American football is a unique sport-it is a game about gaining territory as much as it is about scoring points. When two teams step onto a football field,each is battling for every inch it can take from the other. Each team wants to defend the field that is behind it and invade the field in front of it. Ultimately,they want to gain enough ground to score a touchdown or field goal.

　　Ground Rules

　　Football is a game of inches played on a field measured in yards-English measurements are used to track movements on the field.Teams succeed based on how many yards they accumulate or allow. An official NFL (National Football League) football field is a rectangle that is 120 yards(110 m) long and 53 yards. I foot (49 m) wide. Most fields are covered in grass and set in an outdoor (open-air} stadium. Some fields are made of artificial turf, which you'll find in many of the indoor stadiums.

　　The most essential piece of equipment in a football game is the ball.Official NFL footballs are handmade by Wilson Sporting Goods Co. The football is an oblong (橢圓形的) sphere and has a lengthwise circumference (周線) and a width-wise circumference in the middle of the ball.

　　With the equipment identified and the field set, we can now play a game.An NFL game is divided into four quarters with an extended halftime break between quarters two and three. Each quarter is 15 minutes long. lf the teams are tied after four quarters of play,they play an additional overtime period of 15 minutes. In the overtime, the first team to score wins.

　　While the game time adds up to one hour, it usually takes three to four hours to play a game. Teams can stop the clock by running out of bounds,throwing an incomplete pass, or calling a time-out, of which they have three per half. Time also stops for each of the two-minute warnings, observed two minutes prior to the end of the second and fourth quarters.

　　Who's Who

　　An NFL roster allows for no more than 53 players on a team. At any one time, only 11 players per team are allowed on the field. To understand an NFL roster, you have to identify the three teams within a team: the offense. the defense and special teams. Each of these groups has specialized positions with a specific set of skills.

　　Offense

　　A team's offense is responsible for taking the ball down the field toward its opponent's end zone. To do this. the offense throws the ball from one player to another or holds the ball and runs forward. Here are the basic offensive positions.

　　Quarterback (QB)-This player throws the ball to receivers or hands it off to running backs. The quarterback is also known as the "field general,"because he's the on-the-field leader.

　　Offensive linemen-These players provide blocking for the quarterback and running backs. Individual lineman positions include:

　　Center (C)-The center is located in the middle of the line. This player hikes the ball to the quarterback by bringing the ball up between his legs.

　　Guards (LG/RG)-These two players flank the center.

　　Tackles (LT/RT)-The tackles are positioned on the outside of each guard;teams have two tackles.

　　Receivers-Receivers run down the field and catch balls thrown by the quarterback. Receivers are either wide receivers (WR) or tight ends (LTE/RTE).depending on where they are positioned on the field.

　　Running backs-Running backs take the ball from the quarterback and run up the field. Depending on the fomation (arrangement of the offensive players, a running back might be called a tailback (TB), halfback (HB) or fullback (FB).

　　Defense

　　When a team does not have possession of the ball, it is on defense and uses various methods to prevent the other team's offense from scoring. These players must tackle the offensive player who has the ball to stop the offense from advancing.Defense will also try to take the ball away from the offense.

　　Here are the basic defensive positions:

　　Defensive linemen-The linemen put pressure on the quarterback by trying to tackle him before he releases the ball. They also try to stop running backs.There are typically three or four defensive linemen.

　　Linebackers-When there are four linemen, there is a middle linebacker(MLB) and two outside linebackers (OLB). When there are three linemen. there are two inside linebackers (ILB) and two outside linebackers. Their job is to back up the linemen. as well as contain runners and cover receivers on some plays.

　　Cornerbacks (CB)-The cornerbacks prevent the wide receivers from catching the ball by breaking up passes from the quarterback.

　　Safeties-The safeties play deep behind the rest of the defense to prevent a long pass or run. A strong safety (SS) lines up on the side of the field where there are more offensive players. The free safety (FS) plays a deep, middle position.

　　Special Teams

　　If a team has to kick the ball, it uses its special-teams unit. This unit includes the team's kickers, the offensive line, and players who run down the field to tackle a returner(see below).

　　Placekicker-The placekicker kicks the ball through the goalposts to score points and kicks the ball to the other team to start the game and after each scoring possession.

　　Punter-The punter free-kicks the ball if his team cannot advance the ball down the field.

　　Returner-During a kickoff or punt, the returner tries to catch the ball and return it as far as he can. A player can score a touchdown on a rcturn.

