经济学人524:世界杯 球场不够完美

　　The World Cup
世界杯
Pitch imperfect
球场不够完美
They think it's all over budget
他们认为超出预算
Down to the finishing touches
开赛在即，已到最后收尾工作
FOOTBALL'S World Cup was meant to display Brazil's coming-of-age as a global player. Instead, the preparations have illustrated¹ the improvisation² for which the country is nearly as famous as its footballers. With less than a month to go, organisers are scrambling³ to get everything ready. A swanky new terminal opened at Guarulhos Airport in Sao Paulo on May 11th. But just eight airlines will be operating there next month, not 25 as planned. Chunks⁴ of the airport in Belo Horizonte, another host city, are wrapped in scaffolding and sprinkled with dust—and will remain so well after the tournament ends in July.
足球世界杯是巴西这个世界足球强国显示其成熟老道的绝好时机。然而，其糟糕的筹备，就像其足球运动员即兴表演那样闻名于世。距世界杯开幕已不足一个月，可是组委会正仓促地想要一切在一个月内各就各位。5月11日，位于圣保罗的Guarulhos机场，一个超炫豪华的机场航站楼建成开始对外开放。然而下个月，只有8个而不是计划的25个航空公司可以在这里起落。而位于另一个主办城市贝洛哈里桑塔的机场，绝大部分依然围着脚手架，到处是灰尘，而这个状态可能直到六月世界杯赛结束都不大会有所改观。
世界杯.jpg
Unfinished work at Arena⁵ Corinthians stadium in Sao Paulo means only 40,000 fans will attend a pre-tournament test game on May 18th, well shy of the 68,000 expected at the opening match on June 12th. The media centre at the stadium in Curitiba won't be ready for the event; journalists will slum it in a tent.
圣保罗哥林蒂安斯体育场作为世界杯的竞技场现在尚未完工，这意味着仅有4万球迷可以参加5月18号举行的赛前测试，这远远少于六月12号世界杯首场赛事的6.8万人。库里蒂巴市体育场的媒体中心届时可能无法为大赛服务，记者只能挤在自搭的帐篷中。
Red tape and overlapping⁶ federal, state and municipal fiefs have snarled⁷ projects. Jerme Valcke, secretary-general of FIFA, football's governing body, has described dealing⁸ with Brazilian authorities as “hell”. Eight construction workers have died in accidents, six more than in South Africa four years ago. FIFA insists stadiums will be ready when fans start pouring in. But delays have left little time to install and test telecommunications kit⁹, prompting worries over patchy television and radio transmission.
繁文缛节官僚习气以及冗杂的联邦、政府和市级区划让各个项目混乱不堪。国际足球联盟足球赛事的领导机构的总秘书长Jerme Valcke将与巴西当局的办事风格描述为“极不像话”。8名建筑工人在施工事故中丧生，这比四年前南非世界杯多整整6人。国际足球联盟坚持要求体育馆必须在观众前来参与赛前测试之前一切准备就绪。但是由于一再拖延，几乎没有时间安装、测试电信设备，这给不完善的电视转播和广播转播买下隐忧。
Cost overruns, partly blamed on alleged¹⁰ price-gouging, mean that, measured by the cost of a seat, Brazil now boasts ten of the world's 20 most expensive football venues¹¹, according to KPMG, a consultancy. The whitest of these elephants, in Brasília, may end up consuming 2 billion reais, nearly triple the initial estimate. After the Cup it is unlikely ever to draw capacity crowds again, as the city lacks a good league side.
足球世界杯筹备成本远远超出预算，部分原因是由于价格欺骗。意思是，以一个座位的成本作为衡量手段，根据毕马威会计事务所的数据，现在巴西拥有世界上最贵的20个足球竞技场。在巴西利亚，这些造价昂贵而使用价值又不太高的场馆最终可能花费20亿里亚尔，是最初预算的3倍。在世界杯赛事之后，因为这个城市缺乏一个好的联赛赛事它不可能再整场爆满。
A promised public-works bonanza¹² has not materialised. Brazil's government insisted on staging games in 12 cities, rather than the required eight, in order to spread the benefits across the country. It succeeded only in spreading itself thin. Just five of 35 planned urban-mobility schemes are complete. Fans will use buses or taxis to get to most city centres.
因此一个颇具前景的市政工程金矿也无法带来物质财富。巴西政府为了均衡举办世界杯带来的红利，坚持在12个城市举行赛事而非按照要求在8个城市举办。而这，只会让传播世界杯赛事的成功几率降低。而35个城市交通方案也仅有5个竣工。最后，球迷只能通过公交车或者计程车前往各个位于市中心的赛场。
Support for hosting the World Cup has fallen sharply, from 79% after it was awarded to Brazil in 2007 to 48% now, according to Datafolha, a pollster. Given Brazilians' love of football and knack¹³ for making merry, the tournament is almost certain to be a blast. But the legacy¹⁴ has been left in the changing-rooms.
根据圣保罗页报的民意调查，巴西国内民众对世界杯的支持也急剧下降，由2007年申办成功之初的78%降至现在的48%，世界杯赛几乎注定了将是猛烈的一击。而这一现象已经在更衣室得到验证。

