2007年VOA标准英语-Basketball's New 'Buzzer Beater'

By Brian Padden
Washington, DC
19 January 2007
 
watch Gilbert Arenas¹ report

The NBA, North America's professional basketball league, has a new star.  Before Gilbert Arenas arrived, the Washington Wizards languished² at the bottom of the standings.  Two years ago Arenas led the Wizards to their first playoff appearance since 1998 and he was also selected to play in his first NBA All-Star Game.  At first, Arenas did not get much attention outside Washington:  last August he failed to make the U.S. national team that played in the world championships.  But this season just about everyone in the basketball world is talking about Gilbert Arenas.

Sportscaster: "Now they get it to Arenas with two seconds…one… [He] fires for the win … Got it [made the basket] at the buzzer³!"

 
Gilbert Arenas
Even with game-winning shots like this one against the Philadelphia 76ers, Gilbert Arenas says he gets no respect in the NBA. "This is the NBA.  No one respects no one. You can be the number-one team, no one's going to respect that."

Arenas is a local hero in Washington, where he has helped turn the Washington Wizards into a playoff-caliber team, but he has not been considered among the elite⁴ players in professional basketball... 

...Until this year, that is, when he has been arguably the hottest player in the NBA, leading the Wizards to one of the best records in the Eastern Conference.  This season the 25-year-old Arenas seems to be scoring at will.  He has so far made 11 last-second "buzzer beater" shots, scored a career-high 60 points in one game, and was named the conference player of the month for December.  Why is he suddenly so hot?

Arenas says winning is important to him. "I think winning.  You know, we're winning.  You know that December we had was a great December... for me and for the team.  Last year I didn't hit the stride until after All-Star break.  So I think early winning successes have boosted me."

 
Eddie Jordan, Wizards coach
Wizards coach Eddie Jordan says, while winning may draw more media attention to Arenas, he is no different than in the past. "Gilbert is the same to me.  He's just scoring more, that's all.  He's always been this way.  He's always been competitive.  He's always taken the bull by the horns and been aggressive."

Until now, superstars such as Cleveland's Lebron James, Miami's Dwyane Wade⁵ and the Los Angeles Lakers' Kobe Bryant have overshadowed Arenas, who was the 31st player selected in the 2001 NBA draft. 

Washington Times sports columnist⁶ Tom Knott says the experts did not expect Arenas to reach basketball's top echelon⁷.  "I think Arenas, for whatever reason throughout his career, has been overlooked.  He was a second-round [draft] pick.  He wasn't highly recruited out of high school.  He came in the NBA and played some his rookie season, but he is just an odd character, an off-beat character."

Arenas has a quirky or eccentric reputation both on and off the court.  His home has special air-conditioning equipment that thins the air to simulate a high-altitude environment, and he throws his jersey⁸ into the stands at the end of every game.  As a free agent he even flipped⁹ a coin to choose which NBA team he would play for.  That's how he ended up in Washington. 

Teammate Antawn Jamison says Arenas is also known for training harder and longer than anyone else. "I recall his rookie year he was in the gym [until] two or three o'clock in the morning, working on his game.  And still, to this day, he is the first one in and the last one to leave.  So that's the major reason why he's at this point in his career.  And he's one of the best in the league, also."

Tom Knott agrees that Arenas' work ethic¹⁰ is the reason for his success.  

"It's a cliché in sports: guy works hard”, says Knott, “And half the time it is just bogus [not true]. They're not really working that hard.  They're not probably working as hard as you and me.  They're going to practice for two hours and [then] ... they got 22 hours to kill.  That's not hard working.  But this Arenas guy, no, he's a maniac¹¹.  He does work hard." 

For Gilbert Arenas all the hard work is paying off. "It's satisfying to me that, you know, I was a second-round pick.  No one believed in me.  Now, you know, you carry a team on your back to how far you can carry them.  Right now, we're where we're at."

Right now Gilbert Arenas is at the top of his game. 

1 arenas   

表演场地( arena的名词复数 )； 竞技场； 活动或斗争的场所或场面； 圆形运动场

参考例句：

• Demolition derbies are large-scale automobile rodeos that take place in big arenas. 撞车比赛指的是在很大的竞技场上举行的大型汽车驾驶技术表演。
• Are there areas of privacy in the most public of arenas? 在绝大部分公开的场合中存在需要保护隐私的领域吗？

2 languished   

长期受苦( languish的过去式和过去分词 )； 受折磨； 变得（越来越）衰弱； 因渴望而变得憔悴或闷闷不乐

参考例句：

• Our project languished during the holidays. 我们的计划在假期间推动得松懈了。
• He languished after his dog died. 他狗死之后，人憔悴了。

3 buzzer   

n.蜂鸣器；汽笛

参考例句：

• The buzzer went off at eight o'clock.蜂鸣器在8点钟时响了。
• Press the buzzer when you want to talk.你想讲话的时候就按蜂鸣器。

4 elite   

n.精英阶层；实力集团；adj.杰出的，卓越的

参考例句：

• The power elite inside the government is controlling foreign policy.政府内部的一群握有实权的精英控制着对外政策。
• We have a political elite in this country.我们国家有一群政治精英。

5 wade   

v.跋涉，涉水；n.跋涉

参考例句：

• We had to wade through the river to the opposite bank.我们只好涉水过河到对岸。
• We cannot but wade across the river.我们只好趟水过去。

6 columnist   

n.专栏作家

参考例句：

• The host was interviewing a local columnist.节目主持人正在同一位当地的专栏作家交谈。
• She's a columnist for USA Today.她是《今日美国报》的专栏作家。

7 echelon   

n.梯队；组织系统中的等级；v.排成梯队

参考例句：

• What kind of friends can be considered the first echelon of the friends?那什么样的朋友才能算第一梯队的朋友？
• These are the first echelon members.这些是我们的第一梯队的队员。

8 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。

9 flipped   

轻弹( flip的过去式和过去分词 )； 按（开关）； 快速翻转； 急挥

参考例句：

• The plane flipped and crashed. 飞机猛地翻转，撞毁了。
• The carter flipped at the horse with his whip. 赶大车的人扬鞭朝着马轻轻地抽打。

10 ethic   

n.道德标准，行为准则

参考例句：

• They instilled the work ethic into their children.他们在孩子们的心中注入了职业道德的理念。
• The connotation of education ethic is rooted in human nature's mobility.教育伦理的内涵根源于人本性的变动性。

11 maniac   

n.精神癫狂的人；疯子

参考例句：

• Be careful!That man is driving like a maniac!注意！那个人开车像个疯子一样！
• You were acting like a maniac,and you threatened her with a bomb!你像一个疯子，你用炸弹恐吓她！