VOA慢速英语2021 日本承诺安全举办奥运会 但专家称防疫气泡已破裂（在线收听）

The world needs to see that Japan can hold the Summer Olympic Games safely, the country's prime minister told sports officials Tuesday.

日本首相周二对体育官员表示，世界需要看到日本能够安全地举办这届夏季奥运会。

Thousands of athletes, officials, event workers and media are arriving in Japan for the Games. At the same time, there is a local state of emergency and widespread opposition from the public.

数万名运动员、官员、赛事工作人员和媒体开始抵达日本参加奥运会。与此同时，日本当地发布了疫情紧急状态，民众普遍对奥运持反对态度。

Opening ceremony on Friday

周五开幕式

Events start Wednesday — in softball and women's soccer — two days before the opening ceremony on July 23.

垒球和女足比赛将于周三开始进行，比开幕式早两天。

"The world is faced with great difficulties," Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga told members of the International Olympic Committee.

日本首相菅义伟对国际奥委会成员表示：“全球正面临着巨大的困难。”

Suga said he wants the world to know "we can bring success to the delivery of the Games."

菅义伟表示，他希望世界知道，“我们可以成功举办奥运会。”

"We will protect the health and security of the Japanese public," he added. The prime minister's office said Monday that more than 21 percent of Japan's 126 million people have received the COVID-19 vaccine.

他还表示：“我们将保护日本民众的健康和安全。”日本首相办公室周一表示，日本1.26亿民众中有超过21%的人接种了新冠肺炎疫苗。

Olympic officials on Sunday reported the first coronavirus case among sports competitors in the village in Tokyo where 11,000 of them will stay. There have been 67 cases among those who planned to compete in the Games since July 1, organizers said on Tuesday.

有1.1万人将会入住东京奥运村，奥运官员周日通报了奥运村参赛运动员中出现的首例新冠病毒病例。组织者周二表示，自7月1日以来，计划参加奥运会的人员当中已经有67人确诊。

Zero risk

零风险

International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach said last week that testing and quarantine measures would leave "zero" risk of sports competitors infecting people in Japan.

国际奥委会主席托马斯·巴赫上周表示，检测和隔离措施将使运动员感染日本民众的风险“为零”。

Kenji Shibuya is the former director of the Institute for Population Health at King's College London. He said such statements only confuse and anger people because conditions were "totally opposite."

涉谷健二是伦敦国王学院人口健康研究所的前所长。他说，这样的言论只会让民众感到困惑和愤怒，因为真实情况“完全相反。”

"It's obvious that the bubble system is kind of broken," said Shibuya. In April, he had written in the British Medical Journal that the Olympics must be "reconsidered" because of Japan's inability to contain coronavirus cases.

涉谷健二说：“很明显，气泡体系在某种程度上已经破裂。”今年4月，他在《英国医学杂志》上发文称，由于日本无法遏制新冠病毒病例，这届奥运会必须“重新考虑。”

"My biggest concern is, of course, there will be a cluster of infections in the village or some of the accommodation and interaction with local people." Not enough testing at the bubble's border and the impossibility of controlling people's movements mean that the Games could spread the Delta variant of the virus, he said.

涉谷健二说：“当然，我最担心的是，奥运村内部或与当地民众的互动会导致出现聚集性感染。”他说，奥运气泡边界检测不足，并且不可能完全控制人员流动，这意味着奥运会可能会加剧德尔塔变种病毒的传播。

Shibuya noted that he is concerned after hearing about cases that were not noticed at the airport. And he watched videos showing meetings between athletes, workers and reporters. He fears that transmission will take place through the air within the village and sports centers. However, there will be no local or foreign fans at events.

涉谷健二指出，他在听到机场没有发现病例后感到担忧。他还观看了展示运动员、工作人员和记者之间会议的视频。他担心病毒会通过奥运村和运动场内的空气传播。但是，这届奥运会上不会有本地或外国观众。

Medical systems under pressure

医疗系统受压

New COVID-19 cases in Tokyo reached 1,410 on Saturday, a near six-month high. Public health experts have warned that summer weather, travel and the spread of the Delta variant could lead to an increase in Tokyo's daily cases by next month. Those levels could put too much pressure on the city's medical system.

东京周六的新冠肺炎确诊病例达到了1410例，接近六个月来的高位。公共卫生专家警告说，夏季天气、出行和德尔塔病毒的传播可能会导致东京下个月的日确诊病例攀升。这种水平可能会给该市的医疗系统带来太大压力。

Vaccination rates have increased quickly since last month. But they recently slowed because of supply and delivery problems. Health experts in Japan have questioned accepting so many international visitors for the Games, which end on August 8.

自上个月以来，疫苗接种率迅速上升。但是由于供应和交付问题，最近接种率有所放缓。日本卫生专家对接受如此多国际访客参加将于8月8日闭幕的奥运会提出了质疑。