环球英语 — 193：Women’s Football in Africa

　　Voice 1
Hello, I’m Mike Procter.
Voice 2
And I’m Joshua Leo. Welcome to Spotlight¹. This programme uses a special English method of broadcasting. It is easier for people to understand, no matter where in the world they live.
Voice 1
Fadzani Nnandzwa climbed on to the bus. It was full of people - and animals! No seats were empty. Everyone from the village seemed to be going to town. Fadzani had to stand for the whole bus ride. Soon, the bus reached town. But this was not the end of Fadzani’s travels. She had two more buses to ride on. She had to travel fourteen hundred [1400] kilometres. She was feeling very tired. But she did not care. She could only think about one thing - what would happen at the end of her trip. Two days later, she finally arrived in Gaborone. She was very proud to be in the capital city of her country, Botswana. But she was even more excited about the reason that she was there.
Voice 2
Fadzani is a school teacher. But she also trains children how to play football. She went to Gaborone to attend two days of football training for trainers. It was the first time she had been in Botswana’s national football centre. The English football authority² had organized the event. Two top trainers, or coaches, came from England. Twenty-three [23] female³ teachers attended the event. The coaches wanted to show the women how to improve their football teaching⁴ skills. And this is exactly what Fadzani needed. She explained:
Voice 3
“I have always wanted to teach football. When I was young, I played tennis and volleyball. People expected girls to play only sports where you use your hands. People did not think that girls should lift their feet off the ground.”
Voice 1
Fadzani is looking forward to using her new teaching skills. She had been training a boys’ football team in another town. This town was far away from her home. She had to travel eight hours every week to train this team. But now, she has moved to a new school. And she wants to start a girls’ football team there. She says:
Voice 3
“Girls in Botswana watch football games on television. And they have football computer games - just like the boys. The girls believe they can play football. But there are problems.”
Voice 2
And these problems are not just in Botswana. Women footballers across Africa face the same problems - a lack of money and men’s negative opinions about sportswomen. A recent international game between Namibia and Zimbabwe showed this very well. The groundmen did not prepare the football field in the right way. So the players had to mark the field themselves before the game could start!
Voice 1
The trainers from England understand that Africa needs female football coaches. Karabo Mponang is a football trainer in Botswana. She explained more:
Voice 4
“Most of our coaches now are men. And some of them shout a lot. Sometimes a male coach may visit a young girl’s house. He tells her parents that she is going on a two-week football camp. The parents will not trust the man. What will he do with their little girl? But if it is a female coach, that is different. That is why it is beautiful that all these women attended the training event.”
Voice 1
Doctor Nomsa Mbere is a member of the Botswana National Sports Council⁵. She talks about another problem facing many African sportswomen:
Voice 5
“There is a lot of violence⁶ in the home. So, we have a lot of single-parent families. Often, it is women who are the head of these families. We say we want women to play sport. If that is true, then we need to help them look after their children.”
Voice 1
Yes, there are problems. But let us take a quick look around the world of African women’s football. It shows that encouraging things are happening too.
Voice 2
Burundi and Liberia have women as leaders of their football organizations.
Voice 1
In Sudan, change is happening. Usually, there are special rules about what women should wear when they are playing sport. But the religious⁷ authorities⁸ decided⁹ to change these rules. So now, women can wear the right kind of clothes for playing football.
Voice 2
In Nigeria, the government decided to employ women football players. This means¹⁰ that the women still receive wages - even when they miss work to play football for their country.
Voice 1
2007 is a special year for women’s football. Why? Well, it is Women’s Football World Cup year. And Nigeria’s women’s team will be there. Another West African team, Ghana, will also take part in the competition. These two teams will join fourteen [14] other teams from around the world. They will all gather in China in September - to do battle on the football field!
Voice 2
The women’s team of Nigeria call themselves the “Super Falcons¹¹”. Like the bird of the same name, the Falcons hope to “fly high” above the other teams that they will play against. These teams include the United¹² States - the current¹³ world champions. The team from Ghana are the “Black Queens”. They want to improve on results from past World Cup games. One thing is for sure. The women of Africa will be very happy if either team plays in the World Cup final. For them, it is not an impossible dream.
Voice 1
Women footballers in Africa have asked the football authorities to help them. And the Confederation of African Football, or CAF, is trying to make women’s football more popular - training women coaches, starting girls’ teams .And now is the time to do this. The men’s World Cup competition will take place in South Africa in 2010. Many people with influence and money will visit the continent. CAF hope they will like what they see - and be willing¹⁴ to invest¹⁵ in developing¹⁶ the women’s game.
Voice 2
The future of women’s football is very promising¹⁷. It is still a struggle. But it is a battle African women are willing to fight. Nwako from Botswana says:
Voice 6
“My father is against me learning¹⁸ how to train football teams. I have been like this my whole life. But he will never understand. He is always saying, ‘Why not do something else?’ But what else? Football is what I love.”
Voice 1
The idea of women’s football is a problem for some people. However, many agree with the world football authority’s development officer for South Africa - Ashford Manelodi. He said:
Voice 7
“Women’s football is here to stay. It cannot be wished away.”
Voice 2
The writer and producer of today’s programme was Ruby¹⁹ Jones. The voices you heard were from the United Kingdom, the United States and South Africa. All quotations²⁰ were adapted for this programme. This programme is called “Women’s Football in Africa.”
 

