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(单词翻译:双击或拖选)
The United States Women's Olympic ice hockey team will be relying on a mixture of youth and experience as they prepare for the 2010 Winter Games this February in Vancouver, Canada. Women's squads2 from eight different nations will be battling for the gold medal.
Steve Schy | Washington 05 January 2010
Canada's Caroline Quellette and US Kacey Bellamy vie for puck during gold medal match at the IIHF Women's World Ice Hockey Championships in Finland, 12 Apr 2009
The United States Women's Olympic ice hockey team will be relying on a mixture of youth and experience as they prepare for the 2010 Winter Games this February in Vancouver, Canada. Women's squads from eight different nations will be battling for the gold medal.
The women's hockey tournament at the Olympics is a relatively3 new development, with the first of the three tournaments contested thus far being played at the Nagano, Japan Games in 1998. The United States beat Canada in the final to win the inaugural4 gold medal. But since then, Canada has topped the podium, beating the United States in Salt Lake City in 2002 and Sweden at the Turin Games in 2006.
Jenny Potter, left, and Angela Ruggiero during US Women's Hockey press event
Defenseman Angela Ruggiero has been on the United States squad1 from the beginning, playing in Nagano, Salt Lake City and Turin. One of two players on Team USA making her fourth Olympic appearance, Ruggiero says they are playing more games than ever to prepare.
"We're absolutely excited. We've had tremendous success in the last couple of years and we feel our program can still improve on that. And so all of us can attest5 to the fact that there are more games to be had with this team and so much more potential," she said.
Team USA played in the 2009 Hockey Canada Cup last September, a test event at Olympic hockey venues7 in Vancouver, and beat Canada twice on the way to winning the gold medal.
Forward Natalie Darwitz, who played on the national team for the first time at the age of 15 in 1998 and is preparing for her third Olympic tournament, said that was a big achievement.
"I think most important for our team was getting a feel of the Olympic venue6. You know, playing in the rink that is going to host the gold medal game is very important for the players to get a feeling for the ice, for getting a feeling for the locker8 rooms and the crowds most of all. We took some confidence coming away from that and I think standing9 there in the gold medal position really put some goose bumps on some players and is going to be a huge motivational factor to be in that same exact spot come the end of February," she said.
Ruggiero says the Canada Cup was a great preview for the Olympic tournament.
"The U.S., Canada, Finland, Sweden are the dominant10 teams in women's hockey. Kind of what we can anticipate, I think, in the Olympics. But again, you can't take any team lightly. We saw that obviously and women's hockey does continue to improve and that's what is exciting about it, I think," she said.
In November, Team USA took second place at the Four Nations Cup in Finland, losing to Canada in the gold medal game, 5-1.
They are now taking part in the Qwest Tour, which consists of 10 games throughout the United States.
The Olympic women's teams each have 21 players on their rosters11, including three goaltenders. Group-A contains Canada, Sweden, Switzerland and Slovakia, and Group-B includes the United States, Finland, Russia and China.
US Hockey team member Julie Chu
Forward Julie Chu, who is the first Asian on the U.S. women's team and is making her third Olympic appearance, says this team is much different than the 2006 bronze medalists in Turin.
"After 2006 we had a great deal of turnover12 in our support staff, our coaching staff and in our players. So we only have six returning Olympians. And when anyone sees that they think 'Wow, that's a huge turnover.' But I think we saw that as a great opportunity to recreate ourselves," she said.
Goaltender Jessica Vetter is making her first Olympic appearance but has backstopped the University of Wisconsin to three national titles and won two World Championships with Team USA. She's also on a five-game winning streak13 against Canada -- and talks about playing Team USA's arch-rival.
"You have to come in prepared, because if you aren't they will definitely take advantage of you. Especially as a goaltender they will know when you are off. But you know with the Canadians I think it's just not giving them second opportunities. But in the end you just have to go out there and have fun and just make the saves you can and maybe some of the ones you probably shouldn't," she said.
Ruggiero says the Olympics contribute to the growth of women's hockey in the United States.
"We all talk about when we were little we had NHL stars to look up to. And now we have little girls who come to the rink and they look up to us. The more people can see us, the more people can read about us, the more little girls want to be like us. And you'll see an increase in the number of girls registering and having new role models. And I think everyone on our team is an outstanding role model," she said.
Jenny Potter talks to reporters during US Women's hockey team media event
Among the other players to watch on Team USA is Jenny Potter, who is the team's oldest veteran at the age of 30 and playing in her fourth Olympics. On the other end of the scale is scoring threat Hilary Knight14, the youngest U.S. player at 20 years old. She is just nine days younger than Jocelyne and Monique Lamoureux, who will become the first set of twins ever to play hockey in the Olympics.
While other teams are catching15 up, women's ice hockey is still dominated by Canada and the United States, and the two teams are a good bet to meet for the third time for the Olympic title.
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squad
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| n.班，小队，小团体；vt.把…编成班或小组 | |
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squads
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| n.（军队中的）班( squad的名词复数 )；（暗杀）小组；体育运动的运动（代表）队；（对付某类犯罪活动的）警察队伍 | |
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relatively
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| adv.比较...地，相对地 | |
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inaugural
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| adj.就职的；n.就职典礼 | |
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attest
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| vt.证明，证实；表明 | |
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venue
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| n.犯罪地点，审判地，管辖地，发生地点，集合地点 | |
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venues
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| n.聚集地点( venue的名词复数 )；会场；（尤指）体育比赛场所；犯罪地点 | |
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locker
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| n.更衣箱，储物柜，冷藏室，上锁的人 | |
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standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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dominant
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| adj.支配的，统治的；占优势的；显性的；n.主因，要素，主要的人(或物)；显性基因 | |
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rosters
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| n.花名册( roster的名词复数 )；候选名单v.将（姓名）列入值勤名单( roster的第三人称单数 ) | |
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turnover
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| n.人员流动率，人事变动率；营业额，成交量 | |
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streak
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| n.条理，斑纹，倾向，少许，痕迹；v.加条纹，变成条纹，奔驰，快速移动 | |
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knight
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| n.骑士，武士；爵士 | |
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catching
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| adj.易传染的，有魅力的，迷人的，接住 | |
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