1 illustrated   

adj. 有插图的，列举的 动词illustrate的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• His lecture was illustrated with slides taken during the expedition. 他在讲演中使用了探险时拍摄到的幻灯片。
• The manufacturing Methods: Will be illustrated in the next chapter. 制作方法将在下一章说明。

2 improvisation   

n.即席演奏(或演唱)；即兴创作

参考例句：

• a free-form jazz improvisation 自由创作的爵士乐即兴演出
• Most of their music was spontaneous improvisation. 他们的大部分音乐作品都是即兴创作的。

3 scrambling   

v.快速爬行( scramble的现在分词 )；攀登；争夺；（军事飞机）紧急起飞

参考例句：

• Scrambling up her hair, she darted out of the house. 她匆忙扎起头发，冲出房去。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• She is scrambling eggs. 她正在炒蛋。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 chunks   

厚厚的一块( chunk的名词复数 )； （某物）相当大的数量或部分

参考例句：

• a tin of pineapple chunks 一罐菠萝块
• Those chunks of meat are rather large—could you chop them up a bIt'smaller? 这些肉块相当大，还能再切小一点吗？

5 arena   

n.竞技场，运动场所；竞争场所，舞台

参考例句：

• She entered the political arena at the age of 25. 她25岁进入政界。
• He had not an adequate arena for the exercise of his talents.他没有充分发挥其才能的场所。

6 overlapping   

adj./n.交迭（的）

参考例句：

• There is no overlapping question between the two courses. 这两门课程之间不存在重叠的问题。
• A trimetrogon strip is composed of three rows of overlapping. 三镜头摄影航线为三排重迭的象片所组成。

7 snarled   

v.（指狗）吠，嗥叫， （人）咆哮( snarl的过去式和过去分词 )；咆哮着说，厉声地说

参考例句：

• The dog snarled at us. 狗朝我们低声吼叫。
• As I advanced towards the dog, It'snarled and struck at me. 我朝那条狗走去时，它狂吠着向我扑来。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

9 kit   

n.用具包，成套工具；随身携带物

参考例句：

• The kit consisted of about twenty cosmetic items.整套工具包括大约20种化妆用品。
• The captain wants to inspect your kit.船长想检查你的行装。

10 alleged   

a.被指控的，嫌疑的

参考例句：

• It was alleged that he had taken bribes while in office. 他被指称在任时收受贿赂。
• alleged irregularities in the election campaign 被指称竞选运动中的不正当行为

11 venues   

n.聚集地点( venue的名词复数 )；会场；（尤指）体育比赛场所；犯罪地点

参考例句：

• The band will be playing at 20 different venues on their UK tour. 这个乐队在英国巡回演出期间将在20个不同的地点演出。
• Farmers market corner, 800 meters long, 60 meters wide livestock trading venues. 农牧市场东北角，有长800米，宽60米的牲畜交易场地。 来自互联网

12 bonanza   

n.富矿带，幸运，带来好运的事

参考例句：

• Bargain hunters enjoyed a real bonanza today.到处买便宜货的人今天真是交了好运。
• What a bonanza for the winning ticket holders!对于手持胜券的人来说，这是多好的运气啊。

13 knack   

n.诀窍，做事情的灵巧的，便利的方法

参考例句：

• He has a knack of teaching arithmetic.他教算术有诀窍。
• Making omelettes isn't difficult,but there's a knack to it.做煎蛋饼并不难，但有窍门。

14 legacy   

n.遗产，遗赠；先人(或过去)留下的东西

参考例句：

• They are the most precious cultural legacy our forefathers left.它们是我们祖先留下来的最宝贵的文化遗产。
• He thinks the legacy is a gift from the Gods.他认为这笔遗产是天赐之物。