1 spotlight   

n.公众注意的中心，聚光灯，探照灯，视听，注意，醒目

参考例句：

• This week the spotlight is on the world of fashion.本周引人瞩目的是时装界。
• The spotlight followed her round the stage.聚光灯的光圈随着她在舞台上转。

2 authority   

n.当局，官方；权力，权威，威信；当权者

参考例句：

• He is recognized internationally as an authority in this field.国际上承认他是这方面的一个权威。
• Professor White is looked upon as an authority on mathematics.怀特教授被看成数学权威。

3 female   

adj.雌的，女(性)的；n.雌性的动物，女子

参考例句：

• We only employ female workers.我们只雇用女工。
• The animal in the picture was a female elephant.照片上的动物是头母象。

4 teaching   

n.教学，执教，任教，讲授；(复数)教诲

参考例句：

• We all agree in adopting the new teaching method. 我们一致同意采取新的教学方法。
• He created a new system of teaching foreign languages.他创造了一种新的外语教学体系。

5 council   

n.理事会，委员会，议事机构

参考例句：

• The town council passed a law forbidding the distribution of handbills.市议会通过法律，禁止散发传单。
• The city council has declared for improving the public bus system.市议会宣布同意改进公共汽车系统。

6 violence   

n.暴力，暴虐，暴行，猛烈，强烈，强暴

参考例句：

• It was an absolutely senseless act of violence.这是毫无意义的暴力行为。
• They attacked with violence.他们猛烈攻击。

7 religious   

adj.宗教性的，虔诚的，宗教上的；n.修道士，出家人

参考例句：

• She is very religious person who goes to church every Sunday.她十分虔诚，每个星期天都上教堂。
• It is hard for me to reject religious beliefs.要我抛弃自己的宗教信仰是困难的。

8 authorities   

n.当局，权力，权威；权威( authority的名词复数 )；权力；学术权威；[复数]当权者

参考例句：

• They interceded with the authorities on behalf of the detainees. 他们为被拘留者向当局求情。
• At his instigation we conceal the fact from the authorities. 我们受他的怂恿向当局隐瞒了事实。 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 means   

n.方法，手段，折中点，物质财富

参考例句：

• That man used artful means to find out secrets.那人使用狡猾的手段获取机密。
• We must get it done by some means or other.我们总得想办法把它干完。

11 falcons   

n.猎鹰( falcon的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Peregrine falcons usually pluck the feathers and strip the flesh off their bird prey. 游隼捕到鸟类猎物时，通常是先拔掉它们的羽毛，再把肉撕下来。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Though he doubted the wisdom of using falcons, Dr. de la Fuente undertook the project. 虽然德·拉·富恩特博士怀疑使用游隼是否明智，但他还是执行了这项计划。 来自辞典例句

12 united   

adj.和谐的；团结的；联合的，统一的

参考例句：

• The whole nation is closely united.全国人民紧密团结。
• The two men were united by community of interests.共同的利益使两个人结合在一起。

13 current   

n.涌流，趋势，电流，水流，气流；adj.当前的，通用的，流通的，现在的，草写的，最近的

参考例句：

• Electric current is often powerful enough to kill a man.电流常强得足以致命。
• There is a story about her in the current number.最近一期上有关于她的故事。

14 willing   

adj.愿意的，自愿的，乐意的，心甘情愿的

参考例句：

• We never lack food and clothing if we're willing to work.如果我们愿意工作,就不会缺吃少穿。
• He's quite willing to pay the price I ask.他很愿意照我的要价付钱。

15 invest   

v.投资；投入(时间等)；授予，赋予

参考例句：

• I have decided to invest in a new car.我已经决定买一辆新汽车。
• The best time to invest is now.现在是投资的最佳时机。

16 developing   

adj.发展中的

参考例句：

• Transport has always been the key to developing trade.运输一直是发展贸易的关键。
• They are developing marketing network.他们正在发展销售网络。

17 promising   

adj.有希望的，有前途的

参考例句：

• The results of the experiments are very promising.实验的结果充满了希望。
• We're trying to bring along one or two promising young swimmers.我们正设法培养出一两名有前途的年轻游泳选手。

18 learning   

n.学问，学识，学习；动词learn的现在分词

参考例句：

• When you are learning to ride a bicycle,you often fall off.初学骑自行车时，常会从车上掉下来。
• Learning languages isn't just a matter of remembering words.学习语言不仅仅是记些单词的事。

19 ruby   

n.红宝石，红宝石色

参考例句：

• She is wearing a small ruby earring.她戴着一枚红宝石小耳环。
• On the handle of his sword sat the biggest ruby in the world.他的剑柄上镶有一颗世上最大的红宝石。

20 quotations   

n.引用( quotation的名词复数 )；[商业]行情（报告）；（货物或股票的）市价；时价

参考例句：

• The insurance company requires three quotations for repairs to the car. 保险公司要修理这辆汽车的三家修理厂的报价单。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• These quotations cannot readily be traced to their sources. 这些引语很难查出出自何处。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》