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VOA标准英语2010年-Spirited American Fans Impressed at Fo

时间:2010-07-08 02:50来源:互联网 提供网友:ol7177   字体: [ ]
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Americans buy tickets en masse for tournament, party on in South Africa despite World Cup exit

Darren Taylor | Johannesburg, South Africa 29 June 2010

As the drama of the later rounds of the World Cup in South Africa unfolds, hundreds of thousands of football fans continue to enjoy the host nation’s hospitality.

Prominent among the hordes1 of overseas visitors in South Africa for the soccer spectacle have been supporters from the United States. Even when their team hasn’t been playing, they’ve packed stadiums to watch others in action – always highly visible in their shiny, striped red, white and blue suits, star-spangled top hats and long, snow-white Uncle Sam beards.

The US loss to Ghana - both a high and low point for American football fans

The US team’s exit from the tournament after last week’s defeat by Ghana has done little to dampen the enthusiasm of many American fans in South Africa, who are determined2 to remain here to soak up the atmosphere.

“Plenty of Americans have not just gone to US games but have attended as many games as possible and will continue to do so,” says Catherine McMahon, a member of Sam’s Army, as the vociferous3 American fans are collectively known.

She says some American fans bought tickets for as many as 10 World Cup matches, including the semifinals and final. Many – including McMahon - attended the competition’s opening game on June 11 between South Africa and Mexico at Soccer City stadium near Johannesburg.

“At first I thought (the ticket) was a little too expensive, and then I just said, ‘How can I not go to that?’ Everybody was just so excited; it was so fun,” McMahon recalls.

Americans ‘brighten’ World Cup with ‘passion’

World Cup organizers say US football supporters have so far bought more than 160,000 tickets - more than the combined totals of traditional soccer powerhouses England and Germany, and second only to South Africans.

McMahon herself is “somewhat surprised” – given that the US is still recovering from a deep recession – that so many American football lovers made the long, expensive journey here and spent so much money on match tickets.

“Maybe it’s just because it’s such a long trip, and once you’ve invested that much time and money, you just figure – what’s another few hundred dollars (for more tickets) as long as you’re already here?” she ponders.

But, whatever the reasons behind the large American presence at South Africa’s World Cup, the country’s people are grateful for it. “Americans are the best tippers. They even tip when I know the service hasn’t been so good!” says Johannesburg sports bar waitress, Glorious Motaung.

US fans have also packed South African memorabilia stores to buy local soccer paraphernalia4, including the jerseys5 of the host country’s national squad6.


US midfielder Landon Donovan

Yet the Americans have impressed their hosts with far more than their willingness to spend dollars.

“I love their attitude,” says Joe Pinheiro, a South African football fan who attended two matches involving the US. “When unfair calls were made against them, they moaned and swore for a few seconds but then immediately carried on singing and backing their team. They’ve just brightened up this event with their passion and goodwill7.”

Thozamile Nkosi, who attended the Ghana versus8 US game, also praised the American visitors. “Their attitude was, ‘We are going to celebrate no matter what’ and nothing got them down; they even partied with Ghana fans after they lost.”

South Africa, a land of contrasts

McMahon says US fans feel “privileged” to be at Africa’s first ever football World Cup, and weren’t put off by media reports of rampant9 violent crime in South Africa ahead of the tournament.

The Washington DC-based first-time visitor to the country said she’d “noted” stories of “street crime and carjackings and robberies” before the competition, but that they didn’t concern her.

“I’ve traveled around a lot (as an aid worker) so I sort of know that that stuff gets exaggerated,” she said. “I haven’t seen anything (in terms of crime) since I have been here.”

McMahon, though, has come to realize the problem is real. “That you can see just by looking at people’s houses in Johannesburg,” she says. “High walls, and you see the electrified10 (security) wire everywhere ...”

