2006年VOA标准英语-Ivory Coast Plays Its First-Ever World Cup Game

By Parke Brewer¹
Hamburg
10 June 2006

Four of the five African nations that qualified² for the World Cup in Germany are making their first-ever appearance at football's premiere event. One of them is Ivory Coast and VOA Sports Editor Parke Brewer caught up with a group of the team's fans in Hamburg.

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Ivory Coast will play its inaugural³ World Cup match here on Saturday night against Argentina. And it does not get any easier for the African team, nicknamed "The Elephants." The Elephants' other matches in Group C are against the Netherlands and Serbia and Montenegro. Many have dubbed⁴ this the so-called "Group of Death," meaning all four teams are strong.

Germaine Tahou, in middle wearing glasses, among Ivory Coast fans in Hamburg  
  

But that does not bother Ivory Coast supporter Germaine Tahou, who has much confidence in her team. "No, problem, group of death. I answer we will kill Argentina, we will kill the Netherlands, we kill Serbia and Montenegro," she said.

Tahou is with the organization Cepici Procim, which organized the fans' travel from Abidjan here to Germany. They are passionate⁵ football fans who wear their team's colors proudly.

Tahou did not hesitate when VOA Sports asked about her team's top players. "You have (forward Didier) Drogba. You know Drogba? He's a famous player of Chelsea in England. You know (defender) Kolo Toure? Famous player of Arsenal⁶, you know? Good players. And we trust they will win," she said.

Ivory Coast is coached by Henri Michel, a former French national team player and coach. This tournament marks the third time Michel has coached an African team in the World Cup. Neither Cameroon in 1994 nor Morocco in 1998 advanced past group play. But this team is likely his best, with a roster⁷ full of players who have the experience of competing in the strongest European leagues.

Even before the tournament begins for Ivory Coast, Tahou says the fans are already caught up in the excitement. "Everybody is enjoying it. Everybody is very very happy to participate in the first Cup of mundial (World Cup) in Deutsche country, in Germany. We are an African country and we support all African teams," she said.

From here in Hamburg after Saturday's game against Argentina, the Ivory Coast fans will travel to Stuttgart for their team's second match against the Netherlands next Friday and then to Munich for the final group match against Serbia and Montenegro

1 brewer   

n. 啤酒制造者

参考例句：

• Brewer is a very interesting man. 布鲁尔是一个很有趣的人。
• I decided to quit my job to become a brewer. 我决定辞职，做一名酿酒人。

2 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。

3 inaugural   

adj.就职的；n.就职典礼

参考例句：

• We listened to the President's inaugural speech on the radio yesterday.昨天我们通过无线电听了总统的就职演说。
• Professor Pearson gave the inaugural lecture in the new lecture theatre.皮尔逊教授在新的阶梯讲堂发表了启用演说。

4 dubbed   

v.给…起绰号( dub的过去式和过去分词 )；把…称为；配音；复制

参考例句：

• Mathematics was once dubbed the handmaiden of the sciences. 数学曾一度被视为各门科学的基础。
• Is the movie dubbed or does it have subtitles? 这部电影是配音的还是打字幕的？ 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 passionate   

adj.热情的，热烈的，激昂的，易动情的，易怒的，性情暴躁的

参考例句：

• He is said to be the most passionate man.据说他是最有激情的人。
• He is very passionate about the project.他对那个项目非常热心。

6 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。

7 roster   

n.值勤表，花名册

参考例句：

• The teacher checked the roster to see whom he would teach this year.老师查看花名册，想了解今年要教的学生。
• The next day he put himself first on the new roster for domestic chores.第二天，他把自己排在了新的家务值日表的第一位。