VOA标准英语2009-African Football Fans Celebrate Opening Day

In South Africa, about 50,000 football fans Sunday packed a stadium in Johannesburg to celebrate the opening of the Confederations Cup. Millions more also gathered in cafes, restaurants and homes to watch.
　
Performers form flag of S. Africa during the opening ceremony of Confederations Cup soccer tournament in Johannesburg, 14 Jun 2009

South African fans groaned¹ in disappointment as their team came close to marking a goal against rival Iraq, but could not score on several opportunities.

The match ended in a nil-nil draw leaving some fans disappointed.

But not so Saddam Maake, who bills himself as the number-one fan of the South African team. Dressed from head to foot in team colors of yellow and green and sporting an outlandish hat and oversize glasses, Maake believes his team can go all the way to the finals.

"I would like to see my team, South Africa, meet Italy or Brazil in the final, because that would be a marvelous one [game]. But we must try to support our players, to encourage them, cheer them and [at] the end of the day we will be the winner," said Maake.

Fans from many other African countries also shared in the excitement. Timo Bashiya, from the Democratic Republic of Congo, said the first Confederations Cup to be held in Africa was a source of pride for all Africans.

"You now we have been waiting for this event for more than four years, for the first time happening in Africa," said Bashiya. "So this is the moment. Believe it or not. It is happening today."

Host South Africa and World Cup champion Italy are playing the winners of the six continental² cups: Brazil, Spain, Iraq, Egypt, New Zealand and the United States.

Musa Abubakar, from the Ivory³ Coast, says during this tournament all Africans feel they are South African.

"All of us, we are part of South Africa. And I think the South Africans are going to give us the best and are going to show us the best football. And we think, we hope, that South Africa is going to win, win that cup," he said.

The football world governing body, FIFA, announced four years ago that the Confederations Cup and the much larger World Cup would be staged in South Africa. The government has been building or refurbishing 10 stadiums, expanding the transportation network and building additional hotel space.

Organizers have also had to counter persistent⁴ concerns about security. But Musa Ali, from Zanzibar, Tanzania, said that after opening day it is clear that these concerns were unfounded.

"The preparation was good. Everything, I think, is OK. The stadium, you can see, it was cool. Everybody was happy. People they were scared about crime, but everything is under control. People are walking freely to the hotels," said Ali. "They are coming outside, no problem, doing their shopping as usual, exploring. Everything is under control."

The first round of the tournament is to be completed by Sunday. The top four teams that emerge⁵ will then compete in elimination⁶ matches leading to the final, one week later.

1 groaned   

v.呻吟( groan的过去式和过去分词 )；发牢骚；抱怨；受苦

参考例句：

• He groaned in anguish. 他痛苦地呻吟。
• The cart groaned under the weight of the piano. 大车在钢琴的重压下嘎吱作响。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 continental   

adj.大陆的，大陆性的，欧洲大陆的

参考例句：

• A continental climate is different from an insular one.大陆性气候不同于岛屿气候。
• The most ancient parts of the continental crust are 4000 million years old.大陆地壳最古老的部分有40亿年历史。

3 ivory   

n.象牙，乳白色；adj.象牙制的，乳白色的

参考例句：

• My grandmother has some jewelry made of ivory.我祖母有一些象牙首饰。
• It is carved from ivory.它是用象牙雕成的。

4 persistent   

adj.坚持不懈的，执意的；持续的

参考例句：

• Albert had a persistent headache that lasted for three days.艾伯特连续头痛了三天。
• She felt embarrassed by his persistent attentions.他不时地向她大献殷勤，使她很难为情。

5 emerge   

vi.（从水中等）出来，出现，浮现，形成

参考例句：

• The baby's head was starting to emerge from the womb.婴儿的头开始从母亲的子宮中露出来。
• It's still hard to tell who will emerge victorious.鹿死谁手尚难逆料。

6 elimination   

n.排除，消除，消灭

参考例句：

• Their elimination from the competition was a great surprise.他们在比赛中遭到淘汰是个很大的意外。
• I was eliminated from the 400 metres in the semi-finals.我在400米半决赛中被淘汰。