Wolves' keeper beats Arsenal, Hotspur holds title hope

 　　LONDON, Dec. 27 (Xinhua) -- In-form goalkeeper Wayne Hennessey inspired Wolves to fight back in a 1-1 draw at Arsenal¹ on Tuesday while Tottenham Hotspur maintained the Premier² League's title hope after brace-scoring Gareth Bale gifted them a late 2-0 victory over Norwich.

　　The host side Arsenal should have gained a big victory with their eighth-minute dream start. Yossi Benayoun's pinpoint³ through pass sent Yao Gervinho free in front of the area. Then the Cote d'Ivoire striker made a cool finish for the Gunners after flashing past the visitor's keeper in the deft⁴ footwork. However, the low-profile Wolves refused to give up and levelled the score after 30 minutes when Steven Fletcher headed Stephen Hunt's deflected⁵ shot to the net.

　　Arsenal, who dominated the second half, was desperate to a win especially after league rivals Chelsea, Livepool and Manchester City were all upset in draws on Boxing Day. But the gunners were frustrated⁶ by Wolves' No.1 who was nearly invincible⁷ after conceding the early goal. The Wales goalkeeper regularly denied the host's dangerous shots one after another, earning his relegation-threatened side a valuable point.

　　But for Arsenal, the result meant they wasted a best chance to climb onto the league's top four. After 18 games, Arsenal still stood fifth after Chelsea with one point less. Man City and United, both on 45 points, led the table with big advantages.

　　Tottenham Hotspur, with one game in hand, narrowed the gap within seven points of the top and consolidated⁸ its third place after tonight's away victory.

　　The Welsh winger Bale scored twice in the second half after a dominating 64 percent possession of Hotspur. Playmaker Luka Modric also contributed a lot to the critical victory with his excellent ability of holding position and creating space in the midfield battle.

　　Also on Tuesday, the visiting Queens Park Rangers⁹ fought back to a 1-1 draw at Swansea, ending a lately sequence of three defeats.

1 arsenal   

n.兵工厂，军械库

参考例句：

• Even the workers at the arsenal have got a secret organization.兵工厂工人暗中也有组织。
• We must be the great arsenal of democracy.我们必须成为民主的大军火库。

2 premier   

adj.首要的；n.总理，首相

参考例句：

• The Irish Premier is paying an official visit to Britain.爱尔兰总理正在对英国进行正式访问。
• He requested that the premier grant him an internview.他要求那位总理接见他一次。

3 pinpoint   

vt.准确地确定；用针标出…的精确位置

参考例句：

• It is difficult to pinpoint when water problems of the modern age began.很难准确地指出，现代用水的问题是什么时候出现的。
• I could pinpoint his precise location on a map.我能在地图上指明他的准确位置。

4 deft   

adj.灵巧的，熟练的（a deft hand 能手）

参考例句：

• The pianist has deft fingers.钢琴家有灵巧的双手。
• This bird,sharp of eye and deft of beak,can accurately peck the flying insects in the air.这只鸟眼疾嘴快，能准确地把空中的飞虫啄住。

5 deflected   

偏离的

参考例句：

• The ball deflected off Reid's body into the goal. 球打在里德身上反弹进球门。
• Most of its particles are deflected. 此物质的料子大多是偏斜的。

6 frustrated   

adj.挫败的，失意的，泄气的v.使不成功( frustrate的过去式和过去分词 )；挫败；使受挫折；令人沮丧

参考例句：

• It's very easy to get frustrated in this job. 这个工作很容易令人懊恼。
• The bad weather frustrated all our hopes of going out. 恶劣的天气破坏了我们出行的愿望。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 invincible   

adj.不可征服的，难以制服的

参考例句：

• This football team was once reputed to be invincible.这支足球队曾被誉为无敌的劲旅。
• The workers are invincible as long as they hold together.只要工人团结一致，他们就是不可战胜的。

8 consolidated   

a.联合的

参考例句：

• With this new movie he has consolidated his position as the country's leading director. 他新执导的影片巩固了他作为全国最佳导演的地位。
• Those two banks have consolidated and formed a single large bank. 那两家银行已合并成一家大银行。

9 rangers   

护林者( ranger的名词复数 )； 突击队员

参考例句：

• Do you know where the Rangers Stadium is? 你知道Rangers体育场在哪吗？ 来自超越目标英语 第3册
• Now I'm a Rangers' fan, so I like to be near the stadium. 现在我是Rangers的爱好者，所以我想离体育场近一点。 来自超越目标英语 第3册