VOA标准英语2008年-US Olympic Baseball Team Seeks Glory, Redemptio

By Teresa Sullivan
Washington
30 May 2008

The U.S. national baseball team will be seeking its second gold medal - and redemption - at the Beijing Olympics in August. The United States won the gold medal in 2000, but failed to qualify for the 2004 Athens Games. Baseball is making what could be its final appearance as an Olympic sport following the International Olympic Committee's decision to drop it from the 2012 Games in London. As VOA's Teresa Sullivan reports, the IOC will vote next year on whether to reinstate baseball for the 2016 Olympics, and beyond.

Baseball. The so-called "Great American Pastime." A game of tradition. A game of numbers. The Major Leagues are often called simply "The Show," and players referred to as the "Boys of Summer."

American Alexander Joy Cartwright invented modern baseball in 1845. Over the last 163 years, its popularity has spread across the globe, especially throughout the Americas and Asia.

But a sport that's been described as "Ballet without music. Drama without words," (Ernie Harwell, "The Game for All America," 1955) and "Heaven's gift to mortals" (George Will, "Bunts," 1999) apparently¹ has not become international enough for Olympic organizers. In 2005, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) voted, albeit² narrowly, to cut baseball from the 2012 Olympics. (Women's) softball also was cut.

The international governing bodies for both amateur baseball and softball can apply for reinstatement in 2009 when the IOC votes on which sports to include at the 2016 Summer Games.

U.S. Olympic baseball team general manager, Bob Watson, says USA Baseball was very disappointed by the IOC's decision, but he is looking to the future.

"With the vote coming up in '09, we feel that our performance in the '08 Olympics will go a long way," said Bob Watson. "The bottom line is this: baseball needs to be in the Olympics."

Baseball and softball became the first sports to be voted out of the Olympics since equestrian³ polo was eliminated in 1936.

While polo is known as the "Sport of Kings," baseball is considered a game just about anyone with a bat and a ball can play.

Baseball's triumphs and woes⁴ have been a metaphor⁵ for life's most important lessons. As an icon⁶ of popular culture, the sport has inspired everything from poetry to beer commercials to award-winning films. The game even originated one of the world's most universal and ubiquitous fashion trends: the baseball hat.

Baseball debuted⁷ at the Olympics as a demonstration⁸ sport in 1984 in Los Angeles, and was demonstrated again at the 1988 Games in Seoul. It became a full-medal Olympic sport in 1992 in Barcelona, with Cuba winning the gold medal. The Cubans would go on to win in 1996 and 2004. The United States won the gold medal in 2000.

U.S. baseball team manager, Davey Johnson says international baseball is growing in popularity all around the world, but the United States must do well in Beijing if the game has a chance for reinstatement.

"It is very crucial for us to make a good showing over there," said Davey Johnson. "I hope like heck that they can at least have some sort of softball and baseball back on the venue⁹ for Oh-16 [2016]. I sure hope so."

Major League Baseball's refusal to allow its top talent to play in the Olympics during the height of its season, and the recent doping scandals in the sport, are two main reasons the IOC decided¹⁰ to drop baseball from the Olympics for 2012.

Criminal investigations¹¹ and U.S. congressional hearings into the use of steroids and illegal performance enhancing drugs by major league players have made global headlines at a time when the IOC is cracking down on doping by athletes.

Even though Major League Baseball recently toughened its drug-testing policy to include more random¹² testing under tighter controls, its rules are still less stringent¹³ than those of the World Anti-Doping Agency. The agency, which oversees¹⁴ Olympic drug testing, plans on taking an unprecedented¹⁵ 4,500 drug tests in Beijing.

The IOC opened the Olympics to professional baseball players in 2000, but Major League rules drastically limit how many players actually participate. Watson says most of the U.S. team's 24-man roster¹⁶ for Beijing will be minor¹⁷ league players.

So in August, the United States will play in what could be baseball's fifth and final appearance as an Olympic medal sport. Twenty-four-man teams from South Korea, the Netherlands, Canada, China, Japan, Taiwan, and defending champion Cuba also will be contending in the eight-team tournament.

