Take Away English-FA Cup Action 足总杯风云

Anything can happen in the FA Cup

High-profile football teams like Manchester United, Chelsea and Arsenal¹ are so well-known that they have become household names all around the world, but have you ever heard of Burton Albion or Leyton Orient?

A week ago you could have been forgiven for never having heard of such obscure teams. However, last weekend’s FA Cup third round saw several ‘minnows’ bringing big-name teams to their knees.

The FA Cup is unique in British football because it offers fans the opportunity to see smaller teams take on their higher-placed counterparts.

Established in 1871, the FA Cup competition is the oldest football tournament in the world. What makes it so exciting is that it is a knockout tournament with no seeds – all the pairings are drawn² completely randomly³.

This means that the finest squads⁴ in the Premiere League can find themselves playing against part-timers, which is precisely⁵ what happened in Sunday’s fixture⁶ between Manchester United and Burton Albion.

A few statistics indicate the theoretical difference in quality between the two sides. Manchester United has an annual salary bill of more than £80 million; Burton Albion players are amateurs who hold down full-time⁷ jobs and play in their free-time. United’s stadium, Old Trafford, has a 68000-seat capacity; Burton Albion’s stadium can seat less than 7000 fans.

However, the theory did not match the reality as Burton Albion managed to hold United to a goalless draw, forcing a replay at Old Trafford next week.

Other underdogs like Leicester City and Leyton Orient did even better, defeating Premiership giants, Tottenham Hotspur and Fulham.

Chinese players have also been involved in FA Cup action but with mixed results. Sun Jihai’s team Manchester City had a comfortable 3-1 win over Scunthorpe, with striker Robbie Fowler scoring a hat trick. Hao Haidong’s team, Sheffield United, had less luck, losing 2-1 at home to Colchester.

GLOSSARY 词汇表
high–profile 有名气的, 高声望的 obscure 无名的 minnows 小鱼, 杂鱼, 这里指无名的足球队 take on 挑战 knockout tournament 淘汰赛 pairings 配对 part-timers 兼职者 amateurs 业余爱好者 underdogs 劣势者 striker 前锋	household names 家喻户晓的名字 third round 第三轮, 第三局 big-name 大名鼎鼎 counterparts 对手 seeds 种子选手 randomly 任意地 annual salary bill 年薪帐单 goalless draw 双方各无进球的平局 mixed results 喜忧参半 hat trick 连进三球

 

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 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

3 randomly   

adv.随便地，未加计划地

参考例句：

• Within the hot gas chamber, molecules are moving randomly in all directions. 在灼热的气体燃烧室内，分子在各个方向上作无规运动。 来自辞典例句
• Transformed cells are loosely attached, rounded and randomly oriented. 转化细胞则不大贴壁、圆缩并呈杂乱分布。 来自辞典例句

4 squads   

n.（军队中的）班( squad的名词复数 )；（暗杀）小组；体育运动的运动（代表）队；（对付某类犯罪活动的）警察队伍

参考例句：

• Anti-riot squads were called out to deal with the situation. 防暴队奉命出动以对付这一局势。 来自辞典例句
• Three squads constitute a platoon. 三个班组成一个排。 来自辞典例句

5 precisely   

adv.恰好，正好，精确地，细致地

参考例句：

• It's precisely that sort of slick sales-talk that I mistrust.我不相信的正是那种油腔滑调的推销宣传。
• The man adjusted very precisely.那个人调得很准。

6 fixture   

n.固定设备；预定日期；比赛时间；定期存款

参考例句：

• Lighting fixture must be installed at once.必须立即安装照明设备。
• The cordless kettle may now be a fixture in most kitchens.无绳电热水壶现在可能是多数厨房的固定设备。

7 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。