世界棒球经典赛.doc

April 15, 2009 Vol. 62 by Theodore Pigott, special correspondentJapan: Big Winners of WBCIt was a spectacular finish for the 2009 World Baseball Classic, as Japan defeated South Korea on March 23 to win this championship title once again. Japan was able to beat the South Korean team 5 to 3, but not before the game went into extra innings. More than 54,000 people packed Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, California, to watch the series final, with supporters of both Japan and South Korea waving flags and cheering loudly. Millions of baseball fans tuned in around the world for the championship game, and they were rewarded with an epic battle between these two baseball powerhouses. The World Baseball Classic (WBC) began in 2006. Japan won the first WBC that year by defeating Cuba 10 to 6. For the second WBC in 2009, teams from sixteen countries were invited to take part, and the tournaments first-round games were played in Tokyo, Mexico City, Toronto, and San Juan. Taiwans team, playing under the name of Chinese Taipei, had to compete in Pool A against tough opponents such as Japan, South Korea, and China. Unfortunately, Taiwan lost to South Korea and China, so it was eliminated from the tournament in the first round. The WBC then shifted to the United States for the rest of the tournament. In the semi-finals, South Korea crushed Venezuela 10 to 2, and Japan triumphed over the USA by a score of 9 to 4. This set up the WBCs final game between arch-rivals Japan and South Korea. Before this championship matchup, the two teams had already met four times in the Classic, with both teams winning two games apiece. Therefore, anticipation was high as the two teams squared off on March 23 in LA. Japan scored first, but the game remained very close. Then, in the bottom of the ninth inning, South Korea tied the game, forcing extra innings. In the tenth inning, however, Ichiro Suzuki, Japans star outfielder for the Seattle Mariners, blasted a line-drive single to drive home two runners and win the game. The win gave Japan its second consecutive WBC crown, and Japans Daisuke Matsuzaka was named the tournaments Most Valuable Player for the second consecutive time. So, although the 2009 World Baseball Championship didnt turn out that well for Taiwan, it did provide baseball fans around the world with one of the most exciting championship games in recent history.Reading Comprehension( ) 1. How many times did Japan and South Korea compete in the second WBC?(A) 5.(B) 4. (C) 3.(D) 2.( ) 2. The South Korean team _.(A) won the first WBC 2006(B) defeated Cuba in the first WBC 2006(C) won twice when competing with Japan in WBC 2009(D) scored first in the final of the 2009 WBC( ) 3. Where did the WBC 2009 final take place?(A) Tokyo.(B) Los Angeles.(C) Mexico City.(D) San Juan.( ) 4. About the Japanese team, which of the following is correct?(A) Japan was losing, but tied the game in the ninth inning.(B) Ichiro Suzuki was named the MVP of the WBC 2009.(C) Japan defeated Venezuela and the USA in the semi-finals.(D) Japan scored five points in the final of the WBC 2009.( ) 5. Which of the following is true?(A) Chinese Taipei defeated South Korea before it was eliminated from the game.(B) The WBC has a long history.(C) The first-round games werent played in Asia.