2007年VOA标准英语-Sports Fans, US Businesses Await 'Super Bowl Su

By Ernest Leong
Washington, DC
02 February 2007
 
watch HDTV Superbowl report

America - and a surprisingly large slice of the rest of the world - is about to plunge¹ into Super Bowl Sunday: the annual championship final of the U.S. National Football League.  The game [match] this Sunday (2/4) in Miami, Florida is the high point of the season for professional teams playing American-style football, but it is also a multibillion-dollar commercial event.  VOA's Ernest Leong previews the excitement surrounding the game.

 
"Super Bowl Sunday" is virtually a holiday in the United States.  Not an official holiday, of course, but many activities around the country will come to a halt when American-style football's championship contest begins in southern Florida.

This year the Super Bowl pits the Indianapolis Colts against the Chicago Bears.  Over the past 40 years, the game has become an important part of the American sports calendar ... a time to get together with friends and neighbors ... and a big shopping event.

Millions of Americans -- more than ever before, according to a recent poll -- will be watching the big game in restaurants or bars, or hosting Super Bowl parties.  And well over a million consumers are buying home entertainment centers, furniture or other accessories to enhance their viewing of the big game.

It all adds up to a huge payday: the National Retail² Federation³ says nearly $9 billion  will be spent on Super Bowl-related purchases.

The Super Bowl is no longer an exclusively American event.  Last year, an estimated one billion people around the world tuned⁴ in to watch the game.

 
Taking advantage of cutting-edge technology, this year's Super Bowl will be broadcast in HD -- high-definition -- format⁵ TV. 

Chuck Sanders, a manager at Best Buy, a big electronics store in Washington explains, "HD is generally a higher-definition signal versus⁶ a standard signal.  Basically, you'll get a brighter, sharper picture than you would with a standard picture coming in the house."

And the best way to get the full effect of HD broadcasts is to watch them on high definition television sets -- the bigger, the better, and preferably a flat-screen model.

Salesmen like Abbey Giewa, at a Microcenter electronics store in the Washington suburbs, are expecting a big rise in HDTV sales. "Absolutely, because right now, [the shoppers are saying,] 'I want to share that experience with my family and friends.  I want to have that big-screen TV," he explains.  "I want to be the one to host the Super Bowl party.'"

Sanders adds, "It's an opportunity for everyone to entertain.  So there are more people coming in looking for TVs versus any other time of the year."

Since the 1960s when the Super Bowl began, the game also has become a media event, featuring new commercials and a lavish⁷ half-time show with top names in entertainment.

So even if the football match turns out to be a dud [is boring], television viewers -- especially those with HDTV equipment -- can still enjoy the other attractions that make this Sunday really super.

1 plunge   

v.跳入，(使)投入，(使)陷入；猛冲

参考例句：

• Test pool's water temperature before you plunge in.在你跳入之前你应该测试水温。
• That would plunge them in the broil of the two countries.那将会使他们陷入这两国的争斗之中。

2 retail   

v./n.零售；adv.以零售价格

参考例句：

• In this shop they retail tobacco and sweets.这家铺子零售香烟和糖果。
• These shoes retail at 10 yuan a pair.这些鞋子零卖10元一双。

3 federation   

n.同盟，联邦，联合，联盟，联合会

参考例句：

• It is a federation of 10 regional unions.它是由十个地方工会结合成的联合会。
• Mr.Putin was inaugurated as the President of the Russian Federation.普京正式就任俄罗斯联邦总统。

4 tuned   

adj.调谐的，已调谐的v.调音( tune的过去式和过去分词 )；调整；（给收音机、电视等）调谐；使协调

参考例句：

• The resort is tuned in to the tastes of young and old alike. 这个度假胜地适合各种口味，老少皆宜。
• The instruments should be tuned up before each performance. 每次演出开始前都应将乐器调好音。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 format   

n.设计，版式；[计算机]格式，DOS命令:格式化(磁盘)，用于空盘或使用过的磁盘建立新空盘来存储数据；v.使格式化，设计，安排

参考例句：

• Please format this floppy disc.请将这张软盘格式化。
• The format of the figure is very tasteful.该图表的格式很雅致。

6 versus   

prep.以…为对手，对；与…相比之下

参考例句：

• The big match tonight is England versus Spain.今晚的大赛是英格兰对西班牙。
• The most exciting game was Harvard versus Yale.最富紧张刺激的球赛是哈佛队对耶鲁队。

7 lavish   

adj.无节制的；浪费的；vt.慷慨地给予，挥霍

参考例句：

• He despised people who were lavish with their praises.他看不起那些阿谀奉承的人。
• The sets and costumes are lavish.布景和服装极尽奢华。