美国职业足球大联盟第20赛季周日开幕

AS IT IS 2016-03-06 Major League Soccer Improves and Grows 美国职业足球大联盟第20赛季周日开幕

The Major League Soccer (MLS) season starts Sunday.

Major League Soccer is the top professional soccer league in the United States. In many other countries, the sport is called football.

The Portland Timbers², a team from Oregon, won the MLS championship last year.

The Timbers will start defending their championship on Sunday, the first day of the new season.

MLS was launched with 10 teams in 1996. In 20 years, the league has doubled in size and expanded into Canada -- with teams now in Toronto, Vancouver and Montreal.

David Beckham helped bring international attention to MLS nine years ago when he agreed to play for the Los Angeles Galaxy⁴. Beckham was a star player from England. He had also played in Spain with Real Madrid.

Players around the world started seeing MLS as more than just a place to earn a lot of money at the end of their careers.

Ireland’s Robbie Keane also plays for the Galaxy. Before coming to the U.S., he played for Inter³ Milan in Italy, and Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool Football Club in England.

Keane recently told Sky Sports that he knows of other European players who want to come to the United States.

“Players I've played with are calling me up now from England and Spain and are really, really desperate to come over here because they can see how much the league has grown.”

Brian Straus writes about soccer for Sports Illustrated⁵ and the magazine’s website, Planet Futbol. He says Keane is one of the best examples of foreign players who have left a mark on MLS.

“Robbie Keane may be the best foreign signing in league history. He certainly has taken it seriously, has certainly respected the league and has delivered. The Galaxy won three championships since he came over."

Some of the best MLS players come from countries like Sierra Leone, Ivory⁶ Coast, Brazil, Italy, Netherlands, England, Ireland and Spain.

In fact, the quality of play is strong enough that even young American players are being sought out by major teams overseas. That almost never happened before.

Chelsea, a famous team from England, recruited⁸ Matt Miazga in the offseason. Miazga is a 20-year-old from New Jersey⁹. He started his career with the New York Red Bulls¹⁰. Chelsea spent about $5 million to get Miazga from the Red Bulls.

Patrick Nyarko of Ghana plays for Washington’s team, D.C. United. Nyarko attended college in the United States. He spent eight seasons playing for the Chicago Fire before moving to D.C.

He says he is happy to be a part of a soccer league that is producing good players.

"It’s improving. It’s growing probably faster than anyone would have thought. It’s getting there slowly but surely. I think it’s going to be one of the biggest sports in the United States. Word is spreading. You’ve got people, top-class talent coming into the league, and it’s got eyes on it. You know, you’ve got these young guys that do well and then make it overseas."

Some of the famous players in MLS this year are David Villa¹¹ of Spain, Andrea Pirlo of Italy and Frank Lampard of England. They all play for the New York City Football Club (FC).

The Los Angeles Galaxy has Keane, Steven Gerrard of England and Nigel de Jong of the Netherlands. De Jong left the Italian team A.C. Milan over the winter to play in the U.S.

Didier Drogba of the Montreal Impact is from Ivory Coast. He had 104 goals when he played for Chelsea.

Kei Kamara of Sierra Leone is one of the best goal-scorers in MLS. He plays for the Columbus Crew.

The Brazilian player Kaka plays for Orlando City. In the past, he played for Brazil’s national soccer team, and Real Madrid and A.C. Milan in Europe.

Sebastian Giovinco of Italy was the MLS most valuable player in 2015. He plays for Toronto FC in Canada.

Patrick Nyarko says he grew up following all the important soccer leagues around the world. He considers himself a “fan of the game” and a “soccer junkie.” Sometimes he cannot believe he is playing in the same game with some of his favorite players of all-time.

When he was a first-year player with Chicago in 2008, he was “star-struck” to be on the same team with Cuauhtemoc Blanco, the famous Mexican player.

“My three favorite soccer players of all time: you know, I have Thierry Henry, Ryan Giggs and Steven Gerrard. I have had the opportunity to play against two of them and I might have an opportunity to play against the third one on Sunday. I’m a fan. So even though I’m concentrating on the game, when it stops, sometimes I catch myself thinking – oh, I am on the field with so, so and so. It makes it pretty cool.”

Sportswriter Brian Straus says the quality of play in MLS compares well with most of the world. But it is not yet at the level of play as places like Spain, England, France, Germany, Brazil and Argentina.

