Mike Richman
June 26, 2014 12:51 PM
WASHINGTON —
Germany, the United States and Algeria secured the final three spots in the World Cup's coveted round of 16 Thursday, a day also highlighted by the stiff punishment handed down against Uruguay's Luis Suarez for biting an opponent.
德國、美國、阿爾及利亞於周四獲得(secure)十六強賽令人垂涎的(coveted)的最後三個席次。當天同樣也讓人矚目的大事是公佈了(hand down)烏拉圭的蘇阿雷茲咬對手球員的嚴厲處份(stiff punishment)。
Germany advanced with a 1-0 win over the U.S. in the Brazilian city of Recife, finishing first in Group G play with seven points. The United States and Portugal both tallied four points in that group, but the U.S. won the tiebreaker with a goal difference of three more than Portugal.
德國在巴西累西腓(Recife)對上美國，以一比零獲勝晉級(advance)，以積分七分為G組第一名。美國與葡萄牙於同組計分(tally)皆為四分，但美國淨勝球(goal difference)多三分，從平手局面中勝出(win the tiebreaker)。(編按：tiebreaker一般指比賽時雙方呈現平手時的最後決勝局或者是延長賽，但此新聞事件中並非指真實的比賽，而是當美國與葡萄牙分組積分平手時，再用淨勝球來決定誰勝出的這個程序。)
The Portuguese posted a 2-1 victory in Brasilia over Ghana, which also was eliminated.
Germany and the U.S. played in a steady downpour, with Germany's Thomas Mueller scoring the game's only goal in the 55th minute.
U.S. coach Jurgen Klinsmann, a one-time superstar player who won the World Cup with Germany in 1990 before coaching the Germans to a third-place finish in the 2006 World Cup, said his squad has room for improvement despite its gritty performance Thursday against a European power.
克林斯曼(Klinsmann)現為美國隊教練，本身也曾是超級球星。在1990年與德國隊贏得世界盃，而2006年出任德國隊教練，贏得第三名。他認為周四美國隊(squad)對上歐洲足球強國(德國)時有非常堅毅、頑強 (gritty)的表現，但還是有進步空間(room for improvement)。
"Obviously, we would have liked to create more chances and find more ways to take it to Germany," he said. "Germany is among the four or five favorites for the title. We're still growing, we're learning."
Obama Congratulates U.S. Team
Across the United States, football (soccer) fans gathered in bars, restaurants and in front of open-air screens to cheer on the U.S. national team, which will be making its fourth appearance in the round of 16, also known as the knockout round, but has never made it past the quarterfinals.
U.S. President Barack Obama said he is proud of the U.S. squad.
"I have to begin by congratulating our U.S. soccer team, Team USA, for advancing to the next round of the World Cup," Mr. Obama said. "We were in what's called the `Group of Death,' and even though we didn't win today, we were in the toughest group, and we got through. So, we still have a chance to win the World Cup, and we could not be prouder of them. They are defying the odds and earned a lot of believers in the process."
美國總統歐巴馬對美國隊的表現感到驕傲。他說：「首先我必須恭喜美國隊晉級到世界盃的下一輪(round)。我們的分組是所謂的死亡之組。今天美國隊雖然沒有贏球，但我們面對的是最難纏的一組，而我們通過測驗，成功晉級了(get through)。我們有贏得世界盃的機會，美國隊讓我們再驕傲不過了(could not be prouder of . . .)。他們與劣勢對抗(defy the odds)，奮鬥的過程中也贏得了大批追隨者的擁戴。」
Germany will open against Algeria Monday in the knockout round. The Algerians tied Russia 1-1 on Thursday in Curitiba, and finished second in Group H with four points.
On Tuesday, the United States will play Belgium, which defeated South Korea 1-0 in Sao Paulo in Thursday's other Group H game. The Belgians finished first in that group with nine points.
The round of 16 begins on Saturday with games featuring four South American teams. Five-time World Cup champion Brazil plays Chile in Belo Horizonte, and Colombia faces Uruguay in Rio de Janeiro.
Suarez Suspended
Uruguay will be without its star striker, Luis Suarez, when it faces Colombia.
Before competition began Thursday, football's governing body, FIFA, banned Suarez for nine international matches and four months for biting an Italian player during Tuesday's World Cup match. He also was fined 2,000 for the incident.
"Such behavior cannot be tolerated on any football pitch, and in particular not at a FIFA World Cup when the eyes of millions of people are on the stars on the field," FIFA said.
在周四競賽開始前，蘇阿雷茲因周二於世界盃比賽中咬了義大利球員，被足球的管理機構(governing body) FIFA確定禁止參與國際賽事九場並禁賽四個月。此外，他也需為此事件(incident)罰款十一萬兩千元美金。
FIFA聲明：「這樣的行為在任何足球場上(football pitch)都不允許，尤其不該在有百萬觀眾的眼睛都盯著場上球星的世界盃時發生。」
Television replays show Suarez biting Italy's Giorgio Chiellini in the shoulder. Officials have suspended Suarez twice before in club play for biting opposing players and once for using racially abusive language. On Wednesday, he dismissed the severity of the latest incident, saying "those are situations that happen on the pitch."
蘇阿雷茲咬義大利球員喬吉奧基耶利尼肩膀的畫面在電視台重播。在這之前，蘇阿雷斯已有兩次被官方禁賽(suspend)的紀錄，一次是在俱樂部球賽中咬了對手球員，一次是因為使用種族歧視的侮辱性言語(abusive language)。蘇阿雷斯周三時表示，「這都是球場上會發生的狀況」，他不認為這起事件有這樣的嚴重性 (dismiss the severity of . . .)
Language Notes 
secure (v) 獲得 xxx coveted (a) 渴望得到的；令人垂涎的
hand down (v phr) 正式宣布(判決、處份、決議等)XXXXXhand down另一個意思是「遺留、遺贈」或「傳給後世」的意思，例：The ring was handed down to her from her grandmother.xxxxxxx
tally (v) 得分，計分 squad (n) 小隊；代表出賽(體育項目)的隊伍
gritty (a) 勇敢的 xxxdefy (v) 向…挑戰，對抗 xxxxxxxxxxxxxx ix
incident (n) 事件x xfootball pitch (n phr) 足球場
abusive language (n phr) 侮辱性言語；辱罵 xxxxxxxxxx
Check your vocabulary!
Fill in the blanks with a word or phrase from the list above. Make necessary changes. After you finish, select the text below to reveal the hidden answers.
1. There was a shooting incident near here last night.
2. She said she would defy the party leader and vote against him.
3. Only two starting players are returning from last year's women's basketball squad.
4. Drunken football fans began directing a stream of abusive language at the policemen.
5. The judge has handed down his verdict.
Source：http://www.voanews.com/content/article/1945596.html
編譯：簡嘉呈
館藏介紹
英語宅急便 
