2007年VOA标准英语-Football: US, China Face Off in Advance of Gold

By Mike O'Sullivan
Los Angeles
01 June 2007

The United States will face China in a friendly soccer match Saturday, in the California city of San Jose.  Mike O'Sullivan reports from Los Angeles, the game will test both teams in advance of separate regional competitions.

The US football team practices

The U.S.-China match, and another two games against U.S. Major League Soccer (football) teams, will help China prepare for the Asian Cup, which starts July 7.

The game will help the United States prepare for the Gold Cup, the regional championship for North and Central America and the Caribbean.  The U.S. team is defending champion.

U.S. goalkeeper Kasey Keller, 37, says Saturday's friendly match is good for veterans¹ like him, and for younger teammates.

"For some players that don't have experience, it's so important for some of those younger players to perform in the friendlies to be given a chance in the games that matter, so for them it's huge," he explained.  "Maybe for me, I'm coming off an injury, so for me, it's nice to get a little bit of a game in to make sure everything is going in the right direction, before it matters."

Lee Nguyen

Some top U.S. and Chinese players will miss the match because of commitments² to their professional teams, but midfielder Lee Nguyen, 20, who plays for PSV Eindhoven in the Netherlands, is one of several new players on the U.S. roster³.  A star in U.S. national youth leagues, he is new to the senior team.

"It's a great experience to be called up and it's an honor," he said.  "So I'm very happy.  And I just want to get in and show what I can do."

Upcoming U.S. matches will also be a test for new coach Bob Bradley, who says the U.S. team must maintain⁴ momentum⁵ through June.

"The ability now to come together as a group, keep ourselves on our toes, have a good way of working together throughout the entire month, I think is important, and certainly the way it works⁶ when it comes to World Cups and so that sort of team-building, I think, is the key for this summer," he said.

The Gold Cup will be played in six U.S. cities June 6 through June 24.  Then the U.S. team will play as a guest nation in South America's Copa America in Venezuela June 26 through mid-July.

China's team will take on the Los Angeles Galaxy⁷ and Colorado Rapids June 5 and June 10 as part of their warmup for the Asian Cup.

1 veterans   

经验丰富的人，老兵( veteran的名词复数 )； 退伍军人

参考例句：

• Some veterans of the two world wars gathered to celebrate their victory. 一些经历了两次世界大战的退伍军人欢聚庆祝胜利。
• Seasoned veterans were picked to storm the difficult enemy position. 有经验的老兵被挑选出来去突袭难攻的敌军阵地。

2 commitments   

n.委托( commitment的名词复数 )；任务；承担的义务

参考例句：

• I am very tired because I have taken on so many commitments. 我很累，因为我承担了很多的事情。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• These commitments have already been breached. 这些承诺已遭背弃。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 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。

4 maintain   

vt.支撑；赡养，抚养；维持，保有

参考例句：

• He has to maintain a large family on a small salary.他不得不依靠很少的工资养活一家人。
• We must do our best to maintain sales at their usual rate.我们要尽力使销售额保持在平日的水平上。

5 momentum   

n.动力，冲力，势头；动量

参考例句：

• We exploit the energy and momentum conservation laws in this way.我们就是这样利用能量和动量守恒定律的。
• The law of momentum conservation could supplant Newton's third law.动量守恒定律可以取代牛顿第三定律。

6 works   

n.作品，著作；工厂，活动部件，机件

参考例句：

• We expect writers to produce more and better works.我们期望作家们写出更多更好的作品。
• The novel is regarded as one of the classic works.这篇小说被公认为是最优秀的作品之一。

7 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。