VOA标准英语2009年-Officials say South Africa Will be Ready f

By Delia Robertson
Johannesburg
30 September 2009

 
Work continues at Soccer City Stadium on edge of Soweto, south of Johannesburg, 30 Sep 2009
 
Fifty experts from FIFA and the Organizing Committee in South Africa have completed an inspection¹ of the stadiums to be used in the 2010 FIFA World Cup. 

The overall consensus² of the experts is that South Africa's preparations for the 2010 FIFA football (soccer) World Cup are well on track.  They have been visiting the ten stadiums across the country, some new, some refurbished, and Ron Delmont, the head of FIFA South Africa, says he is pleased.

"Now those walls have paint on them, the floors have covering on them, there is carpet, we can walk into the media center, we do not have to envision the media center; we can clearly identify where the  busses are going to drop off the teams.  We can look at how we are going to cater³ for the spectators as they come to the stadium, and most important when everyone leaves, which will happen en masse.  So I think this inspection has given us a high level of comfort," he said.

Organizing Committee in South Africa CEO Danny Jordaan told the media briefing in Johannesburg, the construction of the stadiums will be complete in December.

"And now we sit in the position where one of the new stadiums, in Port Elizabeth, has already seen a number of international matches and all of the other stadiums we know will be complete well before the kickoff on the 11th of June [2010] - in fact when we go to the final draw, all of these stadiums will be ready from a construction point of view," said Jordaan.
 
Dereck Blanckensee, FIFA's chief competitions officer, told the media briefing in Johannesburg that what will remain to be done, much closer to competition time, is putting the FIFA-required additional infrastructure⁴ in place.

"The overlay process of building those temporary structures really only happens shortly before the tournament starts and that is of course completely intentional⁵ because those things are all rented structures, so you would not want them standing⁶ there for months and months," said Blanckensee.

The experts also spoke⁷ of transport and security, which had been a worry for FIFA.  Jordaan says much work has been done to improve transport with improvements in the rail system, including a new high speed rail network for Gauteng province; and new rapid bus systems in the major cities.  And he said the South African police are introducing some innovative⁸ security measures for the tournament.

"We now have a mobile police station that is attached to the train, so that if you misbehave in the train, you go to jail on the train," he said.

The need for heightened security measures was highlighted last week when all United States facilities in South Africa were closed for two days due to what the State Department called a credible⁹ risk.  That risk seems to have been dealt with and the U.S. Embassy reported they received excellent support and cooperation from the South African authorities.  

1 inspection   

n.检查，审查，检阅

参考例句：

• On random inspection the meat was found to be bad.经抽查，发现肉变质了。
• The soldiers lined up for their daily inspection by their officers.士兵们列队接受军官的日常检阅。

2 consensus   

n.(意见等的)一致，一致同意，共识

参考例句：

• Can we reach a consensus on this issue?我们能在这个问题上取得一致意见吗？
• What is the consensus of opinion at the afternoon meeting?下午会议上一致的意见是什么？

3 cater   

vi.(for/to)满足，迎合；(for)提供饮食及服务

参考例句：

• I expect he will be able to cater for your particular needs.我预计他能满足你的特殊需要。
• Most schools cater for children of different abilities.大多数学校能够满足具有不同天资的儿童的需要。

4 infrastructure   

n.下部构造，下部组织，基础结构，基础设施

参考例句：

• We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
• We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设，发展各类群众文化。

5 intentional   

adj.故意的，有意（识）的

参考例句：

• Let me assure you that it was not intentional.我向你保证那不是故意的。
• His insult was intentional.他的侮辱是有意的。

6 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

7 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

8 innovative   

adj.革新的，新颖的，富有革新精神的

参考例句：

• Discover an innovative way of marketing.发现一个创新的营销方式。
• He was one of the most creative and innovative engineers of his generation.他是他那代人当中最富创造性与革新精神的工程师之一。

9 credible   

adj.可信任的，可靠的

参考例句：

• The news report is hardly credible.这则新闻报道令人难以置信。
• Is there a credible alternative to the nuclear deterrent?是否有可以取代核威慑力量的可靠办法？