华尔街中级英语Lesson 40

     Football of course is a team game, isn’t it?  However what we tend to hear about all the time are the individual the soccer stars our heroes on the football field.  Is it difficult for a football player to learn not to be a personality, but to be a part of a team, do you think?  It is, yes.  That’s a very good question.   And one that many clubs have never totally resolved.  Obviously, managers want to encourage the individuals, but they also know that if they are going to those results that I spoke¹ about earlier in other words, if they are going to win the game.  It’s got to be a team effort.  And teams of course have different ways of playing a different style of approaching the game.  Sometimes, England, especially in world cup competition have been called a bit pedantic², a bit slow, a bit stodgy³ in the way they play football.  Where as other teams play with more energy and flare⁴.  Do you think that’s fair?  Yes. It is very and very often.  The English approach appears to be, as you put it, pedantic and rather slow.  And certainly the club that I follow has that same approach.  Their tactics ia simplely the goal keeper gets the ball and he punts it high up into the other half.  And they hope somebody will be underneath⁵ it, from our side, who will be able to control that ball sweep it out to the wing.  The winger sweeps it back in again and bang it’s in the net.  that’s the theory, but in practise, it doesn’t work out  that way.  And the trouble is the spectators do get a bit fed up with one type football.  Finally, John you obviously love the game of football and as a professional commentator⁶ you’ve been looking at the game for some years now.  What do you think the future holds for English football?  I’m very concerned about the future and I think most people   associated with football are concerned with the future of English football or football in general.  Largely for the reasons I’ve stated and big money is entering the field, the television companies are entering the field literally⁷.  The spectators are not being given enough attention and consideration.  It’s becoming less of sport and more of business.  And that concerns me very much indeed.

1 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

2 pedantic   

adj.卖弄学问的；迂腐的

参考例句：

• He is learned,but neither stuffy nor pedantic.他很博学，但既不妄自尊大也不卖弄学问。
• Reading in a pedantic way may turn you into a bookworm or a bookcase,and has long been opposed.读死书会变成书呆子，甚至于成为书橱，早有人反对过了。

3 stodgy   

adj.易饱的；笨重的；滞涩的；古板的

参考例句：

• It wasn't easy to lose puppy fat when Mum fed her on stodgy home cooking.母亲给她吃易饱的家常菜，她想减掉婴儿肥可是很难。
• The gateman was a stodgy fellow of 60.看门人是个六十岁的矮胖子。

4 flare   

v.闪耀，闪烁；n.潮红；突发

参考例句：

• The match gave a flare.火柴发出闪光。
• You need not flare up merely because I mentioned your work.你大可不必因为我提到你的工作就动怒。

5 underneath   

adj.在...下面，在...底下；adv.在下面

参考例句：

• Working underneath the car is always a messy job.在汽车底下工作是件脏活。
• She wore a coat with a dress underneath.她穿着一件大衣，里面套着一条连衣裙。

6 commentator   

n.注释者，解说者；实况广播评论员

参考例句：

• He is a good commentator because he can get across the game.他能简单地解说这场比赛，是个好的解说者。
• The commentator made a big mistake during the live broadcast.在直播节目中评论员犯了个大错误。

7 literally   

adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实

参考例句：

• He translated the passage literally.他逐字逐句地翻译这段文字。
• Sometimes she would not sit down till she was literally faint.有时候，她不走到真正要昏厥了，决不肯坐下来。