But without more cooperation from Major League Baseball, the Great American Pastime could end up as just another Olympic sport of the past.

1 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

2 albeit   

conj.即使；纵使；虽然

参考例句：

• Albeit fictional,she seemed to have resolved the problem.虽然是虚构的，但是在她看来好象是解决了问题。
• Albeit he has failed twice,he is not discouraged.虽然失败了两次，但他并没有气馁。

3 equestrian   

adj.骑马的；n.马术

参考例句：

• They all showed extraordinary equestrian skills.他们的骑术都很高超。
• I want to book two equestrian tickets.我想订两张马术比赛的票。

4 woes   

困境( woe的名词复数 )； 悲伤； 我好苦哇； 某人就要倒霉

参考例句：

• Thanks for listening to my woes. 谢谢您听我诉说不幸的遭遇。
• She has cried the blues about its financial woes. 对于经济的困难她叫苦不迭。

5 metaphor   

n.隐喻，暗喻

参考例句：

• Using metaphor,we say that computers have senses and a memory.打个比方，我们可以说计算机有感觉和记忆力。
• In poetry the rose is often a metaphor for love.玫瑰在诗中通常作为爱的象征。

6 icon   

n.偶像，崇拜的对象，画像

参考例句：

• They found an icon in the monastery.他们在修道院中发现了一个圣像。
• Click on this icon to align or justify text.点击这个图标使文本排齐。

7 debuted   

初次表演，初次登台（debut的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• In late 2003 a full-size SUV, the Pathfinder Armada, debuted. 2003年末，全尺寸SUV的探路者无敌舰队，推出。
• The album debuted at number two and quickly went platinum. 专辑一亮相就荣登排行榜第二名，很快就取得了白金销量。

8 demonstration   

n.表明，示范，论证，示威

参考例句：

• His new book is a demonstration of his patriotism.他写的新书是他的爱国精神的证明。
• He gave a demonstration of the new technique then and there.他当场表演了这种新的操作方法。

9 venue   

n.犯罪地点，审判地，管辖地，发生地点，集合地点

参考例句：

• The hall provided a venue for weddings and other functions.大厅给婚礼和其他社会活动提供了场所。
• The chosen venue caused great controversy among the people.人们就审判地点的问题产生了极大的争议。

10 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。

11 investigations   

（正式的）调查( investigation的名词复数 )； 侦查； 科学研究； 学术研究

参考例句：

• His investigations were intensive and thorough but revealed nothing. 他进行了深入彻底的调查，但没有发现什么。
• He often sent them out to make investigations. 他常常派他们出去作调查。

12 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。

13 stringent   

adj.严厉的；令人信服的；银根紧的

参考例句：

• Financiers are calling for a relaxation of these stringent measures.金融家呼吁对这些严厉的措施予以放宽。
• Some of the conditions in the contract are too stringent.合同中有几项条件太苛刻。

14 oversees   

v.监督，监视( oversee的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• She oversees both the research and the manufacturing departments. 她既监督研究部门又监督生产部门。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The Department of Education oversees the federal programs dealing with education. 教育部监管处理教育的联邦程序。 来自互联网

15 unprecedented   

adj.无前例的，新奇的

参考例句：

• The air crash caused an unprecedented number of deaths.这次空难的死亡人数是空前的。
• A flood of this sort is really unprecedented.这样大的洪水真是十年九不遇。

16 roster   

n.值勤表，花名册

参考例句：

• The teacher checked the roster to see whom he would teach this year.老师查看花名册，想了解今年要教的学生。
• The next day he put himself first on the new roster for domestic chores.第二天，他把自己排在了新的家务值日表的第一位。

17 minor   

adj.较小(少)的，较次要的；n.辅修学科；vi.辅修

参考例句：

• The young actor was given a minor part in the new play.年轻的男演员在这出新戏里被分派担任一个小角色。
• I gave him a minor share of my wealth.我把小部分财产给了他。