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The U.S. women's national soccer team is no stranger to winning — yet this week's victory closing the gender pay gap between the team and its male counterpart must taste especially sweet. The battle was as hard-fought as any match, and the huge prize is worth more to all of sports than any trophy.

The U.S. Soccer Federation announced on Wednesday that collective bargaining with the men's and women's national teams had resulted in a deal to equalize salaries and bonuses. This final hurrah（欢呼）comes after years of argument between the women's team and the national governing body, including a lawsuit settled last year for $24 million. During this confrontation, the athlete-employees continued working hard for their employer on the playing ground — defeating the globe's best time and time again with their usual panache(潇洒气质）. The United States is now the first country to reach equal pay for its men's and women's soccer teams. Ideally, it will be far from the last.

That the U.S. women's soccer team was mistreated fromthe start shouldn't come as a surprise; after all, gender discrimination extends across professions. This case, however, was extremely bad. At the outset of this dispute, the female players weren't only making less money than the male players. They were playing more often on plastic grass and flying less often on chartered planes.

These athletes have won four World Cups while the men's team has won none. But this didn't matter when payday rolled around. The Post's Fact Checker at one point discovered that the disparity in bonus payments between the two teams was so great that the men earned more for losing a World Cup match than the women got for winning one. The usual argument that the revenue brought in ought to determine the reward given out did not, in this case, hold: Though ticket sales, the biggest generator of match revenue for both teams, have traditionally been lower for the women, they earned $900,000 more than the men between 2016 and 2018: $50.8 million compared with the men's $49.9 million.

The injustice visited on the U.S. women's national soccer team in this case was, in short, as impossible to miss as winger and co-captain Megan Rapinoe's brightly dyed hair, and it is to the men's team's credit that they collaborated with the women to even the playing field at last. But even this battle was difficult, which suggests other battles — whether in soccer, in other sports, or in the multiple other industries are still with pay disparities — could prove harder still. Those doing the fighting can take some inspiration from the sense and courage the U.S. women's team has unfailingly shown, both on and off the field.

1.The most valuable part of women's soccer team's victory is _______.

【A】its fat bonus

【B】its tough process

【C】its precious trophy

【D】its educational significance

2.We can learn from paragraph 2 that for soccer teams, ____.

【A】the U.S. men's national soccer team is the best one

【B】the equal gender pay has failed in US eventually

【C】

argument between different teams emerged temporarily

【D】more countries are likely to reach equal gender pay

3.According to the Fact Checker, which team has won more bonus?

【A】the men's team losing a World Cup

【B】the women's team winning a World Cup

【C】the team generating more ticket sales

【D】the team having more top athletes

4.The author's attitude towards the men's team who collaborated with the women is ____ .

【A】negative

【B】positive

【C】indifferent

【D】scornful

5.What does the text mainly discuss?

【A】The athletes in The World Cup

【B】A role of The U.S. Soccer Federation

【C】A victory for equal gender pay

【D】The skills of improving sports performance

参考答案：

1-5：A D A B C