2007年VOA标准英语-US Women's Soccer Team Opens World Cup with a D

By Jim Stevenson
Chengdu, China
11 September 2007

A wet field and steady rain made playing conditions difficult as the top-ranked United States and North Korea played at the Women's World Cup in China. But as VOA's Jim Stevenson reports from Chengdu, it was a coaching decision that may have cost the Americans a win.

North Korean women (in red) play US at World Cup in China

With FIFA president Sepp Blatter in attendance, the first half was scoreless and statistically¹ balanced. The wet field did not disrupt the Americans' crisp passing while the North Koreans displayed energy and speed.

The second half opened with a U.S. score by Abby Wambach in the 50th minute. But five minutes later she was hit hard in the head. U.S. coach Greg Ryan decided² not to replace her as Wambach departed to receive stitches. He chose instead to wait for Wambach's return while playing the North Koreans one player short.

During that time, a quick pair of goals by Kil Son-hui and substitute Kim Yong-ae gave North Korea the lead.

Wambach returned to the lineup, and she helped spark the tying goal by Heather O'Reilly. Ryan talks about his decision not to replace his injured star forward. "It was a very tough call. The doctors said they could get her back in within just a few minutes. Abby is such an important player to this team. I thought we could withstand playing 11 against 10. North Korea is a great team. But the two goals we gave up I do not think were great goals. I think they were goals we could have stopped," he said.

Through an interpreter, North Korean coach Kim Kwan Min says he learned a lot from playing the U.S. women. "As for the first match for my team, it provides us with a very good chance first of all to know what is the exact criteria³ level (skill level) for winning FIFA's World Cup. Secondly⁴ by playing this match, we will know how to adjust our team and prepare better for upcoming games," he said.

In other action, Swedish captain Victoria Svensson and Nigerian forward Cynthia Uwak netted second-half goals as Sweden and Nigeria tied, 1-1. The result means Group-B is deadlocked⁵ with each team collecting one point from the opening games.

In Shanghai, England played Japan to a 2-2 draw in Group-A. Defending champion Germany leads that group after setting a Women's World Cup single-game scoring record Monday in an 11-0 rout⁶ against Argentina.

1 statistically   

ad.根据统计数据来看，从统计学的观点来看

参考例句：

• The sample of building permits is larger and therefore, statistically satisfying. 建筑许可数的样本比较大，所以统计数据更令人满意。
• The results of each test would have to be statistically independent. 每次试验的结果在统计上必须是独立的。

2 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。

3 criteria   

n.标准

参考例句：

• The main criterion is value for money.主要的标准是钱要用得划算。
• There are strict criteria for inclusion in the competition.参赛的标准很严格。

4 secondly   

adv.第二，其次

参考例句：

• Secondly,use your own head and present your point of view.第二，动脑筋提出自己的见解。
• Secondly it is necessary to define the applied load.其次，需要确定所作用的载荷。

5 deadlocked   

陷入僵局的；僵持不下的

参考例句：

• The plan deadlocked over the funds. 这个计划由于经费问题而搁浅了。
• The meeting deadlocked over the wage issue. 会议因工资问题而停顿下来。

6 rout   

n.溃退，溃败；v.击溃，打垮

参考例句：

• The enemy was put to rout all along the line.敌人已全线崩溃。
• The people's army put all to rout wherever they went.人民军队所向披靡。