卡塔尔世界杯将在冬季举行

 　　FIFA has confirmed the 2022 World Cup final in Qatar will take place on Sunday, December 18.

　　国际足联已经确认，2022年卡塔尔世界杯的总决赛将在12月18号举行，这一天是星期天。

　　It comes after a FIFA taskforce recommended last month the tournament should be switched from summer to winter to avoid the searing heat of the Gulf¹ in June and July, where temperatures can exceed 40C.

　　上个月，国际足联特别工作组建议将比赛日期从夏季改为冬季。这样做能够避开海湾地区六七月份的高温天气，这个时间段的气温能超过40摄氏度。

　　The decision to hold the first ever winter World Cup was taken more than four years after the most controversial award of a sporting event in history.

　　继史上最具争议的卡塔尔获得主办权后，关于是否举办冬季世界杯的争论已经超过了四年。

　　卡塔尔世界杯将在冬季举行

　　Confirming the date for the 2022 World Cup final, Walter De Gregorio, FIFA's director of communications, said: 'This is for us an important step.

　　国际足联通讯主管沃尔特?德?格雷格里奥表示，“对于我们而言，这是非常重要的一步。”

　　'Finally we know the end of the tournament. It's a Sunday and, by the way, it's the national day inQatar, so it fits perfectly².'

　　“我们终于知道比赛何时结束了，那天是星期天，恰好是卡塔尔的国庆日，相得益彰。”

　　He added: 'You have enough time to do your Christmas shopping.'

　　他补充说，“而且你还有充分的时间进行圣诞节采购。”

　　FIFA has indicated the 2022 tournament will also be shortened to 28 days, instead of the usual 32. The competition is likely to begin (featuring the hosts'Qatar) on November 21.

　　FIFA同时指出，2022年世界杯赛程将从32天缩短至28天，比赛可能在11月21日开幕。

　　The decision means the traditional and popular Boxing Day club matches will take place as usual – which will come as some comfort to the Premier³ League who have strongly opposed the switch.

　　该决定意味着传统及受欢迎的节礼日比赛将照常举行，此举对于强烈反对日期改变的英超联赛来说是种安慰。

　　UEFA - the body that governs European football - had pushed for the final to be as late as December 23.

　　欧洲足球的管理者欧足联已经奋力争取将决赛最晚推至12月23日。

　　The Qatar World Cup has been mired⁴ in controversy⁵ ever since the shock decision to stage the tournament in the desert kingdom which has no footballing history and a questionable⁶ human rights record.

　　卡塔尔是一个沙漠国家，且该国没有足球历史，人权问题令人生疑，世界杯却在这里举行，因而卡塔尔世界杯自宣布之日起便饱受争议。

　　Sepp Blatter, FIFA's long-standing president, even admitted last year that staging the tournament in Qatar was a 'mistake' – justifying⁷ it by saying 'but one makes lots of mistakes in life'.

　　国际足联主席赛普?布拉特曾在去年承认过在卡塔尔举办世界杯就是个“错误”，但他辩解道“人一生中会犯很多错误。”

　　Allegations of widespread corruption⁸ and collusion dogged the process from the outset.

　　有一种说法是从一开始这个事件就有腐败和阴谋的的影子。

　　A report by investigator⁹ Michael Garcia into allegations of corruption remains¹⁰ secret, unpublished and subject to dispute between its author and FIFA.

　　一份调查员迈克尔?加西亚对腐败指控的报告仍然处于保密、未公开的状态，引发了作者和国际足联之间的纷争。

　　Vocabulary

　　mire：使陷入困境

　　outset：开始

　　collusion：勾结，共谋

1 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。

2 perfectly   

adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。
• Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。

3 premier   

adj.首要的；n.总理，首相

参考例句：

• The Irish Premier is paying an official visit to Britain.爱尔兰总理正在对英国进行正式访问。
• He requested that the premier grant him an internview.他要求那位总理接见他一次。

4 mired   

abbr.microreciprocal degree 迈尔德（色温单位）v.深陷( mire的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The country was mired in recession. 这个国家陷入了经济衰退的困境。
• The most brilliant leadership can be mired in detail. 最有才干的领导也会陷于拘泥琐事的困境中。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

5 controversy   

n.争论，辩论，争吵

参考例句：

• That is a fact beyond controversy.那是一个无可争论的事实。
• We ran the risk of becoming the butt of every controversy.我们要冒使自己在所有的纷争中都成为众矢之的的风险。

6 questionable   

adj.可疑的，有问题的

参考例句：

• There are still a few questionable points in the case.这个案件还有几个疑点。
• Your argument is based on a set of questionable assumptions.你的论证建立在一套有问题的假设上。

7 justifying   

证明…有理( justify的现在分词 )； 为…辩护； 对…作出解释； 为…辩解（或辩护）

参考例句：

• He admitted it without justifying it. 他不加辩解地承认这个想法。
• The fellow-travellers'service usually consisted of justifying all the tergiversations of Soviet intenal and foreign policy. 同路人的服务通常包括对苏联国内外政策中一切互相矛盾之处进行辩护。

8 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。

9 investigator   

n.研究者，调查者，审查者

参考例句：

• He was a special investigator for the FBI.他是联邦调查局的特别调查员。
• The investigator was able to deduce the crime and find the criminal.调查者能够推出犯罪过程并锁定罪犯。

10 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。