时间:2019-01-13 作者:英语课 分类:VOA标准英语2012年(一月)


英语课

Game of Jai Alai Struggles to Attract US Fans


Jai Alai is not child's play. The ball weighs about 150 grams and flies at high speed around a playing court, called a "fronton."

That speed is dangerous and it is what powers the sport.

Long time player John Silvia says the speed of the ball is what first drew him to jai alai.

“The ball averages about 140 miles an hour [about 225 kilometers per hour]. It kind of comes at you like a snake in the air, so it is very difficult to catch. It's very exciting, very fast. I love it!,“ Silvia said.

The players catch and throw the ball with a wicker basket glove called a "cesta" wrapped tightly around one hand.

That, and the ball itself, are features of the game that hark back centuries to the game's origins.

The rules have also changed very little over the years. Players have to keep the ball in motion by hitting it against a wall.

If a player lets the ball go out of bounds or bounce more than once, he is replaced by the next player in line.

The game used to be very popular in many parts of the United States.

“My mom took me when I was a kid to watch, and ever since then I was hooked. The guys were running around and jumping up the wall, and the crowd was screaming when they made good catches. And I was just very excited to see it; I always wanted to do that,” Silvia said.

During its heyday 1 during the mid-20th century, frontons could be found across the country.

Fans turned out by the thousands to be entertained by the sport.

And betting helped make it popular.

Today, Florida is alone in retaining a fan base.

And even here, it is on the wane 2.

Most bettors have gone elsewhere, says long-time fan Rob Craig.

"Nowadays, a lot of times you come and it's a very empty building, very few players. I think the sport just hasn't invested a lot in rebuilding itself. There is a lot of new competition in the area. There is gambling 3, there are casinos, there are slots. It's just one of those things where the sport needs to make a true investment and invest into itself," Craig said.

Manager Simon Jackson says Orlando Jai Alai is trying to do that. He says one aim is to help people understand the game more clearly.

"What we are trying to do is explain the sport in its fullest to give people better understanding and help them with their wagers 4, which is part of what this sport is about. So we are trying to get out more information so that people are not scared," Jackson said.

Jackson says he would like to see the game recapture its popularity. And he says, he believes that can be done with proper marketing 5 and public education.



n.全盛时期,青春期
  • The 19th century was the heyday of steam railways.19世纪是蒸汽机车鼎盛的时代。
  • She was a great singer in her heyday.她在自己的黄金时代是个了不起的歌唱家。
n.衰微,亏缺,变弱;v.变小,亏缺,呈下弦
  • The moon is on the wane.月亮渐亏。
  • Her enthusiasm for him was beginning to wane.她对他的热情在开始减退。
n.赌博;投机
  • They have won a lot of money through gambling.他们赌博赢了很多钱。
  • The men have been gambling away all night.那些人赌了整整一夜。
n.赌注,用钱打赌( wager的名词复数 )v.在(某物)上赌钱,打赌( wager的第三人称单数 );保证,担保
  • He wagers $100 on the result of the election. 他用100美元来对选举结果打赌。 来自互联网
  • He often wagers money on horses. 他时常在马身上赌钱。 来自互联网
n.行销,在市场的买卖,买东西
  • 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。
学英语单词
acate pneumonic tuberculosis
air tanker
Allen key
amynologic
AOEL
AORTF
aperture-field method
Bactris
benzene hexachloride (bhc)
cage structure
camcorders
caraca
carved wooden necklace
ccr(current cell rate)
centerbody
charge turbulent fluctuation
circle shear
circular shelf dryer
closed cycle
coefficient of self oscillation
conjugate locus
conservations of mass
corrosion resisting property
cost utility analysis
cross-adaptation
crumpacker
cryogenic heat pipe
crystalliser
diacetyl-dihydroxydiphenylisatin
dimethyl tartrate
double punch and blank-column detection
dower and courtesy interests
Duhring's diagram
enteric bacillus
epistatic gene
EPO-R
family Lobotidae
Fleet vehicle
fuze firing mechanism
gets along
graduated hopper-charging
gynaeco-
Hall flowmeter
hindshanks
honey glands
Johnny on the spot
lehmannite
listenest
literary critics
make one's escape
marieclaude
mechanization of maintenance
miniatus
molecular absorption band
mounting metallurgical specimens
musculus extensor digitorum longus pedis
network-connected
neutral phosphate
NIH-7519
orates
paddle type agitator
papillary foramen
paris-journal
Phyllomahaleb
pitching change
platform barrier
POPSIPT
Porlezzina
propeller-regulating mechanism
pulpiform
rassling
recovery flap
remerging
resistance-weld mill
rock bolting jumbo
S.S.P.
spheriflex hub
spring gage
stopine
sturrocks
subdetector
superpredicate
switching line
tail throat of a hump yard
teeming stage
tetralogies of fallot
the Met
The sands are running out.
theater air priority number
Themar
tie-in line
tin plate printing
tinamidaes
trachodonts
transfer target
turning block
turpentine wood oil
universal cutter and tool grinder
weather search radar
zahava
Zarp