THE 2007 men's Table Tennis World Cup began in Barcelona, Spain on October 12. Olly and her friend Liu are talking about the event.

Olly: I wish I could play table tennis like the Chinese men in the 2007 men's Table Tennis World Cup.

Liu: With a lot of practice, you can! It's not like they were born with a paddle in their hand.

Olly: I don't know. Chinese seem to dominate the sport. But my ping-pong skills don't match that reputation.

Liu: Well, I have to admit, China does have a pretty impressive record. This year's Cup is the 28th and China's won 14 of them. And, it's true, China's current team does have some real masters. There's Wang Hao and his reverse penhold backhand. There's Ma Lin, who has that close-table fast attack.

Olly: And why aren't you on the team? You've got that magical hook on your returns. I'm lucky if I even connect with the ball.

Liu: Oh, come on! It's not that impossible to hit. You need to use your wrist more cleverly.

Olly: Hardly. Anyway, my idol is Ma Lin. He has won four championships.

Liu: Yeah, and I was hoping he'd win his fifth this year. But, alas, he couldn't quite pull it off. Still, congratulations to Wang Hao. He really put on a show.

I wish I could …: 我希望我能……。注意，动词wish后的宾语从句的谓语动词常用虚拟语气。本句是目前的一种愿望，所以用一般过去时。

It's not like…: 并不是(后面所说的情况)。It's not like that是口语中常用的一句话，当别人误会了一件事的时候，你就可以这么说，表示"不是那样的"。

reverse penhold backhand: 直拍横打，指直拍选手用球拍反面(通常是反胶)来发动进攻的方法。我国男乒第一个"大满贯"得主刘国良率先使用这门技术。

close-table fast attack: 近台快攻。

hook: 旋转，曲线。也可用作动词，如：hook the ball: 打旋转球。

return: 接球，回击。

Good return! (接得好！)

come on: 别这样啊，行啦。

alas: 唉，用来表示悲痛、懊悔、伤心、怜悯，或对危险、邪恶的恐惧。

he couldn't quite pull it off: 他没能赢得比赛。pull off: 成功，努力实现，赢得比赛。

Your plan sounds great, but it can be quite difficult to pull it off. (你的计划听起来很棒，但是实现起来可能挺难的。)

上一篇：Olympic diving trials in Hefei for the 2008 Games  
下一篇：you've got a bounce in your step today