VOA标准英语2010年-Celebrating Defeat, Drowning Out Vuvuz

A combination of pictures shows supporters from various countries playing vuvuzela horns during the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa

The football World Cup is entering its second round in South Africa and fans are gearing up for another two weeks of world-class football. The tournament, like any major event, has produced its share of stories.

Ghanaian football fans were a gloomy lot Wednesday night as their national team fell to Germany, 1-0, after a tense, tightly fought match.

But the mood a few minutes later turned to one of jubilation¹ after news spread that Ghana had qualified² for the second round because Australia had won the other Group D game against Serbia, 1-0.

The Ghanaians celebrated³ their defeat late into the night.

The change in mood was reversed for Slovenia, the smallest country in the Cup with only two million people.

Slovenia was at the top of Group C. But the plucky⁴ team fell to third place and an early flight home after the United States scored the winning goal against Algeria during injury time and Slovenia lost to England 1-0.

On the streets of Johannesburg football paraphernalia⁵ vendors⁶ were in mourning, not just because South Africa failed to qualify for the second round of the World Cup. Most South Africans were proud of their team's 2-1 win over France.

Their complaint was that the bottom had fallen out of sales of South African shirts, hats and horns which had provided the bulk of their business.

And the French? The bickering⁷ squad⁸ returned home under police protection and to a chilly⁹ reception from fans after being knocked out of the Cup and failing to win a single game.

Italy, World Cup champions in 2006, received a similar reception as they returned home early following a win-less first round and loss Thursday to low-ranked Slovakia, 3-2.

The controversial vuvuzela continued to dominate headlines just as noise from the monotonal horns has dominated the sound track of this football festival.

A Johannesburg clinic warned that fans sharing the plastic horns risked spreading germs. Experts have also warned that the instruments are loud enough to damage ear nerves and some have called for them to be banned.

This call is opposed by vendors at the 10 stadiums who have done a brisk business selling ear plugs at a dollar or two each.

South African fans singing the song, Shosoloza, at times drowned out the vuvuzelas during South Africa's win over France.

Shosoloza, as heard in this recording¹⁰ by Peter Gabriel, first emerged as a work song in South African mines but is now sung at sporting events to encourage the home team.

The singing of German fans also drowned out the buzzing trumpets¹¹ at times during their victory over Ghana.

Despite its unpopularity in some places, the appeal of the vuvuzela appears to be spreading. Foreign fans leaving South Africa have been seen at airports buying dozens of the horns at a time to take home as presents and, no doubt, blow at local matches.

 

1 jubilation   

n.欢庆，喜悦

参考例句：

• The goal was greeted by jubilation from the home fans.主场球迷为进球欢呼。
• The whole city was a scene of jubilation.全市一片欢腾。

2 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。

3 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。

4 plucky   

adj.勇敢的

参考例句：

• The plucky schoolgirl amazed doctors by hanging on to life for nearly two months.这名勇敢的女生坚持不放弃生命近两个月的精神令医生感到震惊。
• This story featured a plucky heroine.这个故事描述了一个勇敢的女英雄。

5 paraphernalia   

n.装备；随身用品

参考例句：

• Can you move all your paraphernalia out of the way?你可以把所有的随身物品移开吗？
• All my fishing paraphernalia is in the car.我的鱼具都在汽车里。

6 vendors   

n.摊贩( vendor的名词复数 )；小贩；（房屋等的）卖主；卖方

参考例句：

• The vendors were gazundered at the last minute. 卖主在最后一刻被要求降低房价。
• At the same time, interface standards also benefIt'software vendors. 同时，界面标准也有利于软件开发商。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓

7 bickering   

v.争吵( bicker的现在分词 )；口角；（水等）作潺潺声；闪烁

参考例句：

• The children are always bickering about something or other. 孩子们有事没事总是在争吵。
• The two children were always bickering with each other over small matters. 这两个孩子总是为些小事斗嘴。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

8 squad   

n.班，小队，小团体；vt.把…编成班或小组

参考例句：

• The squad leader ordered the men to mark time.班长命令战士们原地踏步。
• A squad is the smallest unit in an army.班是军队的最小构成单位。

9 chilly   

adj.凉快的，寒冷的

参考例句：

• I feel chilly without a coat.我由于没有穿大衣而感到凉飕飕的。
• I grew chilly when the fire went out.炉火熄灭后，寒气逼人。

10 recording   

n.录音，记录

参考例句：

• How long will the recording of the song take?录下这首歌得花多少时间？
• I want to play you a recording of the rehearsal.我想给你放一下彩排的录像。

11 trumpets   

喇叭( trumpet的名词复数 )； 小号； 喇叭形物； （尤指）绽开的水仙花

参考例句：

• A wreath was laid on the monument to a fanfare of trumpets. 在响亮的号角声中花圈被献在纪念碑前。
• A fanfare of trumpets heralded the arrival of the King. 嘹亮的小号声宣告了国王驾到。