VOA常速英语2014--巴西世界杯在抗议声中即将拉开帷幕

 

Despite Protests, World Cup Excitement Building in Brazil 巴西世界杯在抗议声中即将拉开帷幕

RIO DE JANEIRO — With days to go until the start of football’s (soccer’s) World Cup tournament, excitement is building in host country Brazil.  This, despite a transit¹ strike in Sao Paulo, the site of the opening match, and social discontent in parts of the country.

Copacabana beach, on the last Sunday before the World Cup. Families, beachgoers and fitness lovers are strolling Copacabana's famous seaside promenade².

世界杯开幕前的最后一个星期日，各个家庭，海滩游客及健身爱好者们漫步在著名的科帕卡巴纳海滨公园。

Work is finishing up on the fan park where thousands will gather during the matches. An estimated 800,000 foreign visitors will join millions of Brazilians to watch 64 matches in 12 cities around the country.

这个公园里的设施建设即将竣工，这样赛事期间成千上万人会在这里聚集。据估计，80万游客将同数百万巴西人民一同在全国12个场地观看全部64场比赛。

巴西世界杯.jpg

The excitement is building, says seamstress Teresa Christina, although it was slow to start because there is a lot of popular discontent.

女裁缝克里斯蒂娜表示兴奋正在不断高涨，但还不够快，因为有让很多民众感到不满的事情。

“There is, but it's relative. There's a lot of disbelief because there's a lot of violent crime.They say there's no money for certain social needs yet there's money for the Cup. Of course there should be a World Cup but there should be money for other things. But people need some fun, too.”

“有,但这是相对的。因为有很多的暴力犯罪事件所以让人感到很不满。他们都表示某些社会需求都没钱竟然搞世界杯。举办世界杯是理所应当，但钱应该用在其他方面上。但是人们也需要些乐趣。”

The run-up to one of the world's greatest sporting events has been marred³ by social protests over corruption⁴ and a lack of social services. A transit strike in Sao Paulo, which is hosting Thursday's opening match, has disrupted traffic for days.

世界最大体育赛事之一的筹备工作受到反腐抗议活动和缺乏社会服务的影响。在即将举办星期四开幕式比赛的圣保罗，公交系统罢工使得交通中断了好几天。

The government has budgeted $11 billion for stadium and infrastructure⁵ construction. But people complain about poor public services, low pay and the high cost of living.

政府已经为体育场馆和基础设施建设拨款110亿美元。但人们仍旧抱怨公共服务，低工资及高生活成本等问题

Rio resident Alexandre Oliveira says these problems run very deep.

圣保罗居民阿莱克斯安德烈·奥利维拉表示这些问题已经根深蒂固。

“I think in these 30 days, the Cup is not really going to help.It's more people's mentality⁶ that will determine what happens afterwards. Maybe with the elections at the end of the year, things will change. But these 30 days are just a seed being planted.”

“我认为这一个月的世界杯不会带来任何改善。人们的心态更能决定以后的事态走向。可能今年年底举行的选举会带来一些改变。但是这区区30天的足球赛仅仅是埋下种子而已。”

Foreign visitors seem aware of the situation.Newlyweds Anne-Kathrin Hattels and her husband, Lasse, have come from Denmark for their honeymoon⁷. They say they understand the anger over the high cost of the Cup.

外国游客似乎也理解这种局面。安妮·凯斯琳和莱希是来到巴西度蜜月的丹麦新婚夫妇。这对新人表示理解人们对世界杯赛的高昂成本所产生的不满。

“I kind of agree with that but it also brings a lot of tourists to the country, so they will get money from it. I know they spend a lot, but they also get a lot.”

“我同意这种看法，但世界杯吸引了许多游客，所以巴西也从中获益。我知道巴西为此下了血本，但也获得了回报。”

The protesters say they want to use the World Cup to press for change. Others say they prefer to showcase the good side of the country, its culture and its people. Many say they just want to have fun.

抗议者们希望利用世界杯促使国家发生变革。另一些人说，他们更愿意向外展示包括其文化和人民在内巴西好的一面。而许多人则表示他们只是想要些乐趣。

1 transit   

n.经过，运输；vt.穿越，旋转；vi.越过

参考例句：

• His luggage was lost in transit.他的行李在运送中丢失。
• The canal can transit a total of 50 ships daily.这条运河每天能通过50条船。

2 promenade   

n./v.散步

参考例句：

• People came out in smarter clothes to promenade along the front.人们穿上更加时髦漂亮的衣服，沿着海滨散步。
• We took a promenade along the canal after Sunday dinner.星期天晚饭后我们沿着运河散步。

3 marred   

adj. 被损毁, 污损的

参考例句：

• The game was marred by the behaviour of drunken fans. 喝醉了的球迷行为不轨，把比赛给搅了。
• Bad diction marred the effectiveness of his speech. 措词不当影响了他演说的效果。

4 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

5 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。

6 mentality   

n.心理，思想，脑力

参考例句：

• He has many years'experience of the criminal mentality.他研究犯罪心理有多年经验。
• Running a business requires a very different mentality from being a salaried employee.经营企业所要求具备的心态和上班族的心态截然不同。

7 honeymoon   

n.蜜月（假期）；vi.度蜜月

参考例句：

• While on honeymoon in Bali,she learned to scuba dive.她在巴厘岛度蜜月时学会了带水肺潜水。
• The happy pair are leaving for their honeymoon.这幸福的一对就要去度蜜月了。