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美国国家公共电台 NPR--What's at stake as the U.S. faces Iran at the World Cup

时间:2023-09-26 01:13:56

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(单词翻译)

What's at stake as the U.S. faces Iran at the World Cup

Transcript1

DOHA, Qatar — One thing you hear over and over here at the Qatar World Cup is how football brings the world together.

That motto is being put to perhaps its toughest test at Al Thumama stadium on Tuesday, where historic foes2 the United States and Iran play a crucial group stage match.

How crucial? Both national teams covet3 a spot in the knockout round, where the initial 32 World Cup teams is halved4 to 16. Iran has never made it that far. The U.S. has, but considers advancement5 to this knockout stage a must, as a way to validate6 the last four years spent building a men's program after the disappointment of failing to qualify for the last World Cup.

The U.S. has to beat Iran to advance. Four years come down to one match.

"We said this team is going to be judged on what we do at the World Cup," American coach Gregg Berhalter said in Doha on Monday, "so that's fine. We'll deal with it. We're focused on winning tomorrow."

As is Iran — who can still advance with a tie, though the team is expected to hold nothing back in pursuit of a win.

In their cocoons7 of team practices and meetings and meals, the focus is simple. But every time both teams have ventured outside, the match focus has been challenged by an escalating8 number of issues far from the tournament's pristine9 green football pitches.

It started with a silent anthem10

At first, the issues involved Iran alone, as the country's recent turmoil11 played out symbolically12 at this World Cup.

It started before Iran's first match, against England, as the Iranian players stayed silent during their national anthem. New reports say that afterward13, the team was called to a meeting with Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps14 and told players' families would be jailed or tortured if the players refused to sing going forward, or joined in any other political protest against the Iranian government. Against Wales, the players sang. But at that match, Iran's domestic troubles began to play out in a more contentious15 way, among Iranian fans. The players' on-field euphoria after beating Wales 2-nil shared the spotlight16 with ugly confrontations17 between fans supporting the protest movement back home, and fans supporting the Iranian government that's been cracking down on protesters.

One of the flashpoints during those confrontations was over flags. Some of the protest movement supporters waved, or tried to wave, pre-revolution flags of Iran. Government supporters, with help from Qatari security, confiscated18 those flags, reportedly ripping some away, and waved flags of the current national Islamic Republic of Iran.

The controversy19 over flags became even more pointed20 when the U.S. entered the fray21.

Be the Change ignites a firestorm

In the lead-up to this World Cup, the U.S. Soccer Federation22 talked frequently about a mission statement it created in the aftermath of the police killing23 of George Floyd — a statement, Be the Change, that promoted an awareness24 and dedication25 to speak out on social injustices26 in the U.S. and around the world.

This past weekend, U.S. Soccer spoke27 out. And ignited a political firestorm.

The idea was to post on social media images of Iran's flag scrubbed of its Islamic emblem28 and language saying "God is great." It was the U.S. federation's way to show "support for the women in Iran fighting for basic human rights."

The action drew support, but also anger and calls for the U.S. team, which had no prior knowledge of the federation's plan, to be kicked out of the World Cup.

The depictions of the doctored flags were removed from social media and the normal Iranian flag was restored. The federation said the removal wasn't because of pressure, but rather because "we wanted to show our support for the women in Iran with our graphic29 for 24 hours."

They may have wanted the show of support to be short-lived, but with tensions already high, the controversy followed both teams to Monday's pre-match press conferences.

Trying to steer30 toward soccer

Speaking to reporters on Monday, Berhalter willingly answered questions about football and Tuesday's match, and dutifully answered questions about the flag flap — often from openly hostile members of the Iranian media contingent31.

Though he apologized on behalf of the players and team, Berhalter said several times that he and the team had no advance warning or involvement in the federation's plan to doctor the Iranian flag.

"We had no idea about what U.S. Soccer put out," Berhalter said, adding, "of course our thoughts are with the Iranian people, the whole country, the whole team, everyone. But our focus is on this match."

Still, questions came, going beyond flags.

One of the more contentious moments came when an Iranian journalist scolded U.S. team captain Tyler Adams for incorrectly saying "eye-ran" rather than "ih-rahn." The 23-year old, who's Black, apologized for the mispronunciation and then thoughtfully answered a question about whether he was "OK to be representing [the U.S.], which has so much discrimination against Black people?"

"There's discrimination everywhere you go," said Adams, whose mother is white and who grew up in a white family. "So I had a little bit of different cultures and I was very easily able to assimilate in different cultures. You know not everyone has that ease and the ability to do that. And obviously it takes longer to understand. And through education, I think it's super important. Like, you just educated me now in the pronunciation of your country. So, yeah, it's a process. I think as long as you see progress, that's the most important thing."

Forget the mental games

Even soccer questions had a political tint32.

In the Iranian team press conference, a British reporter asked coach Carlos Queiroz whether he'd use the flag controversy to motivate his players.

"If after 42 years in this game as a coach," Queiroz said, "I still believe that I could win games with those mental games, I think I did not learn nothing about the game."

