2020年经济学人 疫情对体育比赛的影响(1)

Leaders

来源于《社论》版块

Professional sports

职业运动

The game's the thing

体育比赛很重要

Cancelling sport will dent¹ morale². A solution may be needed

取消比赛会影响士气。可能需要一个解决方案

Most fans of professional sports have some kind of ritual associated with watching a game. Perhaps they wear their team's shirt, scarf or hat to show their allegiance and bring their team luck. They may organise³ a “tailgate” party in the stadium car park, or head to a nearby bar to be with friends. For many, the match is the highlight of the week. And their emotions will rise and fall with the fortunes of their team. So the sudden cancellation⁴ of sporting events because of the coronavirus outbreak has come as a great disappointment.

大多数职业体育爱好者都有某种与观看比赛相关的仪式。也许他们会穿上自己球队的球衣、围巾或帽子以示忠诚，为球队带来好运。他们可能会在体育场停车场组织一个“球迷场外野餐会”，或者去附近的酒吧和朋友聚会。对许多人来说，比赛是一周中最精彩的部分。他们会随着喜欢队伍的兴衰而情绪起伏。因此，由于冠状病毒爆发而突然取消体育赛事，令人非常失望。

Almost all the most prestigious⁵ events have been postponed⁶: top-flight football matches, professional basketball and its “March madness" college equivalent, Major League Baseball, professional ice hockey, the Masters golf, the French Open tennis and Formula 1 car-racing. The Euro 2020 football championship has been put off until 2021. The prospects⁷ for the Tokyo Olympics in July and August are doubtful.

几乎所有最负盛名的赛事都被推迟了：顶级足球比赛、职业篮球和相当于大学“疯狂三月”的运动、美国职业棒球大联盟、职业冰球、美国高尔夫名人赛、法国网球公开赛和一级方程式赛车。2020年欧洲足球锦标赛被推迟到2021年。7月和8月东京奥运会能否如期举行堪忧。

The economic implications will be significant. Sport is a big business. As well as attending games, American fans buy around $15bn of sports merchandise annually⁸. Globally, many fans pay to subscribe⁹ to a sports channel to watch games: the global audience for English Premier¹⁰ League football was 3.2bn people last season in 188 countries. The TV rights for Premier League matches are worth ￡3.1bn ($3.6bn) a season. Loyal viewers mean companies like to associate themselves with teams; global sports sponsorship was estimated to be worth $55bn in 2018. Up to $150bn is wagered¹¹ illegally on sports every year in the United States and more than 50% of Americans have placed a sports bet

at some point.

这将对经济产生重大影响。体育是一个大产业。除了观看比赛，美国球迷每年还购买约150亿美元的体育商品。在全球范围内，许多球迷付费订阅体育频道观看比赛：上个赛季，英超联赛在188个国家的全球观众达到32亿人。英超联赛的电视转播权每赛季价值31亿英镑(合36亿美元)。忠实的观众意味着公司喜欢把自己与团队联系起来；据估计，2018年全球体育赞助价值550亿美元。在美国，每年有高达1500亿美元的非法体育博彩，超50%的美国人某一时刻会下体育赌注。

1 dent   

n.凹痕，凹坑；初步进展

参考例句：

• I don't know how it came about but I've got a dent in the rear of my car.我不知道是怎么回事，但我的汽车后部有了一个凹痕。
• That dent is not big enough to be worth hammering out.那个凹陷不大，用不着把它锤平。

2 morale   

n.道德准则，士气，斗志

参考例句：

• The morale of the enemy troops is sinking lower every day.敌军的士气日益低落。
• He tried to bolster up their morale.他尽力鼓舞他们的士气。

3 organise   

vt.组织，安排，筹办

参考例句：

• He has the ability to organise.他很有组织才能。
• It's my job to organise all the ceremonial events.由我来组织所有的仪式。

4 cancellation   

n.删除，取消

参考例句：

• Heavy seas can cause cancellation of ferry services.海上风浪太大，可能须要取消渡轮服务。
• Her cancellation of her trip to Paris upset our plan.她取消了巴黎之行打乱了我们的计划。

5 prestigious   

adj.有威望的，有声望的，受尊敬的

参考例句：

• The young man graduated from a prestigious university.这个年轻人毕业于一所名牌大学。
• You may even join a prestigious magazine as a contributing editor.甚至可能会加入一个知名杂志做编辑。

6 postponed   

vt.& vi.延期，缓办，（使）延迟vt.把…放在次要地位；[语]把…放在后面（或句尾）vi.（疟疾等）延缓发作（或复发）

参考例句：

• The trial was postponed indefinitely. 审讯无限期延迟。
• The game has already been postponed three times. 这场比赛已经三度延期了。

7 prospects   

n.希望，前途(恒为复数)

参考例句：

• There is a mood of pessimism in the company about future job prospects. 公司中有一种对工作前景悲观的情绪。
• They are less sanguine about the company's long-term prospects. 他们对公司的远景不那么乐观。

8 annually   

adv.一年一次，每年

参考例句：

• Many migratory birds visit this lake annually.许多候鸟每年到这个湖上作短期逗留。
• They celebrate their wedding anniversary annually.他们每年庆祝一番结婚纪念日。

9 subscribe   

vi.(to)订阅，订购；同意；vt.捐助，赞助

参考例句：

• I heartily subscribe to that sentiment.我十分赞同那个观点。
• The magazine is trying to get more readers to subscribe.该杂志正大力发展新订户。

10 premier   

adj.首要的；n.总理，首相

参考例句：

• The Irish Premier is paying an official visit to Britain.爱尔兰总理正在对英国进行正式访问。
• He requested that the premier grant him an internview.他要求那位总理接见他一次。

11 wagered   

v.在（某物）上赌钱，打赌( wager的过去式和过去分词 )；保证，担保

参考例句：

• She always wagered on an outsider. 她总是把赌注押在不大可能获胜的马上。
• They wagered on the flesh, but knowing they were to lose. 他们把赌注下在肉体上，心里却明白必输无疑。 来自互联网