　　Moving the Ball and Finding the End Zone

　　A football game begins with a coin toss to decide which team will receive the opening kickoff. From the opening kickoff, the two teams battle to take possession of the ball. Possession means that a team's offensive unit has the ball.

　　A team can take possession of the ball in several ways:

　　Receiving a kickoff-A team receives a kickoff at the beginning of each half and after the other team scores.

　　Turnover-A team recovers a ball dropped by the other team (fumble)or picks off a ball thrown by the other team's quarterback (interception).

　　Safety-A player is tackled in his own end zone, meaning the end zone his team is defending, so the other team gets the ball though a free kick.

　　Punt-The defensive team stops the offensive team from getting 10 yards in three downs, and the offensive team free-kicks, or punts, the ball to the other team on third down.

　　Turnover on downs-The offensive team fails to advance the ball lO yands in four downs and has to surrender the ball to the other team.

　　For those new to the sport the last two scenarios on this list may not make sense. One of the most confusing concepts of American-style football is the down-and-distance system. Every time a team takes possession of the ball, it is given a set of four downs, or attempts, to move the ball l0 yards. If the team can move the ball lO yards or more Within four downs, the team gets another set of four downs to go another l0 yards, and so on. For instance, if a team advances 3 yards on first down, the next play is second down with 7 yards to go (second and 7); if the team then advances 5 yards on second down, the next play is third and 2; if the team then advances 2 or more yards on third down, the next play is back to first and lO, wich a whole new set of four downs during which to advance the ball.

　　測試題

　　1.The success of a team is measured by means of_______________________.

　　A) the yards it gains B) the field goals it scores

　　C) the strategy it uses D) the touchdowns it scores

　　2.When the teams need to play the overtime period,the team that__________________wins.

　　A) gains more ground B) gets more touchdowns

　　C) scores before the other D) gets the first penalty kick

　　3.How many timeouts are the teams allowed to have?

　　A) Two for each quarter. B) Three for each half.

　　C) Three for each quarter. D) Two for each half.

　　4.What is included in an NFL roster?

　　A) All the players on the team.

　　B) The substitute players and coaches.

　　C) Only the players allowed on the field.

　　D) The offense,the defense and special teams.

　　5.The role of the on-the-field leader is played by ______________________.

　　A) a receiver B) a quarterback

　　C) a running back D) an offensive lineman

　　6.Usually, offensive linemen consist of at least_______________players.

　　A) three B) four C) five D) six

　　7.In the defense team, the deepest defensive position is played by_________________.

　　A) defensive linemen B) linebackers

　　C) cornerbacks D) safeties

　　8.Kicking a ball through the goalposts to gain points is the responsibility of____________________.

　　9.The right of a team's opening kickoff is usually determined by___________________.

　　lO.The offensive team will lose possession of the ball if it fails to gain lO yards in__________________.

　　答案詳解

　　1.[定位]根據題干中的success查找到第1個小標題Ground Rules部分的首段第2句。

　　解析：原文中的based on...表明判斷一個隊伍成功與否的標準是什么，因此based on后的介詞賓語為本題答案。其他三個選項在該段均未提及。

　　2.[C][定位]根據題干中的overtime查找到第1個小標題Ground Rules部分的第3段末句。

　　解析：選項C是對原文該句的同義改寫，為本題答案。其他選項與overtime period的內容無關，且在該段也未提及。

　　3.[B][定位]根據題干中的timeouts查找到第1個小標題Ground Rules部分的第4段第2句。

　　解析：原文該句句末的非限制性定語從句表明本題應選B。其他選項均無原文依據。

　　4.[D][定位]根據題干中的NFL roster查找到第2個小標題Who's Who部分的首段。

　　解析：在四個選項中，只有選項B沒有原文依據，其他三個選項均可在原文找到部分或全部詞語。其中，選項A不正確，因為一個橄欖球隊的全體隊員可能超過53人，但根據該段首句，roster里只能包括最多53個球員的名字，由此可見，選項A與原文不符;選項C中的only顯然過于絕對，與該段首句不符;原文該段第3句暗示不論roster里面有多少成員名字，肯定得包括the offense，the defense and special teams，由此可見，選項D為本題答案。本題也可通過對比選項和原文，看看哪個選項與原文重合度最高，由此也可確定選項D為本題答案。

