The tongue-twisting nature of its contents confirms that the World Cup ball has come a longway from the leather-and-laces variety that was common as recently as the 1960s.

　　The Fevernova's secret. Adidas says. is its radically improved Syntactic foam and uniqueknitted Raschel fabric.

　　Given that this is supposed to make the ball faster and provide the freekick specialists likeBeckham withmore power, it may not be surprising that goalkeepers like Buffon are unhappy.Spain goalkeeper Pedro Contreras said the bail acts "strangely", while Danish keeper ThomasSorensen admitted gloomily that it would probably result in more spectacular goals. "As agoalkeeper, you have to live with the fact that the makers create balls for the benefit ofstrikers." he said before leaving Copenhagen for South Korea.

　　But outfield players have also weighed in with criticism, many saying the ball is too light andtherefore hard to control. "It’s big and it's too light," Japan's Jiji news agency quoted Brazilianforward Edilsonas saying earlier this month. while striker Rivaldo said it soared too far whenkicked.

　　Journalists at the main press centre in Yokohama have been given the chance to try out theFevernova from the penalty spot, with the aim of hitting special targets in the goal. So far. fewhave been able to scoremore than five out of ten, although this may have little to do with thequality of the ball.

　　Putz. admits that the ball is on the light side of FIFA's 420 to 445 gram weight requirement. butsays it is no bigger than previous balls.

　　The controversy over the ball also has an off-pitch dimension. Industry insiders say it maybe no coincidence that players from Brazil. sponsored by Adidas rival Nike, have been amongthe ball's most vociferous critics.

　　The same might go for the praise dished out for the ball by Beckham. one of the main playersused to promote Adidas equipment.

　　[1]人們說“飛火流星”這種足球無法控制、太大或者“太笨”，而“飛火流星”的制造商阿迪達斯公司卻說它提供了一種最棒的足球體驗，人們的說法得取決于他們問的是哪一個運動員。“飛火流星”也有其推崇者，像英格蘭隊的大衛·見克漢姆，但迄今看來是貶多于褒。

　　阿迪達斯公司聲稱，金光閃閃的“飛火流星”是足球中的極品——比98年法國世界杯用球的精準度提高了25%，這都是因為在德國的科學家對其進行了極其精細的測試。

　　直到20世紀60年代，世界杯專用足球不論怎樣變化通常都是以皮革和線縫制的, [2]而現在“飛火流星”的制作材料那拗口的特性證實了足球制作工藝的發展走過了很長的路。

　　阿迪達斯公司聲稱，“飛火流星”的秘密在于使用了性能極大改善的復合泡沫塑料和獨一無二的拉歇爾經編針織物。

　　既然足球的設計目的是提高其運行速度，使像貝克漢姆這樣的任意球高手踢出的球更有力，那么像布馮那樣的守門員們會感到不快就不足為奇了。[3]西班牙門將佩德羅·孔特拉斯說這種球的運行“古怪”，而丹麥守門員托馬斯·索倫森則沮喪地承認，結果可能會有更多壯觀的進球。他在離開哥本哈根到韓國之前說：“作為一個守門員，你必須面對這樣一個事實，那就是制造商都是為前鋒設計足球的。”

　　但一些外場球員也加入批評之列，許多人認為這種球太輕難于控制。日本時事通訊社引述巴西前鋒埃迪爾森在本月初所說的話：“它太大又太輕”，而前鋒里瓦爾多則說這種球踢起來飛得太遠了。

　　在橫濱主新聞中心的記者們也有機會試踢“飛火流星”，他們可以在罰球點瞄準球門的指定目標踢球。不過迄今還很少有人踢lO次能命中5次以上，盡管這個結果可能和足球的質量沒有多大關系。

　　[4]普策承認“飛火流星”的重量在國際足聯規定的420到445克之間偏輕，但他說其體積完全沒有以往的足球大。

　　對“飛火流星”的爭議有些跑調的地方。一些業內人士認為，由阿迪達斯的商業對頭耐克公司贊助的巴西隊屬于對“飛火流星”最激烈的批評者之列可能一點也不是巧合。

　　[5]曾經為阿迪達斯運動用品促銷的主力球員之一的貝克漢姆對“飛火流星”大加贊賞，也就不足為奇了。

　　1. How does Adidas describe the "Fevernova”ba11?

　　A) The experience provided by the ball is the best so far.

　　B) The ball is almost impossible to control because of its large size.

　　C) The ball has gone through a long way of development.

　　D) The experience provided by the ball is most welcome by strikers.

　　2. What does the author think about the Syntactic foam and unique Raschel fabric chatare used to make theball?

　　A) The materials have long been used in history.

　　B) The materials do not sound Familiar.

　　C) The materials are new and advanced.

　　D) The materials improve che precision of the ball.

　　3. The goalkeepers tend to admit reluctantly that_____________.

　　A) the ball is too strange to control

　　B) the ball is so light that it goes too fast

　　C) the ball may make the game more thrilling

　　D) the ball may help to enhance the strikers' skills

　　4. Which of the following js true according to Putz?

　　A) The ball is lighter than but of the same size as the previous ones.

　　B) The ball should have been heavier to meet the required weight.

　　C) The ball should have been bigger than the previous ones.

　　D) The ball is light but still meets the weight requirement.

　　5. According to industry insiders. Beckham's comment on the ball_____________.

　　A) is justified in his daily training

　　B) is out of commercial purpose

　　C) goes as radical as the Brazilian players'

　　D) is similar to that by the Brazilian players