British Vision-Issue 2 英国足球球星富豪榜

本期难点
paltry¹: Lacking in importance or worth在文中，是说博格坎普挣的比起小贝来，就有点微不足道了。
本期生词：
flock: To congregate² or travel in a flock or crowd

The champagne³ lifestyles of our top footballers're the stuff of gossip columns and TV soaps. Now though we know the size of their fortunes. David Beckham is the richest footballer in the list-worth 75m pounds. Arsenal's Dennis Bergkamp is next, with a paltry 37m in the bank. Michale Owen is in third place with a fortune of 30 million pounds.

But the man who's made a big difference to this year's list is Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich. He tops it with a fortune of 10 billion pounds, but his money has put another four people into the ranks of football super-rich, including Jose Mourinho who's worth 20 million pounds, putting him ahead of Sir Alex Ferguson. But some think the glory days could be coming to an end.

We've been living in an era of bubble for the last few years, and we start to see the signs of it changing again. I want that happens, then I think the natural effect is the players are gonna have half their salaries cut, or at least clubs are going to stop paying as much as they do.

Super-rich footballers are though a relatively⁴ new phenomenon. The late Johnny Haynes was the first player to earn 100 pounds a week. That was in 1961 and despite his fame, George Best's earnings⁵ were fairly modest. It's thought he made around 15, 000 pounds from playing, getting endorsements⁶ in 1967. Today that would be worth 170, 000 pounds or rounded 2 weeks' wages for David Beckham .

Obviously seeing how popular George Best was in the 1960s and how crowds flocked to see him, it's quite frightening to see how much he was earning, as little as 10 thousand pounds a year, 15, 000 pounds a year when he was at his peak, winning the European Cup for Manchester United. So they were still not earning a great deal more than the average worker.

Most of the players' money comes from TV deals, but it's thought the big money contracts of pit meaning Mr. Beckham and his collegues will have to make a few savings⁷ in the years to come.
Dark Lyttle, SKY News.

1 paltry   

adj.无价值的，微不足道的

参考例句：

• The parents had little interest in paltry domestic concerns.那些家长对家里鸡毛蒜皮的小事没什么兴趣。
• I'm getting angry;and if you don't command that paltry spirit of yours.我要生气了，如果你不能振作你那点元气。

2 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。

3 champagne   

n.香槟酒；微黄色

参考例句：

• There were two glasses of champagne on the tray.托盘里有两杯香槟酒。
• They sat there swilling champagne.他们坐在那里大喝香槟酒。

4 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

5 earnings   

n.工资收人；利润，利益，所得

参考例句：

• That old man lives on the earnings of his daughter.那个老人靠他女儿的收入维持生活。
• Last year there was a 20% decrease in his earnings.去年他的收入减少了20%。

6 endorsements   

n.背书( endorsement的名词复数 )；（驾驶执照上的）违章记录；（公开的）赞同；（通常为名人在广告中对某一产品的）宣传

参考例句：

• He must make much money on those tennis shoe endorsements he does. 他替那些网球鞋珍重广告，就赚了不少钱。 来自互联网
• But celebrity endorsements remain an important promotional tool for marketers. 尽管如此，邀明星助阵仍是营销人员重要的推广手段之一。 来自互联网

7 savings   

n.存款，储蓄

参考例句：

• I can't afford the vacation,for it would eat up my savings.我度不起假，那样会把我的积蓄用光的。
• By this time he had used up all his savings.到这时，他的存款已全部用完。