美国国家公共电台 NPR The 'Garlic Girls,' South Korea's Curlers, Are A Surprise Olympics Sensation

 

ARI SHAPIRO, HOST:

These Olympic Games have created a number of breakout stars, including the Garlic Girls. That's the nickname of the South Korean women's curling team whose members all come from the same garlic-producing hometown. NPR's Elise Hu has their story.

ELISE HU, BYLINE¹: This South Korean squad² is on such a hot streak³ that no seat went unfilled today when they faced off against the U.S. Fans stood along the back walls and jammed into passageways.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

UNIDENTIFIED CROWD: (Chanting in Korean).

RICK PATZKE: I think they've figured out that they can yell and stomp⁴ and cheer and have a good time, so that's great to see.

HU: That's Rick Patzke. He's the head of USA Curling. He has watched these curling crowds grow along with the popularity of the South Korean team.

PATZKE: And they play with a lot of passion. You know, they're not robotic by any means. They're very technically⁵ sound. And I believe that comes, you know, in with their coaching and their ability to full-time⁶ be curlers.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN #1: Go. Go. Go. Go. Go. Go. Go. Go. Go. Go. Go.

(CHEERING)

HU: All four curlers are named Kim - no relation - and all but one Garlic Girl has a food-related individual nickname, too. They base them on their favorite breakfast selections. The captain is called Yogurt. The others are Steak, Pancake, Cho-Cho and Sunny, short for sunny side up.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN #2: (Speaking Korean).

HU: The entire team comes from the same small city of 53,000, Uiseong in southern South Korea.

(SOUNDBITE OF STICKS CLATTERING)

HU: Today, inside the gym of the girls' old high school, extended family members, neighbors and former teachers crowded together to watch the game stream on a giant projection⁷ screen. Lee In-young is among them.

LEE IN-YOUNG: (Through interpreter) I saw the team taking their sticks for the first time when the curling team was first made in the school.

HU: As the principal of the high school a decade ago, she remembers today's Olympians staying late to practice after evening study hall.

LEE: (Through interpreter) And they were good-natured students, and they also studied very hard.

HU: Curling was unknown to most of the country until recently. South Korea didn't even have a team before the 2014 Olympics. But years ago, after the town of Uiseong opened a curling center, high school administrators⁸ saw an opportunity.

LEE: (Through interpreter) We canceled our basketball team that was here in the school, and we changed our school sports to curling.

HU: It paid off. The school produced the women's curling team that's now first-ranked at the Pyeongchang Olympics. The spotlight⁹ on the Garlic Girls is drawing in another generation of young curlers. Jeong Soobin is a student in Uiseong.

JEONG SOOBIN: (Speaking Korean).

HU: "I'm so proud of them," she says. "And since they're graduates of this high school, I feel like I have to follow in their footsteps." Their streak has continued.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

UNIDENTIFIED ANNOUNCER: The Republic of Korea, 9, United States of America, 6.

HU: They defeated the American women with some deft¹⁰ plays. It's still unclear how the winning streak will end. The South Korean curlers secured their place in the semifinals already, where the four best teams will compete for a medal. Their coach says instead of fixating on winning, they want to rewrite South Korea's curling history. With this Olympic run, their hometown will tell you these Garlic Girls already have. Elise Hu, NPR News, Gangneung, South Korea.

(SOUNDBITE OF DJ JAZZY JEFF SONG, "FOR DA LOVE OF DA GAME")

1 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

2 squad   

n.班，小队，小团体；vt.把…编成班或小组

参考例句：

• The squad leader ordered the men to mark time.班长命令战士们原地踏步。
• A squad is the smallest unit in an army.班是军队的最小构成单位。

3 streak   

n.条理，斑纹，倾向，少许，痕迹；v.加条纹，变成条纹，奔驰，快速移动

参考例句：

• The Indians used to streak their faces with paint.印第安人过去常用颜料在脸上涂条纹。
• Why did you streak the tree?你为什么在树上刻条纹？

4 stomp   

v.跺（脚），重踩，重踏

参考例句：

• 3.And you go to france, and you go to stomp! 你去法国，你去看跺脚舞！
• 4.How hard did she stomp? 她跺得有多狠？

5 technically   

adv.专门地，技术上地

参考例句：

• Technically it is the most advanced equipment ever.从技术上说，这是最先进的设备。
• The tomato is technically a fruit,although it is eaten as a vegetable.严格地说，西红柿是一种水果，尽管它是当作蔬菜吃的。

6 full-time   

adj.满工作日的或工作周的，全时间的

参考例句：

• A full-time job may be too much for her.全天工作她恐怕吃不消。
• I don't know how she copes with looking after her family and doing a full-time job.既要照顾家庭又要全天工作，我不知道她是如何对付的。

7 projection   

n.发射，计划，突出部分

参考例句：

• Projection takes place with a minimum of awareness or conscious control.投射在最少的知觉或意识控制下发生。
• The projection of increases in number of house-holds is correct.对户数增加的推算是正确的。

8 administrators   

n.管理者( administrator的名词复数 )；有管理（或行政）才能的人；（由遗嘱检验法庭指定的）遗产管理人；奉派暂管主教教区的牧师

参考例句：

• He had administrators under him but took the crucial decisions himself. 他手下有管理人员，但重要的决策仍由他自己来做。 来自辞典例句
• Administrators have their own methods of social intercourse. 办行政的人有他们的社交方式。 来自汉英文学 - 围城

9 spotlight   

n.公众注意的中心，聚光灯，探照灯，视听，注意，醒目

参考例句：

• This week the spotlight is on the world of fashion.本周引人瞩目的是时装界。
• The spotlight followed her round the stage.聚光灯的光圈随着她在舞台上转。

10 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。