Chinese-born coach leads US women's volleyball to finals

时间：2008-08-22 03:23:52

（单词翻译:单击）

As emotional as they always are, the American women celebrated1 their historic return to the Olympic final in 24 years on Thursday afternoon with big smiles on the tearful faces.



US head coach Lang Ping talks to her players Stacy Sykora (L) and Kim Willoughby in this August 17, 2008 file photo.

 

 

No wonder they were unable to control the emotions, as the last time the United States contented2 for an Olympic gold was in 1984, where they surrendered the championship at the home court of Los Angeles to China, just led by their current head coach "Iron Hammer" Lang Ping.

It only took the Americans 67 minutes to accomplish their sweet revenge 25-20, 25-16 and 25-17 for a straight-set loss to Cuba in the preliminaries. The American opposite Tayyiba Haneef-Park led all players with 12 points.

"I am happy for myself, but I'm happier for the players. They deserve it. They've worked hard for three or four years and cooperated well," said Lang, who was described by US player Logan Tom as "squeaking3 like a little girl" after the surprising 3-0 win.

"When we played Cuba, we lost in straight sets, but we never won in straight sets. But today when I was sitting on bench, I didn't have any worries - especially the older players, they did a fantastic job," said Lang.

Kim Willoughby, Lang's "great substitution" who scored decisive points with high-jump spikes4 in the match, attributed the win to the "unity5" of the team.

"We watched videos of the first match (against Cuba) and we said 'Hey, how can we played in such a flat way.' So, today, we came back and we played as team, as one," she said.

Just steps away from the ecstatic American team, misty6 eyes could also be seen on the stern faces of Cuban players.

Four-time Olympian Yumilka Ruiz hid her sorrows behind a white towel, while wing spiker Nancy Carrillo scrunched7 up her face and rubbed her hand over the eyes.


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1 celebrated iwLzpz     
adj.有名的，声誉卓著的
参考例句：
  • He was soon one of the most celebrated young painters in England.不久他就成了英格兰最负盛名的年轻画家之一。
  • The celebrated violinist was mobbed by the audience.观众团团围住了这位著名的小提琴演奏家。
2 contented Gvxzof     
adj.满意的，安心的，知足的
参考例句：
  • He won't be contented until he's upset everyone in the office.不把办公室里的每个人弄得心烦意乱他就不会满足。
  • The people are making a good living and are contented,each in his station.人民安居乐业。
3 squeaking 467e7b45c42df668cdd7afec9e998feb     
v.短促地尖叫( squeak的现在分词 )；吱吱叫；告密；充当告密者
参考例句：
  • Squeaking floorboards should be screwed down. 踏上去咯咯作响的地板应用螺钉钉住。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • Can you hear the mice squeaking? 你听到老鼠吱吱叫吗？ 来自《简明英汉词典》
4 spikes jhXzrc     
n.穗( spike的名词复数 )；跑鞋；（防滑）鞋钉；尖状物v.加烈酒于( spike的第三人称单数 )；偷偷地给某人的饮料加入（更多）酒精（ 或药物）；把尖状物钉入；打乱某人的计划
参考例句：
  • a row of iron spikes on a wall 墙头的一排尖铁
  • There is a row of spikes on top of the prison wall to prevent the prisoners escaping. 监狱墙头装有一排尖钉，以防犯人逃跑。 来自《简明英汉词典》
5 unity 4kQwT     
n.团结，联合，统一；和睦，协调
参考例句：
  • When we speak of unity,we do not mean unprincipled peace.所谓团结，并非一团和气。
  • We must strengthen our unity in the face of powerful enemies.大敌当前，我们必须加强团结。
6 misty l6mzx     
adj.雾蒙蒙的，有雾的
参考例句：
  • He crossed over to the window to see if it was still misty.他走到窗户那儿，看看是不是还有雾霭。
  • The misty scene had a dreamy quality about it.雾景给人以梦幻般的感觉。
7 scrunched c0664d844856bef433bce5850de659f2     
v.发出喀嚓声( scrunch的过去式和过去分词 )；蜷缩；压；挤压
参考例句：
  • The snow scrunched underfoot. 雪在脚下发出嘎吱嘎吱的声音。
  • He scrunched up the piece of paper and threw it at me. 他把那张纸揉成一个小团，朝我扔过来。 来自《简明英汉词典》

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