　　5.[B][定位]根據題干中的on-the-field leader查找到第2個小標題Who's Who部分的次標題Offense下第2段末句。

　　解析：只要根據題眼定位原文，不難發現選項B為本題答案。

　　6.[C][定位]根據題干中的offensive linemen查找到第2個小標題Who's Who部分的次標題Offense下第3段。

　　解析：原文該段逐一介紹了各個offensive linemen的位置，以及每個位置人員的分配情況，只要將里面提到的數字簡單相加：1個center+2個guards+2個tackles=5個，即可得出本題答案為選項C。

　　7.[D][定位]根據題干中的deepest查找到第2個小標題Who's Who部分的次標題Defense下末段首句。

　　解析：根據題干中的defense一詞可將搜索范圍限定于第2個小標題下，然后逐一在各個段落尋找與deep有關的信息，不難發現題干中的the deepest defensive position與原文deep behind the rest of the defense同義，因此本題應選D。

　　8.[placekickers]

　　[定位]根據題干中的Kicking等詞查找到第2個小標題Who's Who部分的次標題Special Teams下第2段。

　　解析：空白此應為名詞(詞組)。題干中的kick和goalposts只能同時在第2個小標題Who's Who部分的次標題Special Teams下第2段有關placekickers的段落找到，因此可以確定placekickers為本題答案。

　　9.[a coin toss]

　　[定位]根據題干中的opening kickoff查找到第3個小標題Moving the Ball and Finding the End Zone部分的首段首句。

　　解析：空白處應為名詞(詞組)或現在分詞(詞組)。原文該句中的with a coin toss to decide...表明開球權由a coin toss決定，因此，本題答案為a coin toss。

　　10.[four downs]

　　[定位]根據題干中的possession等詞查找到倒數第2段。

　　解析：空白處應為名詞(詞組)，作in的賓語。題干中的lose possession of the ball與原文該段中的surrender the ball to the other team同義，由此可見，該句介紹了在什么情況下進攻的隊伍將失去控球權，這正是本題要求查找的內容，因此原文中in后的介詞賓語four downs為本題答案。

　　參考譯文

　　美國橄欖球

　　美國橄欖球是一項獨特的運動，它是一種以攻占陣地得分的比賽。兩隊隊員進入球場，每一隊都會盡量堅守自己的每寸陣地不讓對方攻入。每個隊都想既能防守住自己的后方陣地又能攻入對方的前線陣地。最后，他們都想攻占足夠的陣地以求達陣得分或射門得分。

　　基本規則

　　橄欖球是在以碼計算的場地上進行的寸土必爭的“英寸游戲”，采用英式度量單位來測量場上的活動。[l]比賽的勝負由球隊累積的或推進的碼數來決定。一個正式的NFL(美國全國橄欖球聯盟)球場是一個120碼(l1O米)長，53碼l英尺(49米)寬的長方形。大多數場地都建在戶外的(露天的)體育場上，地上植有草坪。一些場地植的是人造草皮。這種草皮在很多室內體育場非常普遍。

　　一場橄欖球比賽最必要的器材是橄欖球。正式的NFL橄欖球是由威爾遜體育用品公司手工制作的。橄欖球是一個橢圓形的球體，球的中間標有縱向的和橫向的周長線。

　　有了器材和場地，我們就可以進行一場比賽了。NFL的比賽分成4節，在第2節和第3節之間有中場休息。每節持續15分鐘。如果全場4節打成平局，就再打l5分鐘的加時賽。[2]在加時賽中，先得分者獲勝。

　　雖然比賽時間總計一個小時。但打一場比賽通常都要花上3到4個小時。球隊可能因為球出界、傳球未完成或呼叫暫停而暫時中止比賽計時。[3]每隊每半場允許3次暫停。半場和終場結束前兩分鐘，裁判會吹哨子叫暫停以提醒比賽時間，這也會導致比賽計時的停止。

　　球員角色分配

　　NFL規定各隊比賽大名單上的球員不能超過53名。任何時候，每個隊都只能有11名球員上場。[4]為了了解NFL的比賽大名單，你必須要識別每個球隊里的3組球員：進攻組、防守組和特勤組。各組在比賽時都有專門的位置，各自也有一套專門的技能。