 

Iscar Blanco

McMahon remains11 “amazed” though by the “level of development” in the host nation’s big cities, such as Johannesburg. “There’s six-lane highways, and there’s a huge downtown of high-rise buildings, and it looks like almost a European city,” she explains.

But the contrast between this “sophistication” and Johannesburg’s sprawling12 squatter13 camps, McMahon says, is “stark … The income disparity (between South Africans) definitely seems dramatic. The suburbs in Johannesburg are very nice, but then just close by you see all these tin shacks14.”

‘I’ll never forget South Africa’

McMahon says there’s “plenty” she’ll remember from her “first but hopefully not last” visit to South Africa

On her second day in the country, in the city of Pretoria, she found herself caught up in the host nation’s mass euphoria ahead of the World Cup’s opening match. South Africans hit the streets at noon, screaming, dancing and blowing their vuvuzela trumpets15 in a show of support for their team.

 

Creative Commons - Bernard Shane Diaz
Soccer City Stadium in Johannesburg, South Africa. The biggest stadium in Africa

“It was thousands of people, and completely spontaneous … I have never seen such a spontaneous outpouring of joy!” McMahon exclaims. “I will never forget South Africa and its people.”

In particular, she says, she’ll “always remember” South Africans’ concern for the well-being16 of foreign football fans. “I’ve – unsolicited – been asked by half a dozen people – ‘Are you having a good time; are you having any problems; is anyone ripping you off; we really want you to have a good time!’”

McMahon will also remember South Africa’s “fantastic” World Cup stadiums. “I heard some people say Ellis Park (in Johannesburg) was really old and rundown, but I thought it was a really nice stadium, and well designed … Soccer City was a great stadium – really beautiful.”

McMahon says another memorable17 event for her was her first taste of South African boerewors, or ‘farmer’s sausage.’ “A little gamey; but I liked it; a little spicy,” she laughs.

Wish for soccer to be ‘major’ sport in US

Besides the opening game, McMahon attended all the US’s group matches and was “ecstatic” when her team topped Group C ahead of more favored England.

Her happiness has, however, been tempered by US’s loss to Ghana, thus eliminating it from the tournament … But not curbing18 McMahon’s enthusiasm and belief that soccer will someday soon gain its “rightful place” as a “major” sport in the US.

“My friends are writing me and telling me the World Cup is playing in more (US) bars ,and people are skipping work to watch the games, and everybody’s talking about it,” McMahon says. “Soccer is getting bigger and bigger in the US, and you can see that by the very many American fans that have made the effort to get to South Africa.”

 


