bruce, we are not going to be solely¹¹ determined¹² by three games. He didn't become a bad coach in these three games. He's had an extraordinary record for us, and has done extraordinary things for American soccer. We don't solve our issues by changing coaches, then figure out what went wrong. We'll look at the situation in a sensible way, the entire record. And it's not just the entire record of Bruce. It's the entire record of what we've done as an organization. We'll look at the whole thing," he said.

Bruce Arena has said he might like to coach in Europe and has indicated he has other opportunities he needs to examine. It remains to be determined whether those will be options or necessities

1 brewer   

n. 啤酒制造者

参考例句：

• Brewer is a very interesting man. 布鲁尔是一个很有趣的人。
• I decided to quit my job to become a brewer. 我决定辞职，做一名酿酒人。

2 arena   

n.竞技场，运动场所；竞争场所，舞台

参考例句：

• She entered the political arena at the age of 25. 她25岁进入政界。
• He had not an adequate arena for the exercise of his talents.他没有充分发挥其才能的场所。

3 speculation   

n.思索，沉思；猜测；投机

参考例句：

• Her mind is occupied with speculation.她的头脑忙于思考。
• There is widespread speculation that he is going to resign.人们普遍推测他要辞职。

4 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。

5 followers   

追随者( follower的名词复数 )； 用户； 契据的附面； 从动件

参考例句：

• the followers of Mahatma Gandhi 圣雄甘地的拥护者
• The reformer soon gathered a band of followers round him. 改革者很快就获得一群追随者支持他。

6 daunting   

adj.使人畏缩的

参考例句：

• They were faced with the daunting task of restoring the house.他们面临着修复房子的艰巨任务。
• Starting a new job can be a daunting prospect.开始一项新工作有时会让人望而却步。

7 valiant   

adj.勇敢的，英勇的；n.勇士，勇敢的人

参考例句：

• He had the fame of being very valiant.他的勇敢是出名的。
• Despite valiant efforts by the finance minister,inflation rose to 36%.尽管财政部部长采取了一系列果决措施，通货膨胀率还是涨到了36%。

8 debut   

n.首次演出，初次露面

参考例句：

• That same year he made his Broadway debut, playing a suave radio journalist.在那同一年里，他初次在百老汇登台，扮演一个温文而雅的电台记者。
• The actress made her debut in the new comedy.这位演员在那出新喜剧中首次登台演出。

9 defender   

n.保卫者，拥护者，辩护人

参考例句：

• He shouldered off a defender and shot at goal.他用肩膀挡开防守队员，然后射门。
• The defender argued down the prosecutor at the court.辩护人在法庭上驳倒了起诉人。

10 federation   

n.同盟，联邦，联合，联盟，联合会

参考例句：

• It is a federation of 10 regional unions.它是由十个地方工会结合成的联合会。
• Mr.Putin was inaugurated as the President of the Russian Federation.普京正式就任俄罗斯联邦总统。

11 solely   

adv.仅仅，唯一地

参考例句：

• Success should not be measured solely by educational achievement.成功与否不应只用学业成绩来衡量。
• The town depends almost solely on the tourist trade.这座城市几乎完全靠旅游业维持。

12 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。