(D) The series of games were all played in the United States except for the first-round games.Vocabulary and Phrases1. WBC (= World Baseball Classic) 世界棒球經典賽第一屆比賽於2006年舉辦，為一世界性的棒球國際大賽。世界棒球經典賽是首次有許多來自美國職棒大聯盟的球員參賽的最高水準國際性比賽，這主要是因為夏季奧運和美國職棒大聯盟的球季時間重疊，而其他盃賽的重要性又不足，所以大聯盟的球員都並未直接參與。第一屆及2009年舉辦的第二屆皆由日本隊奪得冠軍。2. spectacular spEkt8kj1l2 adj. 突然的，意料之外的The celebration started with a spectacular display of fireworks. It was the first time and it was amazing.3. defeat dIfit v. 擊敗With great confidence and months of hard practice, the team has a good chance to defeat last years champion.4. championship tS8mpI1n&SIp n. 冠軍(的頭銜，地位)The championship belonged to the best dancer in the contest.5. inning InI9 n. (棒球的) 局6. Dodger Stadium n. 道奇球場位於美國洛杉磯近郊的一座棒球場，是美國職棒大聯盟洛杉磯道奇隊的主場。道奇球場於1962年完工啟用，可容納約56,000名觀眾。7. Los Angeles lOsandZ1l1s n. 洛杉磯市經常縮寫為L.A.，位於美國西岸的加州南部，洛杉磯是加州人口最多的城市，也是美國人口第二多的城市，僅次於紐約市。洛杉磯更以電影工業著名，因為美國的電影及流行文化重鎮好萊塢，就座落於洛杉磯西區，奠定了洛杉磯在全球流行文化方面的重要地位。8. series sIrIz n. (棒球等的運動賽事的)連續比賽9. reward rIwOrd v. 報答，報償He was rewarded with a prize for his invention of a new medicine.10. epic EpIk adj. 宏大的，給人深刻印象的Ben wants to be an architect. He wants to build epic buildings that impresses all the people around the world.11. powerhouse pa52&ha5s n. 有勢力的團體12. Cuba kjub1 n. 古巴古巴共和國，位於美國佛羅里達州以南，是美洲加勒比海北部的一個群島國家。13. tournament t3n1m1nt n. 錦標賽，聯賽14. Mexico City mEksI&ko n. 墨西哥城位於墨西哥中部的高原地區中心，是墨西哥的首都，也是該國的政治、經濟與文化中心，亦為世界上最大的都市之一。15. Toronto t1rAnto n. 多倫多加拿大安大略省的首府，人口超過250萬，是加拿大最大城，北美第五大城。多倫多市坐落於安大略湖西北岸，人口稠密，是大多倫多地區的心臟地區。16. San Juan n. 聖胡安為一海港都市，是美國自治領地波多黎各的首府和最大城市，人口約43萬人；鄰近都會區的人口約200萬，占波多黎各人口的一半。聖胡安曾在16世紀被西班牙殖民；該城也是歐洲人最早在今天的美國建立的城市。17. opponent 1pon1nt n. 對手，競爭者Chinese Taipeis opponent in todays match is South Korea.18. unfortunately nfOrtS1nItlI adv. 不幸地Unfortunately, the boys father died in an airplane crash.19. eliminate IlIm1&net v. (從比賽中) 淘汰Our team was eliminated in the first round. We didnt have the chance to compete in the rest of the series.20. shift SIft v. 移動，搬移Marry felt very uncomfortable when she talked to John. She kept shifting from one foot to another.21. semi-final &sEm1faInL n. 準決賽22. crush krS v. 擊敗Because our team practiced very hard this time, we crushed our opponent in this game.23. Venezuela &vEn1zwil1 n. 委內瑞拉委內瑞拉玻利瓦爾共和國，簡稱委內瑞拉，首都卡拉卡斯（Caracas），為一位於南美洲北部的國家。24. triumph traI1mf v. 獲得勝利It was our first time to triumph at the Olympics.25. arch-rival ArtS raIvL n. 主要競爭對手26. matchup m8tS&p n. 比賽27. apiece 1pis adv. 各Those shirts cost me NT$200 apiece.28. anticipation 8n&tIs1peS1n n. 預期I prepared extra cake and tea in anticipation of more people coming to the party than I had invited.29. Ichiro Suzuki n. 鈴木一朗1973年10月22日出生於日本的愛知縣，是非常著名的職棒明星選手，被認為是天才型的打者。鈴木一朗在日本職棒第一個完整球季 (1994年) 就締造了單季最多安打的紀錄 (210支)，之後每年都以相當優秀的打擊率連續7年拿下打擊王。2001年，鈴木一朗加入西雅圖水手隊，開始挑戰美國職棒大聯盟，第一年就以驚人的成績拿下新人王、年度MVP、打擊王、盜壘王等眾多獎項，並於2004年締造了美國職棒的單季最多安打紀錄 (262支)。截至2008年為止，鈴木一朗在美國職棒每年都擊出200支以上的安打，並且都獲得金手套獎。30. outfielder a5tfild2 n. 外野手31. Seattle Mariners n. 西雅圖水手隊美國職棒大聯盟美聯西區的球隊，主場在西雅圖的Safeco Field。西雅圖水手隊於1977年成軍，在1995-2001年間有不錯的戰績，曾經奪得三次分區冠軍和一次外卡資格，但從未進入過世界大賽，也不曾獲得總冠軍。水手隊的母企業是來自日本的任天堂公司，其美國總部就在西雅圖近郊的Redmond。32. blast bl8st v. 用力擊球John blasted the ball and hit a home run.33. consecutive k1nsEkj1tIv adj. 連貫的There has been no rain at all for four consecutive months. It could cause a drought if the situation doesnt get any better.34. Daisuke Matsuzaka n. 松坂大輔1980年9月13日生於日本的青森縣，是日、美職棒界的著名投手。松坂大輔在高中期間就在甲子園嶄露頭角，被稱之為平成怪物，以快速球和超強的耐力著稱。進入日本職棒之後，松坂大輔也有不錯的成績，在西武獅隊的8年間投出了108勝，之後於2007年加入波士頓紅襪隊，開始挑戰美國職棒大聯盟。截至2008年為止，松坂大