　　進攻

　　球隊的進攻組負責將球帶到對方的終極戰區，為了做到這一點，進攻球員要將球從一名隊員手中傳到另一名隊員手中，或者抱著球向前沖。這是基本的進攻方位：

　　四分衛(QB)——四分衛隊員負責把球傳給接球手或跑鋒。[5]四分衛也被稱為“賽場上的主帥”，因為他是賽場上的指揮者。

　　進攻踐員——這些隊員負責阻止對方對四分衛和跑鋒的截殺。各個線員的位置包括：

　　[6]中鋒(C)——中鋒站在對陣線的中間位置，常常是從兩腿間將球傳給四分衛。

　　中衛(LG/RG)——左右中衛分別位于中鋒的兩側。

　　擒衛(LT/RT)——擒衛位于每個中衛的外圍;每個球隊有2名擒衛。

　　接球手——接球手負責在場中跑動以接住四分衛傳出的球。接球手可以連外接手(WR)也可以是邊鋒( LTE/RTE)，這取決于他們在場上的位置。

　　跑鋒——跑鋒負責從四分衛那里接到進球后進行特定的跑動。根據進攻隊員的陣式(排列)，跑鋒可以叫做后跑鋒(TB)、半跑鋒(HB)或者全跑鋒(FB)。

　　防守

　　一個隊手上沒有球時，它就需要防守，運用各種各樣的方法阻止對方的進攻得分。這些隊員必須阻截對方帶球的進攻隊員前進。防守隊員也將努力從對方進攻隊員那里搶球。

　　這是基本的防守方位：

　　防守線衛——防守線衛在對方的四分衛將球傳出前盡量對其進行阻截以便給他施加壓力。他們也會盡量地對跑鋒進行攔截。一個隊通常有3或4個防守線衛。

　　線后衛——有4個防守線衛的時候，就有1個中線衛(MLB)和2個外線衛(OLB)。有3個防守線衛時，就有2個內線衛(ILB)和2個外線衛。他們的任務是支援防守線衛，以及在某些情況下隨著進攻方外接手跑動，阻止外接手成功接球。

　　角衛(CB)-角衛通過攔截對方四分衛的傳球以阻止外接手成功接球。

　　安全衛——[7]安全衛安置在防守線的最后以防止長距離的傳球或跑動。強衛(SS)在對方進攻球員更多的地方列陣。游衛(FS)則在靠近外場線的中間位置活動。

　　特勤組

　　如果一個隊要開始踢球了，它就會使用它的特勤組成員。這個組包括踢球手、發球手，以及在場上跑動攔截回攻員的球員(見以下說明)。

　　射手-[8]射手負責將球踢進球門得分，以及在每次得分后開球。

　　棄踢員——棄踢員在本隊無法推動球前進的情況下自由踢球。

　　回攻員——在開球或棄踢球的時候，回攻員會試圖搶球然后盡快進行回攻。球員在回攻的時候可能會達陣得分。

　　帶球找到終極戰區

　　[9]一場橄欖球比賽開始時以擲硬幣來決定哪一隊先開球。一開球，兩隊就對球的占有權進行爭奪。對球的占有權意味這球在該隊的進攻組手上。

　　球隊可以以幾種方式取得對球的占有權：

　　得到開球權——球隊在每半場開始時和對方隊得分后取得開球權。

　　對方失誤——球隊重新搶到對方掉在地上的球(失球)或是接到對方四分衛擲出的球(搶球)。

　　安全——球員在本方極陣也就是他所在的球隊要防守的區域被擒殺，因此對方球隊就可白白得球。

　　棄踢——防守組使對方進攻組在3次進攻之后都不能將球推進10碼，對方在第3次進攻后隨意將球踢開，或棄踢球。

　　進攻權換手——[10]進攻方在4次進攻后都不能將球推進1O碼.不得不將球讓給對方。

　　對于那些對這項運動不熟悉的人來說，這個條目上的最后兩種情況可能沒有什么意義。美式橄欖球最令人困惑的概念之一就是進攻機會——距離系統。每當一個隊取得對球的占有權時，它就會得到4次可能將球推進10碼的進攻機會。如果球隊能在這4次進攻球成功推進10碼或超過10碼，該隊就可以得到可能將球再推進10碼的新一檔的4次進攻機會，如此推進。例如，一隊在第l次進攻中前進了3碼,下一次進攻也就是第2次進攻還需前進7碼(2進7);如果該隊在第2次進攻中推進了5碼，那么下一次進攻也就是第3次進攻就還要推進2碼;如果在第3次進攻中推進2碼或超過2碼，下一次進攻就回到l進10，進入另一檔的4次進攻，繼續將球向前推進。