2006年VOA标准英语-Longshots George Mason Look to Continue Ba

By David Byrd
Fairfax, Virginia
29 March 2006

They have beaten three former national champions on their way to U.S. college basketball's "Final Four." Fairfax Virginia's George Mason University Patriots¹ are not ready for the magic to end. The school is hoping that the teamwork that brought it this far will take it to the national title.

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George Mason statue   
  

George Mason University is what is known as a "commuter² school" - with many of its students coming from or living in the local area. But it actually has more students than its former parent - the University of Virginia.

Located about 34 kilometers outside of Washington, George Mason started in 1957 as a branch of the University of Virginia. The school became independent in 1972 and was renamed George Mason University for the Virginia planter who was a signer of the U.S. Declaration of Independence.

GMU has nearly 30,000 students, more than 80 percent of whom live in the local area. The GMU Patriots play in what is known as the Colonial Athletic³ Association, which features schools such as Old Dominion⁴ and Hofstra. But this month, they have shocked the nation - and their opponents - by beating Michigan State, reigning⁵ champion North Carolina and Connecticut. 

T-shirt line at GMU  
  
Just a few days before Mason plays the University of Florida in the NCAA tournament, a line snakes out of the student union into the bookstore to purchase "Final Four" T-Shirts. Carri Vitello is one of the managers of the story and she says the line for Mason Final Four T-Shirts has not stopped since the Patriots beat Connecticut Sunday.

"It is hard to tell," said Carri Vitello. "At this point we are well over 12,000 [sold]. And we just got in another 3,000 or so, and we are looking at another 5,000 or so this afternoon. Students, parents, alumni, members of the community, faculty⁶, staff, you name it they are buying it. "

Some of the students in line include, Freddie Telhami a freshman⁷ from Springfield, Virginia, with a close-cropped haircut, a large chain and an earring⁸ and David Mposa, a Springfield, Virginia native of African descent. Both are predicting a win for George Mason, but they differ on the score.

Mposa: "Ahhhhhh. 70-65 Mason."

Telhami: "I'm going to say, mmm. I'm going to say 83-76. It's going to be high scoring."

Also in line are Jasmine Yusef, a junior studying psychology⁹ and Nita Kahn, Both are slightly-built young women wearing Muslim hejab head coverings. The two girls had been in line for about two hours to get a "Mason Final Four" t-shirt. Jasmine says the teams success has helped the school's image.

"It's really exciting to be in the Final Four," said Jasmine Yusef. "Mason doesn't really get a a lot of coverage¹⁰ so it is exciting, yeah."
 
 
George Mason University Cheerleaders
  
At the final rally before the team leaves for Indianapolis to play Florida, junior cheerleader Laura Lazarus told VOA Sports this is the most excited she has seen the school in her three years there.

"It has been amazing, it is like a dream come true," said Laura Lazarus. "This is my third year at Mason and we have not had anything this exciting since I have been here. It has just been absolutely incredible seeing the entire student body as excited about Mason as we are. So it's been incredible."

 
Jim Larranaga 
  
Shortly after the interview, she is on stage to cheer Patriots' coach Jim Larranaga, who sets off a raucous¹¹ celebration when he takes the microphone. Larranaga, a 56-year-old former assistant coach at Virginia has led the Patriots for nine years. He told the packed student union that his anniversary comes on the day Mason plays Florida.

"I arrived here April 1st, 1997," said Jim Larranaga. "And on my ninth anniversary we will be playing the University of Florida, with the winner advancing to the national championship on Monday night. I have been trying to think long and hard as to what I could possible ask for as an anniversary present. You guys have any ideas?"

George Mason started the tournament as a 500-1 underdog. Not great odds¹², but the Patriots have surprised both observers and opponents with a team-oriented game that is strong on defense¹³. Larranaga says that he is hoping that the Florida Gators get the same surprise that Michigan State, North Carolina, and Connecticut got.

"The night we played the University of North Carolina, in the locker¹⁴ room my last message to our players was this," he said. "I said to our guys, North Carolina fans think they are supermen. But our fans know we are Kryptonite [which weakens Superman]."

If George Mason beats Florida, the Patriots would face the winner of the other semifinal between Louisiana State and UCLA. The Fairfax school also stands to profit financially from its success. According to a company that measures sports sponsorships, the school has earned an extra $4 million from its success so far. Should George Mason win the national title, that number could almost triple.

1 patriots   

爱国者，爱国主义者( patriot的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Abraham Lincoln was a fine type of the American patriots. 亚伯拉罕·林肯是美国爱国者的优秀典型。
• These patriots would fight to death before they surrendered. 这些爱国者宁愿战斗到死，也不愿投降。

2 commuter   

n.(尤指市郊之间)乘公交车辆上下班者

参考例句：

• Police cordoned off the road and diverted commuter traffic. 警察封锁了道路并分流交通。
• She accidentally stepped on his foot on a crowded commuter train. 她在拥挤的通勤列车上不小心踩到了他的脚。

3 athletic   

adj.擅长运动的，强健的；活跃的，体格健壮的

参考例句：

• This area has been marked off for athletic practice.这块地方被划出来供体育训练之用。
• He is an athletic star.他是一个运动明星。

4 dominion   

n.统治，管辖，支配权；领土，版图

参考例句：

• Alexander held dominion over a vast area.亚历山大曾统治过辽阔的地域。
• In the affluent society,the authorities are hardly forced to justify their dominion.在富裕社会里，当局几乎无需证明其统治之合理。

5 reigning   

adj.统治的，起支配作用的

参考例句：

• The sky was dark, stars were twinkling high above, night was reigning, and everything was sunk in silken silence. 天很黑，星很繁，夜阑人静。
• Led by Huang Chao, they brought down the reigning house after 300 years' rule. 在黄巢的带领下，他们推翻了统治了三百年的王朝。

6 faculty   

n.才能；学院，系；(学院或系的)全体教学人员

参考例句：

• He has a great faculty for learning foreign languages.他有学习外语的天赋。
• He has the faculty of saying the right thing at the right time.他有在恰当的时候说恰当的话的才智。

7 freshman   

n.大学一年级学生(可兼指男女)

参考例句：

• Jack decided to live in during his freshman year at college.杰克决定大一时住校。
• He is a freshman in the show business.他在演艺界是一名新手。

8 earring   

n.耳环，耳饰

参考例句：

• How long have you worn that earring?你戴那个耳环多久了？
• I have an earring but can't find its companion.我现在只有一只耳环,找不到另一只了。

9 psychology   

n.心理，心理学，心理状态

参考例句：

• She has a background in child psychology.她受过儿童心理学的教育。
• He studied philosophy and psychology at Cambridge.他在剑桥大学学习哲学和心理学。

10 coverage   

n.报导，保险范围，保险额，范围，覆盖

参考例句：

• There's little coverage of foreign news in the newspaper.报纸上几乎没有国外新闻报道。
• This is an insurance policy with extensive coverage.这是一项承保范围广泛的保险。

11 raucous   

adj.(声音)沙哑的，粗糙的

参考例句：

• I heard sounds of raucous laughter upstairs.我听见楼上传来沙哑的笑声。
• They heard a bottle being smashed,then more raucous laughter.他们听见酒瓶摔碎的声音，然后是一阵更喧闹的笑声。

12 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？

13 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

14 locker   

n.更衣箱，储物柜，冷藏室，上锁的人

参考例句：

• At the swimming pool I put my clothes in a locker.在游泳池我把衣服锁在小柜里。
• He moved into the locker room and began to slip out of his scrub suit.他走进更衣室把手术服脱下来。