2020年经济学人 疫情对体育比赛的影响(2)

But the effect on consumer sentiment of the hiatus may be even greater. surveys suggest that 59% of Americans are sports fans. For many, the loss of their favourite sports events will compound the effect of being stuck at home. An important source of enjoyment¹ will disappear. And alternative sources of entertainment are hard to find. Big movie releases, such as the latest James Bond film and Disney's “Mulan”, have been postponed². Broadway has been closed down. Many rock concerts have been cancelled or postponed. Classical recitals³ (traditionally a magnet for a nation's worst coughers) have gone the same way.

但这对消费者信心的影响可能更大。调查显示59%的美国人是体育迷。对许多人来说，失去最喜欢的体育赛事，将加重困在家里的影响。一个重要的乐趣来源将消失。而且很难找到其他的娱乐方式。最新的詹姆斯·邦德系列电影和迪士尼的《花木兰》等大片已经推迟上映。百老汇已经关闭了。许多摇滚音乐会已被取消或推迟。古典演奏会(传统上是吸引全国最差咳嗽者的地方)也无法幸免。

The cancellations are understandable. Allowing people to congregate⁴ in huge numbers during a pandemic seems like a big risk. Mass events also require a large presence of police and emergency services who maybe needed elsewhere.

这些取消都可以理解。疫情期间让人们大量聚集似乎风险很大。群众活动还需要大量警察和紧急服务人员，而其他地方同样需要这些人员。

John Maynard Keynes talked a lot about the importance of ·animal spirits? to economic growth. How will consumers feel when all forms of collective enjoyment are denied them? There are only so many Netflix shows one can binge-watch without going stir crazy. The Romans understood the importance of "bread and circuses”--keeping the public not just fed, but entertained, too. Hence the provision of gladiatorial games and chariot races in ancient times.

约翰?梅纳德?凯恩斯多次谈到“动物精神”对经济增长的重要性。当所有形式的集体享受都被剥夺时，消费者会作何感想？Netflix上的剧只有那么多，一个人可以一口气看完，不然就真疯了。罗马人懂得小恩小惠的重要性——不仅要让百姓吃饱，还要有娱乐活动。出于这个原因，古罗马就有了角斗和战车比赛。

In the second world war many sports were cancelled as players were conscripted into the armed services. But exhibition games were played where possible. A British services eleven played football in newly liberated⁵ Paris and Brussels in September 1944. In America a women's baseball league was organised. Tyler Cowen, an economist⁶, has proposed that a small number of elite⁷ athletes could be tested for the virus and then cocooned⁸. After a quarantine period, they could play all-star games to keep citizens entertained, with audiences watching via the internet or TV. It seems an idea worth exploring. If all work and no play makes Jack⁹ a dull boy, then no work and no play risks making Jack (and Jill) depressed¹⁰ and discontented.

第二次世界大战期间，许多运动项目被取消，因为运动员被征召入伍。但表演赛是在可用的地方举办的。1944年9月，在新解放的巴黎和布鲁塞尔，一名英国军士在踢足球。美国还组织了一个女子棒球联盟。经济学家泰勒?考恩提出，可以对一小部分优秀运动员进行病毒检测，然后进行隔离。经过一段隔离期后，他们可以打全明星赛给人们带来点娱乐，观众可以通过互联网或电视观看。这似乎是一个值得探索的想法。如果只工作不娱乐会使男性变傻，那么不工作不娱乐男性女性都会愤懑。

1 enjoyment   

n.乐趣；享有；享用

参考例句：

• Your company adds to the enjoyment of our visit. 有您的陪同，我们这次访问更加愉快了。
• After each joke the old man cackled his enjoyment.每逢讲完一个笑话，这老人就呵呵笑着表示他的高兴。

2 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。

3 recitals   

n.独唱会( recital的名词复数 )；独奏会；小型音乐会、舞蹈表演会等；一系列事件等的详述

参考例句：

• His recitals have earned him recognition as a talented performer. 他的演奏会使他赢得了天才演奏家的赞誉。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Her teachers love her playing, and encourage her to recitals. 她的老师欣赏她的演奏，并鼓励她举办独奏会。 来自互联网

4 congregate   

v.(使)集合，聚集

参考例句：

• Now they can offer a digital place for their readers to congregate and talk.现在他们可以为读者提供一个数字化空间，让读者可以聚集和交谈。
• This is a place where swans congregate.这是个天鹅聚集地。

5 liberated   

a.无拘束的，放纵的

参考例句：

• The city was liberated by the advancing army. 军队向前挺进，解放了那座城市。
• The heat brings about a chemical reaction, and oxygen is liberated. 热量引起化学反应，释放出氧气。

6 economist   

n.经济学家，经济专家，节俭的人

参考例句：

• He cast a professional economist's eyes on the problem.他以经济学行家的眼光审视这个问题。
• He's an economist who thinks he knows all the answers.他是个经济学家，自以为什么都懂。

7 elite   

n.精英阶层；实力集团；adj.杰出的，卓越的

参考例句：

• The power elite inside the government is controlling foreign policy.政府内部的一群握有实权的精英控制着对外政策。
• We have a political elite in this country.我们国家有一群政治精英。

8 cocooned   

v.茧，蚕茧( cocoon的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The doctors cocooned the patient in blankets. 医生们将病人紧包在毯子里。 来自辞典例句
• I cocooned in my own kingdom. 我完全沉迷在我自己的王国中。 来自辞典例句

9 jack   

n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克

参考例句：

• I am looking for the headphone jack.我正在找寻头戴式耳机插孔。
• He lifted the car with a jack to change the flat tyre.他用千斤顶把车顶起来换下瘪轮胎。

10 depressed   

adj.沮丧的，抑郁的，不景气的，萧条的

参考例句：

• When he was depressed,he felt utterly divorced from reality.他心情沮丧时就感到完全脱离了现实。
• His mother was depressed by the sad news.这个坏消息使他的母亲意志消沉。