VOA标准英语2010年-Boston's World Cup Viewing Parties Ref

U.S.A. fans are disappointed their soccer team is no longer in the World Cup. But, thanks to the U.S. team's inspiring run that has fueled interest in the tournament, they're still watching… and so are soccer fans from around the world who happen to find themselves in the United States.

Eight teams remain, including perennial¹ favorites Brazil and Germany, and the crowds watching the games at U.S. bars, cafes and other venues² are as international as the sport itself.

Vuvuzelas and sambas in Boston

At Café Belo in the working-class Boston suburb of Somerville, Brazilian fans are celebrating a win over Ivory Coast. A four-year-old boy sings 'I am Brazilian, and proud,' while the adults dance barefoot. And there's the yellow and green vuvuzela. Just one of those horns is annoying, but nobody here seems to mind.

 

Credit - Jess Bidgood, WBUR
The action had the fans on their feet, screaming for their team

Everyone's wearing Brazil's national colors, including Danisy Drzic and her husband Balsha. They're from Virginia, in Boston on business. "We just basically went to Quincy Market and asked people where are the Brazilians going to see the game?" Danisy explains.

She's here for a taste of her home country: the fried plantains, the grilled³ pork sausages. She's here to see Brazil score. Balsha Drzic is from Serbia, which also made it to the World Cup Finals. Even so, he's taking this match more seriously than she is. "I like Brazil," he admits, "they're much stronger than in years past. And I hope they go all the way!"

The international flavor of the World Cup continues outside the bar and restaurant, where Liniker Kemke is hanging out after the game. His grandfather immigrated⁴ to Brazil 38 years ago from Germany. And his father named him after a soccer star. But not after [Brazilian star] Pele. Not after [German star] Beckenbauer. After a star player for Germany's rival.

"[It was the] World Cup of 1986," he says. "Lineker was a forward of England team. And my father loved that guy, and he put that name on me. Liniker." This Brazilian with a German grandfather named after an English striker says if Brazil doesn't win the Cup, then he hopes Germany does.

Beer and pretzels for Germany's fans

 

Courtesy Karin Oehlenschlaeger, Goethe Institute
Everyone who came to watch a game got a German flag to wave

Well, so do the people over at Boston's Goethe Institute, which is showing all Germany's games, with free admission for anyone 18 years old and younger. Compared with Café Belo, these viewing parties are a little more organized. You have to register online, which also gets some tickets for Beck's beer and Bavarian pretzels.

And while the crowd is into the game just as much as the Brazilians, Andreas Hilfinger observes it's still very civilized⁵. "If you go to a bar, you always get a lot of drunken thugs. Doesn't seem to be the case here."

"It's like having people over in your living room to watch it. It's much more exciting than watching by yourself, but you don't have random⁶ idiots throwing beers around," he points out.

The German researcher is currently working in Boston, and is here with his U.S. coworkers. There's a Ghanaian in the crowd with his German roommate.

And then there's Japanese student Hidefumi Tomita. "I really like the German people," he says. "If it's Europe, it's Germany, if it's Asia, I support for Japan."

A global game in a global city

 

Courtesy Karin Oehlenschlaeger, Goethe Institute
Boston's Goethe Institute offers German language courses, book discussions... and showings of every one of Germany's World Cup games

Boston's always been an international city, so the excitement here about the World Cup is not surprising… a Japanese student for Germany... a Serb for Brazil... a Brazilian named after an English forward.

Perhaps it's not just the improving U.S. soccer team that's fueling world cup interest among Americans. The passion of these transplanted soccer fans is infectious, and it's making Americans feel more a part of this global game.
 

1 perennial   

adj.终年的；长久的

参考例句：

• I wonder at her perennial youthfulness.我对她青春常驻感到惊讶。
• There's a perennial shortage of teachers with science qualifications.有理科教学资格的老师一直都很短缺。

2 venues   

n.聚集地点( venue的名词复数 )；会场；（尤指）体育比赛场所；犯罪地点

参考例句：

• The band will be playing at 20 different venues on their UK tour. 这个乐队在英国巡回演出期间将在20个不同的地点演出。
• Farmers market corner, 800 meters long, 60 meters wide livestock trading venues. 农牧市场东北角，有长800米，宽60米的牲畜交易场地。 来自互联网

3 grilled   

adj. 烤的, 炙过的, 有格子的 动词grill的过去式和过去分词形式

参考例句：

• He was grilled for two hours before the police let him go. 他被严厉盘查了两个小时后，警察才放他走。
• He was grilled until he confessed. 他被严加拷问，直到他承认为止。

4 immigrated   

v.移入( immigrate的过去式和过去分词 )；移民

参考例句：

• He immigrated from Ulster in 1848. 他1848年从阿尔斯特移民到这里。 来自辞典例句
• Many Pakistanis have immigrated to Britain. 许多巴基斯坦人移居到了英国。 来自辞典例句

5 civilized   

a.有教养的，文雅的

参考例句：

• Racism is abhorrent to a civilized society. 文明社会憎恶种族主义。
• rising crime in our so-called civilized societies 在我们所谓文明社会中日益增多的犯罪行为

6 random   

adj.随机的；任意的；n.偶然的(或随便的)行动

参考例句：

• The list is arranged in a random order.名单排列不分先后。
• On random inspection the meat was found to be bad.经抽查，发现肉变质了。