Rather than mental games, Adams expects Queiroz to repeat the aggressive, physical style of game Iran played in its last match — an impressive 2-0 win over Wales.

"You could tell from the mentality33 of the group. They were attacking, counterattacking, doing everything they needed to do," Adams said. "Every single moment of the game looked like it could be their moment to score a goal."

Both teams, Adams said, are treating this like a knockout game, where only the winner moves on. In fact, Iran can tie and still advance.

As far as U.S. tactics, Berhalter praised his team's defense34, especially in holding England scoreless in a 0-0 draw on Friday. Berhalter has heard the criticism that his team needs to find a way to score — the U.S. only has one goal in the tournament — but he said the answer isn't in changing personnel among his offensive minded forwards.

"I think they've done a decent job for us," Berhalter said. "It's up to the rest of the group to give them quality [passes] that they can finish off some of these opportunities. We've been defending really well and that keeps you in games. And then we know in this game we're going to need to score a goal, that's going to have to happen. So we stay calm, we have a plan, and we will go out and try to execute that plan."

Calm. Hard to imagine anything about Tuesday's super charged match being calm. The players will try.

But what about those watching?


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点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 transcript JgpzUp     
n.抄本,誊本,副本,肄业证书
参考例句:
  • A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
  • They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。
2 foes 4bc278ea3ab43d15b718ac742dc96914     
敌人,仇敌( foe的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • They steadily pushed their foes before them. 他们不停地追击敌人。
  • She had fought many battles, vanquished many foes. 她身经百战,挫败过很多对手。
3 covet 8oLz0     
vt.垂涎;贪图(尤指属于他人的东西)
参考例句:
  • We do not covet anything from any nation.我们不觊觎任何国家的任何东西。
  • Many large companies covet these low-cost acquisition of troubled small companies.许多大公司都觊觎低价收购这些陷入困境的小公司。
4 halved e23e4ddc1c29e5a63536d2c9bb621fbc     
v.把…分成两半( halve的过去式和过去分词 );把…减半;对分;平摊
参考例句:
  • The shares have halved in value . 股价已经跌了一半。
  • Overall operating profits halved to $24 million. 总的营业利润减少了一半,降至2,400 万元。 来自《简明英汉词典》
5 advancement tzgziL     
n.前进,促进,提升
参考例句:
  • His new contribution to the advancement of physiology was well appreciated.他对生理学发展的新贡献获得高度赞赏。
  • The aim of a university should be the advancement of learning.大学的目标应是促进学术。
6 validate Jiewm     
vt.(法律)使有效,使生效
参考例句:
  • You need an official signature to validate the order.你要有正式的签字,这张汇票才能生效。
  • In order to validate the agreement,both parties sign it.为使协议有效,双方在上面签了字。
7 cocoons 5dceb05da0afff0d0dbbf29f10373b59     
n.茧,蚕茧( cocoon的名词复数 )v.茧,蚕茧( cocoon的第三人称单数 )
参考例句:
  • The silkworms have gone into the bushes to spin their cocoons. 蚕上山了。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
  • In two more days the " little darlings" would spin their cocoons. 再得两天,“宝宝”可以上山。 来自汉英文学 - 春蚕
8 escalating 1b4e810e65548c7656e9ea468e403ca1     
v.(使)逐步升级( escalate的现在分词 );(使)逐步扩大;(使)更高;(使)更大
参考例句:
  • The cost of living is escalating. 生活费用在迅速上涨。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • The cost of living is escalating in the country. 这个国家的生活费用在上涨。 来自辞典例句
9 pristine 5BQyC     
adj.原来的,古时的,原始的,纯净的,无垢的
参考例句:
  • He wiped his fingers on his pristine handkerchief.他用他那块洁净的手帕擦手指。
  • He wasn't about to blemish that pristine record.他本不想去玷污那清白的过去。
10 anthem vMRyj     
n.圣歌,赞美诗,颂歌
参考例句:
  • All those present were standing solemnly when the national anthem was played.奏国歌时全场肃立。
  • As he stood on the winner's rostrum,he sang the words of the national anthem.他站在冠军领奖台上,唱起了国歌。
11 turmoil CKJzj     
n.骚乱,混乱,动乱
参考例句:
  • His mind was in such a turmoil that he couldn't get to sleep.内心的纷扰使他无法入睡。
  • The robbery put the village in a turmoil.抢劫使全村陷入混乱。
12 symbolically LrFwT     
ad.象征地,象征性地
参考例句:
  • By wearing the ring on the third finger of the left hand, a married couple symbolically declares their eternal love for each other. 将婚戒戴在左手的第三只手指上,意味着夫妻双方象征性地宣告他们的爱情天长地久,他们定能白头偕老。
  • Symbolically, he coughed to clear his throat. 周经理象征地咳一声无谓的嗽,清清嗓子。
