2007年VOA标准英语-Bears Player Overcomes Long Odds to Reach Super

By Parke Brewer¹
Washington
30 January 2007

There are 32 teams in the National Football League and only two reach the coveted² Super Bowl championship game each season.  This Sunday it is the Chicago Bears and the Indianapolis Colts, playing in Miami, Florida.  And VOA Sports Editor Parke Brewer has the story of one Bears' player who beat long odds³ just to make it in the NFL.

Chicago Bears wide receiver Rashied Davis carries the ball against the Seattle Seahawks in the NFC divisional playoff football game

In a sport where the average player stands one meter 87 centimeters tall and weighs 112 kilograms, Rashied Davis is one of the shortest players in the NFL at one meter 75 centimeters, and one of the lightest at 80 kilograms.

But Davis had to overcome more than his lack of height and weight to become a professional American football player.  He was born in poverty in south central Los Angeles, known for its urban decay⁴ in the 1980s and 1990s.  He was raised with eight brothers and sisters and had to walk dangerous streets ruled by gangs, streets where his father was murdered when Rashied was only eight years old.  He often fell asleep to the sounds of gunfire.  Davis was shielded by his siblings⁵ and somehow avoided the drugs and the violence.

"I didn't have the heart to do it," he said.  "I couldn't go out and bang [get involved] like that.  It's a tough thing.  You're out there fighting for your life.  Every day you step on the street, you step out of your house, you know what I mean, you have to look over your shoulder left and right.  You have to do that anyway, but even more so when you're part of a gang and selling drugs and things like that."

Rashied Davis loved football since he was a child.  He was always an excellent athlete, but he was always too little to fit into a football uniform.  He was still small when he got to high school.  He stood only one meter 62 centimeters and weighed just 40 kilograms, so he never played high school football.  And Davis said he had no idea what he wanted to do after graduating.  And one day it hit him hard.

"You know I didn't play any football.  I didn't do anything.  I was just kind of a wanderer, you know," he recalled.  "I saw myself bothered [in the mirror] in the bathroom at my cousin's house, you know upset, crying and wondering, like, I didn't feel like I was supposed to be doing that.  And it all changed after that."

Davis grew enough in high school and was confident enough in his abilities to try football in college and he played two years for San Jose State University in California.  He was hoping to be drafted by an NFL team, but that did not happen so he played professional indoor American football in the Arena⁶ Football League for three seasons with the San Jose SaberCats.  He was named Most Valuable Player of their 2002 championship team.

While Davis started his career as a defensive⁷ back, he was converted⁸ to a wide receiver and kick returner, signing as a free agent by the NFL's Chicago Bears prior to the 2005 season.  It was not until this season, his second, that Davis caught his first NFL touchdown pass.  And it was the winning score in the Bears' win last September over the Minnesota Vikings.  In this year's playoffs, Davis made a crucial 30-yard catch in overtime⁹ against the Seattle Seahawks to set up the game-winning field goal that helped lead the Chicago Bears back to the Super Bowl for the first time in 21 years.

"Man, it's a tremendous feeling, you know, to be at this level and to be in the Super Bowl when no one expected me even to be in the NFL, you know," he added.  "It's a tremendous feeling to be a contributor, not just on the team, but a contributor who has actually made some plays in the season feels great."

Rashied Davis survived a difficult childhood, never played high school football and was not drafted by an NFL team, but now he is hoping to help lead the Chicago Bears to victory over the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday for the Bears' first Super Bowl title in 21 years.

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 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》

3 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？

4 decay   

vi.腐烂，衰落；n.腐烂，腐朽，衰败状态

参考例句：

• The vegetables have begun to decay.那些蔬菜已开始腐烂。
• Our powers decay in old age.我们的体力在老年时就衰退。

5 siblings   

n.兄弟，姐妹( sibling的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• A triplet sleeps amongst its two siblings. 一个三胞胎睡在其两个同胞之间。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• She has no way of tracking the donor or her half-siblings down. 她没办法找到那个捐精者或她的兄弟姐妹。 来自时文部分

6 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。

7 defensive   

adj.防御的；防卫的；防守的

参考例句：

• Their questions about the money put her on the defensive.他们问到钱的问题，使她警觉起来。
• The Government hastily organized defensive measures against the raids.政府急忙布置了防卫措施抵御空袭。

8 converted   

adj.更换信仰的，修改的v.（使）转变( convert的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）转化；皈依；改变（信仰）

参考例句：

• The hotel is going to be converted into a nursing home. 那家旅馆将被改建成私人疗养院。
• He's living in a converted loft in lower Manhattan. 他住在下曼哈顿的一间改建的阁楼里。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 overtime   

adj.超时的，加班的；adv.加班地

参考例句：

• They are working overtime to finish the work.为了完成任务他们正在加班加点地工作。
• He was paid for the overtime he worked.他领到了加班费。