在线英语听力室

美国国家公共电台 NPR The Science Behind The World Cup Ball

时间：2018-06-25 03:18:50

搜索关注在线英语听力室公众号：tingroom，领取免费英语资料大礼包。

（单词翻译）

The Science Behind The World Cup Ball

DAVID GREENE, HOST:

If you've been watching the World Cup, maybe you've noticed that there is a custom-designed soccer ball being used. NPR's Merrit Kennedy reports that scientists ran tests in a wind tunnel to understand how the new ball plays.

MERRIT KENNEDY, BYLINE1: It's called the Telstar 18. It has six panels and a slick black-and-white design inspired by Russian cityscapes. But is it actually a good soccer ball? To find out, scientists stuck it in a wind tunnel with a bunch of sensors2.

JOHN ERIC GOFF: It's actually recording3 the size of the forces on the ball.

KENNEDY: That's John Eric Goff, a physics professor at Lynchburg College. Adidas has redesigned the World Cup ball for each tournament since 1970, and Goff says tiny changes to the design can make a big difference in how the ball responds during play. For example...

GOFF: The dreaded4 2010 Jabulani ball that was used in South Africa.

KENNEDY: It was too smooth, he says, which caused it to behave in ways that players sometimes weren't expecting. The smoothness issue was basically fixed5 for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. The ball had longer seams joining its panels, which roughened it up a bit. After crunching6 the numbers, Goff says this year's ball probably won't create big controversies7.

GOFF: I don't see that this ball is going to be so drastically different from the 2014 ball.

KENNEDY: But there is one way the players might notice a difference - on high-speed kicks, the kind that a goalkeeper might do to send the ball way down the field. The scientists expect an 8 to 9 percent drop in range with the new ball. So why do they change the ball every time?

GOFF: It's an interesting phenomena8 that the world's most popular sporting event for the world's most popular sport and the most important piece of equipment in that sport is changed every World Cup.

KENNEDY: Goff says it's not about physics; it's about money and marketing9. Adidas sells these balls to the public for a hundred and twenty-four bucks10 each. Merrit Kennedy, NPR News.


分享到：


点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 byline sSXyQ     
n.署名；v.署名
参考例句：
  • His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
  • We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。
2 sensors 029aee483db9ae244d7a5cb353e74602     
n.传感器，灵敏元件( sensor的名词复数 )
参考例句：
  • There were more than 2000 sensors here. 这里装有两千多个灵敏元件。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • Significant changes have been noted where sensors were exposed to trichloride. 当传感器暴露在三氯化物中时，有很大变化。 来自辞典例句
3 recording UktzJj     
n.录音，记录
参考例句：
  • How long will the recording of the song take?录下这首歌得花多少时间？
  • I want to play you a recording of the rehearsal.我想给你放一下彩排的录像。
4 dreaded XuNzI3     
adj.令人畏惧的；害怕的v.害怕，恐惧，担心( dread的过去式和过去分词)
参考例句：
  • The dreaded moment had finally arrived. 可怕的时刻终于来到了。
  • He dreaded having to spend Christmas in hospital. 他害怕非得在医院过圣诞节不可。 来自《用法词典》
5 fixed JsKzzj     
adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的
参考例句：
  • Have you two fixed on a date for the wedding yet?你们俩选定婚期了吗？
  • Once the aim is fixed,we should not change it arbitrarily.目标一旦确定，我们就不应该随意改变。
6 crunching crunching     
v.嘎吱嘎吱地咬嚼( crunch的现在分词 )；嘎吱作响；（快速大量地）处理信息；数字捣弄
参考例句：
  • The horses were crunching their straw at their manger. 这些马在嘎吱嘎吱地吃槽里的草。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • The dog was crunching a bone. 狗正嘎吱嘎吱地嚼骨头。 来自《简明英汉词典》
7 controversies 31fd3392f2183396a23567b5207d930c     
争论
参考例句：
  • We offer no comment on these controversies here. 对于这些争议，我们在这里不作任何评论。 来自英汉非文学 - 历史
  • The controversies surrounding population growth are unlikely to subside soon. 围绕着人口增长问题的争论看来不会很快平息。 来自辞典例句
8 phenomena 8N9xp     
n.现象
参考例句：
  • Ade couldn't relate the phenomena with any theory he knew.艾德无法用他所知道的任何理论来解释这种现象。
  • The object of these experiments was to find the connection,if any,between the two phenomena.这些实验的目的就是探索这两种现象之间的联系，如果存在着任何联系的话。
9 marketing Boez7e     
n.行销，在市场的买卖，买东西
参考例句：
  • They are developing marketing network.他们正在发展销售网络。
  • He often goes marketing.他经常去市场做生意。
10 bucks a391832ce78ebbcfc3ed483cc6d17634     
n.雄鹿( buck的名词复数 )；钱；（英国十九世纪初的）花花公子；（用于某些表达方式）责任v.（马等）猛然弓背跃起( buck的第三人称单数 )；抵制；猛然震荡；马等尥起后蹄跳跃
参考例句：
  • They cost ten bucks. 这些值十元钱。
  • They are hunting for bucks. 他们正在猎雄兔。 来自《简明英汉词典》

本文本内容来源于互联网抓取和网友提交，仅供参考，部分栏目没有内容，如果您有更合适的内容，欢迎 点击提交 分享给大家。