13 afterward fK6y3     
adv.后来;以后
参考例句:
  • Let's go to the theatre first and eat afterward. 让我们先去看戏,然后吃饭。
  • Afterward,the boy became a very famous artist.后来,这男孩成为一个很有名的艺术家。
14 corps pzzxv     
n.(通信等兵种的)部队;(同类作的)一组
参考例句:
  • The medical corps were cited for bravery in combat.医疗队由于在战场上的英勇表现而受嘉奖。
  • When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时,他自愿参加了海军陆战队。
15 contentious fa9yk     
adj.好辩的,善争吵的
参考例句:
  • She was really not of the contentious fighting sort.她委实不是好吵好闹的人。
  • Since then they have tended to steer clear of contentious issues.从那时起,他们总想方设法避开有争议的问题。
16 spotlight 6hBzmk     
n.公众注意的中心,聚光灯,探照灯,视听,注意,醒目
参考例句:
  • This week the spotlight is on the world of fashion.本周引人瞩目的是时装界。
  • The spotlight followed her round the stage.聚光灯的光圈随着她在舞台上转。
17 confrontations c51194060d6a4df61a641d2290c573ad     
n.对抗,对抗的事物( confrontation的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • At times, this potential has escalated into actual confrontations. 有时,这一矛盾升级为实际的对抗。 来自英汉非文学 - 行政法
  • These confrontations and uncertainties were bing played out for the first time on a global scale. 所有这一切对抗和不稳定,第一次在全球范围内得到充分的表演。 来自辞典例句
18 confiscated b8af45cb6ba964fa52504a6126c35855     
没收,充公( confiscate的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • Their land was confiscated after the war. 他们的土地在战后被没收。
  • The customs officer confiscated the smuggled goods. 海关官员没收了走私品。
19 controversy 6Z9y0     
n.争论,辩论,争吵
参考例句:
  • That is a fact beyond controversy.那是一个无可争论的事实。
  • We ran the risk of becoming the butt of every controversy.我们要冒使自己在所有的纷争中都成为众矢之的的风险。
20 pointed Il8zB4     
adj.尖的,直截了当的
参考例句:
  • He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
  • She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。
21 fray NfDzp     
v.争吵;打斗;磨损,磨破;n.吵架;打斗
参考例句:
  • Why should you get involved in their fray?你为什么要介入他们的争吵呢?
  • Tempers began to fray in the hot weather.大热天脾气烦燥。
22 federation htCzMS     
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。
23 killing kpBziQ     
n.巨额利润;突然赚大钱,发大财
参考例句:
  • Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
  • Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。
24 awareness 4yWzdW     
n.意识,觉悟,懂事,明智
参考例句:
  • There is a general awareness that smoking is harmful.人们普遍认识到吸烟有害健康。
  • Environmental awareness has increased over the years.这些年来人们的环境意识增强了。
25 dedication pxMx9     
n.奉献,献身,致力,题献,献辞
参考例句:
  • We admire her courage,compassion and dedication.我们钦佩她的勇气、爱心和奉献精神。
  • Her dedication to her work was admirable.她对工作的奉献精神可钦可佩。
26 injustices 47618adc5b0dbc9166e4f2523e1d217c     
不公平( injustice的名词复数 ); 非正义; 待…不公正; 冤枉
参考例句:
  • One who committed many injustices is doomed to failure. 多行不义必自毙。
  • He felt confident that his injustices would be righted. 他相信他的冤屈会受到昭雪的。
27 spoke XryyC     
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。
28 emblem y8jyJ     
n.象征,标志;徽章
参考例句:
  • Her shirt has the company emblem on it.她的衬衫印有公司的标记。
  • The eagle was an emblem of strength and courage.鹰是力量和勇气的象征。
29 graphic Aedz7     
adj.生动的,形象的,绘画的,文字的,图表的
参考例句:
  • The book gave a graphic description of the war.这本书生动地描述了战争的情况。
  • Distinguish important text items in lists with graphic icons.用图标来区分重要的文本项。
30 steer 5u5w3     
vt.驾驶,为…操舵;引导;vi.驾驶
参考例句:
  • If you push the car, I'll steer it.如果你来推车,我就来驾车。
  • It's no use trying to steer the boy into a course of action that suits you.想说服这孩子按你的方式行事是徒劳的。
31 contingent Jajyi     
adj.视条件而定的;n.一组,代表团,分遣队
参考例句:
  • The contingent marched in the direction of the Western Hills.队伍朝西山的方向前进。
  • Whether or not we arrive on time is contingent on the weather.我们是否按时到达要视天气情况而定。
32 tint ZJSzu     
n.淡色,浅色;染发剂;vt.着以淡淡的颜色
参考例句:
  • You can't get up that naturalness and artless rosy tint in after days.你今后不再会有这种自然和朴实无华的红润脸色。
  • She gave me instructions on how to apply the tint.她告诉我如何使用染发剂。
33 mentality PoIzHP     
n.心理,思想,脑力
参考例句:
  • He has many years'experience of the criminal mentality.他研究犯罪心理有多年经验。
  • Running a business requires a very different mentality from being a salaried employee.经营企业所要求具备的心态和上班族的心态截然不同。
34 defense AxbxB     
n.防御,保卫;[pl.]防务工事;辩护,答辩
参考例句:
  • The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
  • The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

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