2015年economist双语文讲2.doc

[体育] 竞技精彩，交易龌蹉 2015-07-18 经济学人双语 Football is a great sport, but it could be so much better if it were run honestly 作为一项伟大运动的足球，公平竞争能让它变得更好。 THE mesmerising wizardry of Lionel Messi and the muscular grace of Cristiano Ronaldo are joys to behold. But for deep-dyed internationalists like this newspaper, the games true beauty lies in its long reach, from east to west and north to south. Football, more than any other sport, has thrived on globalisation. Nearly half of humanity will watch at least part of the World Cup, which kicks off in Brazil on June 12th. 有着梦幻般迷人动作的莱昂内尔?梅西和有着健美身材的克里斯提那?罗纳尔多总是让人为之疯狂着迷。但是在像我们报纸这样真正的国际主义者看来，足球运动之美在于这项运动的覆盖范围之广，从东到西，从南到北，都有它的踪影。足球比其他任何运动都更具全球性。今年6月12日，全世界几乎有一半的人至少会收看部分巴西世界杯的比赛。 So it is sad that the tournament begins under a cloud as big as the Maracan? stadium. Documents obtained by Britains Sunday Times have allegedly revealed secret payments that helped Qatar win the hosting rights to the World Cup in 2022.If that competition was fixed, it has company. A report by FIFA, footballs governing body, is said to have found that several exhibition matches were rigged ahead of the World Cup in 2010. And as usual, no one has been punished. 所以让人难过的是这场比赛一开始就疑团重重，犹如乌云必然。英国《周日时报》获得的文件表明卡塔尔为获得2022年世界杯主办权向组委会塞了红包。如果竞选确实是被操纵了的话，那么事情肯定还不止这么简单。国际足球联盟的报道表明他们发现2010年世界杯前的几场表演赛是被操控的。但是和往常一样的是，没有人因此受罚。 This only prompts other questions. Why on earth did anyone think holding the World Cup in the middle of the Arabian summer was a good idea? Why is football so far behind other sports like rugby, cricket and tennis in using technology to doublecheck refereeing decisions? And why is the worlds greatest game led by such a group of mediocrities, notably Sepp Blatter, FIFAs boss since 1998? In any other organisation, the endless financial scandals would have led to his ouster years ago. But more than that, he seems hopelessly out of date; from sexist remarks about women to interrupting a minutes silence for Nelson Mandela after only 11 seconds, the 78-year-old is t