点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 hordes 8694e53bd6abdd0ad8c42fc6ee70f06f     
n.移动着的一大群( horde的名词复数 );部落
参考例句:
  • There are always hordes of tourists here in the summer. 夏天这里总有成群结队的游客。
  • Hordes of journalists jostled for position outside the conference hall. 大群记者在会堂外争抢位置。 来自《简明英汉词典》
2 determined duszmP     
adj.坚定的;有决心的
参考例句:
  • I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
  • He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。
3 vociferous 7LjzP     
adj.喧哗的,大叫大嚷的
参考例句:
  • They are holding a vociferous debate.他们在吵吵嚷嚷地辩论。
  • He was a vociferous opponent of Conservatism.他高声反对保守主义。
4 paraphernalia AvqyU     
n.装备;随身用品
参考例句:
  • Can you move all your paraphernalia out of the way?你可以把所有的随身物品移开吗?
  • All my fishing paraphernalia is in the car.我的鱼具都在汽车里。
5 jerseys 26c6e36a41f599d0f56d0246b900c354     
n.运动衫( jersey的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • The maximum quantity of cotton jerseys this year is about DM25,000. 平方米的羊毛地毯超过了以往的订货。 来自口语例句
  • The NBA is mulling the prospect of stitching advertising logos onto jerseys. 大意:NBA官方正在酝酿一个大煞风景的计划——把广告标志绣上球服! 来自互联网
6 squad 4G1zq     
n.班,小队,小团体;vt.把…编成班或小组
参考例句:
  • The squad leader ordered the men to mark time.班长命令战士们原地踏步。
  • A squad is the smallest unit in an army.班是军队的最小构成单位。
7 goodwill 4fuxm     
n.善意,亲善,信誉,声誉
参考例句:
  • His heart is full of goodwill to all men.他心里对所有人都充满着爱心。
  • We paid £10,000 for the shop,and £2000 for its goodwill.我们用一万英镑买下了这家商店,两千英镑买下了它的信誉。
8 versus wi7wU     
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。
9 rampant LAuzm     
adj.(植物)蔓生的;狂暴的,无约束的
参考例句:
  • Sickness was rampant in the area.该地区疾病蔓延。
  • You cannot allow children to rampant through the museum.你不能任由小孩子在博物馆里乱跑。
10 electrified 00d93691727e26ff4104e0c16b9bb258     
v.使电气化( electrify的过去式和过去分词 );使兴奋
参考例句:
  • The railway line was electrified in the 1950s. 这条铁路线在20世纪50年代就实现了电气化。
  • The national railway system has nearly all been electrified. 全国的铁路系统几乎全部实现了电气化。 来自《简明英汉词典》
11 remains 1kMzTy     
n.剩余物,残留物;遗体,遗迹
参考例句:
  • He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
  • The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。
12 sprawling 3ff3e560ffc2f12f222ef624d5807902     
adj.蔓生的,不规则地伸展的v.伸开四肢坐[躺]( sprawl的现在分词 );蔓延;杂乱无序地拓展;四肢伸展坐着(或躺着)
参考例句:
  • He was sprawling in an armchair in front of the TV. 他伸开手脚坐在电视机前的一张扶手椅上。
  • a modern sprawling town 一座杂乱无序拓展的现代城镇
13 squatter 6e108420db496a4914be84015ab9c256     
n.擅自占地者
参考例句:
  • The squatter settlements originally came into being through illegal land invasions. 违章建筑区最初是通过非法的土地占有而形成的。
  • Squatter control is maintained by regular patrols and hut-to-hut checks. 当局定期逐户视察所有寮屋,以收管制之效。
14 shacks 10fad6885bef7d154b3947a97a2c36a9     
n.窝棚,简陋的小屋( shack的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • They live in shacks which they made out of wood. 他们住在用木头搭成的简陋的小屋里。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • Most people in Port au-Prince live in tin shacks. 太子港的大多数居民居住在铁皮棚里。 来自互联网
15 trumpets 1d27569a4f995c4961694565bd144f85     
喇叭( trumpet的名词复数 ); 小号; 喇叭形物; (尤指)绽开的水仙花
参考例句:
  • A wreath was laid on the monument to a fanfare of trumpets. 在响亮的号角声中花圈被献在纪念碑前。
  • A fanfare of trumpets heralded the arrival of the King. 嘹亮的小号声宣告了国王驾到。
16 well-being Fe3zbn     
n.安康,安乐,幸福
参考例句:
  • He always has the well-being of the masses at heart.他总是把群众的疾苦挂在心上。
  • My concern for their well-being was misunderstood as interference.我关心他们的幸福,却被误解为多管闲事。
17 memorable K2XyQ     
adj.值得回忆的,难忘的,特别的,显著的
参考例句:
  • This was indeed the most memorable day of my life.这的确是我一生中最值得怀念的日子。
  • The veteran soldier has fought many memorable battles.这个老兵参加过许多难忘的战斗。
18 curbing 8c36e8e7e184a75aca623e404655efad     
n.边石,边石的材料v.限制,克制,抑制( curb的现在分词 )
参考例句:
  • Progress has been made in curbing inflation. 在控制通货膨胀方面已取得了进展。
  • A range of policies have been introduced aimed at curbing inflation. 为了抑制通货膨胀实施了一系列的政策。
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TAG标签:   VOA标准英语  drama  drama
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