“Those leagues are well ahead of MLS, which is trying to find its way in a country where soccer has been considered a viable¹² pro¹ sport for only 20 to 30 years. People forget that in 1990, when the United States qualified¹³ for the World Cup, it had been 40 years since the U.S. played in the sport’s biggest tournament. So, soccer here is still only a generation or so old. And considering that, MLS has made remarkable¹⁴ strides¹⁵.”

Words in This Story

recruit⁷ – v. to contact people and get them to join a company, an organization or the armed forces

offseason – n. a period between seasons, when no games are played

talent – n. a special skill or ability

viable – adj. able to succeed

cool – adj. very appealing in a way that is generally approved of especially by young people

starstruck – adj. feeling or showing great interest in famous people

junkie – n. a person who gets an unusual amount of pleasure from watching or doing something

most valuable player– n. the most important and successful player on a team or in a game

1 pro   

n.赞成，赞成的意见，赞成者

参考例句：

• The two debating teams argued the question pro and con.辩论的两组从赞成与反对两方面辩这一问题。
• Are you pro or con nuclear disarmament?你是赞成还是反对核裁军？

2 timbers   

（用于建筑或制作物品的）树木( timber的名词复数 )； 用材林

参考例句：

• Contraction of the timbers left gaps in the fence. 木料收缩，结果围墙露出缝来。
• The ship's timbers groaned audibly during the storm. 船骨在暴风雨中吱嘎作响。

3 inter   

v.埋葬

参考例句：

• They interred their dear comrade in the arms.他们埋葬了他们亲爱的战友。
• The man who died in that accident has been interred.在那次事故中死的那个人已经被埋葬了。

4 galaxy   

n.星系；银河系；一群(杰出或著名的人物)

参考例句：

• The earth is one of the planets in the Galaxy.地球是银河系中的星球之一。
• The company has a galaxy of talent.该公司拥有一批优秀的人才。

5 illustrated   

adj. 有插图的，列举的 动词illustrate的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• His lecture was illustrated with slides taken during the expedition. 他在讲演中使用了探险时拍摄到的幻灯片。
• The manufacturing Methods: Will be illustrated in the next chapter. 制作方法将在下一章说明。

6 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。

7 recruit   

n.招聘，新兵，新成员；v.恢复，补充，招募

参考例句：

• The country's first act would be to recruit for the navy.国家的第一个行动是为海军征募新兵。
• This is a nationwide campaign to recruit women into trade unions.这是一次吸收妇女参加工会的全国性运动。

8 recruited   

招聘( recruit的过去式和过去分词 )； 吸收某人为新成员； 动员…（提供帮助）； 雇用

参考例句：

• Were men for the Navy recruited from men on merchant ships? 海军的人员是从商船的人员中征募的吗？
• Most of the workers will be recruited locally. 大多数工人都会在本地招募。

9 jersey   

n.运动衫

参考例句：

• He wears a cotton jersey when he plays football.他穿运动衫踢足球。
• They were dressed alike in blue jersey and knickers.他们穿着一致，都是蓝色的运动衫和灯笼短裤。

10 bulls   

n.公牛( bull的名词复数 )；法令；力大如牛的人；（象、鲸等动物的）雄兽

参考例句：

• Riding bulls is always an exciting event at a rodeo. 骑公牛总是放牧人竞技会上激动人心的表演。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Two white bulls were sacrificed and a feast was held. 献祭了两头白牛，并举行了盛宴。 来自辞典例句

11 villa   

n.别墅，城郊小屋

参考例句：

• We rented a villa in France for the summer holidays.我们在法国租了一幢别墅消夏。
• We are quartered in a beautiful villa.我们住在一栋漂亮的别墅里。

12 viable   

adj.可行的，切实可行的，能活下去的

参考例句：

• The scheme is economically viable.这个计划从经济效益来看是可行的。
• The economy of the country is not viable.这个国家经济是难以维持的。

13 qualified   

adj.合格的，有资格的，胜任的，有限制的

参考例句：

• He is qualified as a complete man of letters.他有资格当真正的文学家。
• We must note that we still lack qualified specialists.我们必须看到我们还缺乏有资质的专家。

14 remarkable   

adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的

参考例句：

• She has made remarkable headway in her writing skills.她在写作技巧方面有了长足进步。
• These cars are remarkable for the quietness of their engines.这些汽车因发动机没有噪音而不同凡响。

15 strides   

裤子； 大步( stride的名词复数 )； 步法； 步态； 进展

参考例句：

• The child could not keep up with his father's strides. 那个孩子跟不上他父亲的步子。
• That 70-year-old man walked into the park with vigorous strides. 那位七旬老人健步走进公园。