Steel Roses Blooming (P34)
山西运城康杰中学    连芳

Lead-in 
What was the result of the World Cup Qualifying match between China and Australia?
   
Skimming     
Read and figure out the genre of the article.
A news report.

Scanning
Questions: 
Para 3:
1. What does AFC stand for?
AFC stands for Asian Football Confederation.
It was founded in 1954, consisting of 46 clubs, with its headquarters in Kuala Lumpur (吉隆坡).

2. What happened before the qualifying tournament?
Coronavirus broke out in Wuhan, which was closed down on January 23. Three players – Wangshuang, Yaowei and LuYueyun – were forced to stay at home.

Para 4:
3.  What happened after Chinese players arrived in Brisbane?
They had to receive medical check and they endured a week-long quarantine period.

4. How did they train themselves?
They trained themselves in their rooms and hotel corridors. 

Para 5:
5. What's the result of matches against Thailand and Taipei ?
Chinese beat Thailand and Chinese Taipei, 6-1 and 5-0 respectively.

Para 6:
6. How does coach Jia Xiuquan evaluate the team?
They’ve shown great skill and executed (执行) our tactics (战术) well.

Para 10:
7.  How did Wang Shuang inspire her teammates?
She showed support for her teammates with a Weibo message after the third match, which read: “I’m so proud of all of you!”

Para 11:
8. What's the key to success from Jia Xiuquan's perspective?
Preparation, good performance and attention to details
9. What's the treasure of the Chinese soccer team?
Their calmness, unity, optimism and toughness in adversity （逆境）.

Language focus
1. The odds were against the Chinese women’s soccer team, but the “Steel Roses” stood strong.
中国女足运气不佳，但是“钢铁玫瑰”依然坚定。
odds means “chances”, e.g.
Invest now- the odds are that the share prices will rise after the budget.
The odds are in favor of a Russian victory.
The odds are against sb 某人（成功）可能性小，希望渺茫 
Always make a total effort , ever when the odds are against you.  
即使成功机会不大，也一定要全力以赴。

2. Even under normal circumstances, the second-place finish in their AFC Olympic qualifying tournament would have been cause for applause. However, given the disruption caused by the coronavirus outbreak, their achievement is deserving of extra praise.
即使在正常情况下，她们在亚足联奥运会资格赛中获得第二名，也会赢得掌声。然而，鉴于冠状病毒爆发所造成的破坏，她们的成就值得额外的赞扬。
would have been cause for ...是虚拟语气的主句。
given the disruption ：considering the disruption
Given the general state of his health, it may take him a long time to recover from his operation. 

3. The tournament, which was originally meant to be staged in virus-hit Wuhan, was switched to Australia with short notice. 
临时通知，原计划在受病毒袭击的武汉所举办的资格赛转战澳大利亚。
short notice “临时通知”，e.g.
A long time ago, I was asked to switch assignmnets on very short notice, from a fun project to a much less fun project.
We hope to stage four plays this season.
He used to play tennis, but now he's switched to golf. 

4. Upon their arrival in Brisbane on Jan 29, the Chinese players endured a weeklong quarantine (隔离) period, restricting them to training as best they could manage in their rooms and hotel corridors ahead of their opening match against Thailand in Sydney on Feb 7. 
中国女足球员在1月29日抵达布里斯班后，接受了长达一周的隔离，她们只能在酒店房间和走廊里训练，这限制了她们备战2月7日首场在悉尼举行的与泰国女足的比赛。 
upon their arrival in Brisbane: as soon as they arrived in Brisbane
restricting作结果状语。
they could manage ....是定语从句修饰training。

5. The Roses somehow still managed to beat Thailand and Chinese Taipei, 6-1 and 5-0 respectively, before wrapping up the campaign with a dramatic (戏剧性的) 1-1 draw against host Australia on Feb 13.
respectively: 各自地，依次地。
My two sons, Adam and Alexander, are five and nine, respectively.
wrap up means “finish or complete”, e.g. 
The police will soon be wrapping up the investigation.

6. Tang Jiali’s 86th-minute strike (进球) seemed to have earned China the win after striker Wang Shanshan spurned (踢开) several chances to finish the game off. However, the Aussies made China pay when Emily van Egmond fired home in the 92nd-minute.
在攻击手王珊珊丢失几次让比赛结束的机会之后，唐佳丽在第86分钟的进球似乎已经让中国队赢得了胜利。然而，在第92分钟艾米莉进球得分，中国队遭绝平。 

7. Tang admitted the result was hard to swallow but immediately set her sights on preparing for the playoff against South Korea.
唐佳丽承认这个结果难以接受，但是她立刻将目光投向了对韩国队的复赛。
He swallowed the last of his coffee and asked for the bill.
Daisy tried hard to swallow her doubts. Daisy努力抑制她的疑心。

8. “In general, our team had great performances. But it’s pretty disappointing to draw the game this way at the end,” said the midfielder. 
“总的来说，我们队表现很好。但是以这种方式打成平局是非常令人失望的”这位中锋说。