VOA慢速英語(yǔ)：俄羅斯投入150億美元舉辦世界杯會(huì)有什么回報(bào)?
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What Will Russia’s $15 Billion Investment in the World Cup Buy?
俄羅斯投入150億美元舉辦世界杯會(huì)有什么回報(bào)?
The FIFA World Cup soccer championship in Russia is the most costly ever held.
在俄羅斯舉行的國(guó)際足聯(lián)世界杯足球賽是有史以來(lái)最昂貴的一屆。
Officials say the total cost will be $15 billion.
有關(guān)官員表示，總費(fèi)用將會(huì)達(dá)到150億美元。
Close to $3 billion has been spent on 12 new or improved stadiums. At least $8 billion has been spent on infrastructure, including new roads, railroads and airports.
其中將近30億美元被用于新建或升級(jí)體育場(chǎng)館，還有至少80億美元被用于基礎(chǔ)設(shè)施，包括新建道路、鐵路和機(jī)場(chǎng)。
Now, experts question whether there will be a good return for the Russian taxpayer.
現(xiàn)在，專家們質(zhì)疑俄羅斯納稅人是否會(huì)得到很好的回報(bào)。
Professor Leonid Grigoryev is an economist at the Analytical Center for the Government of the Russian Federation. He offers an unusual answer. He compares the World Cup to a wedding dress.
列奧尼德·格里戈耶夫(Leonid Grigoryev)教授是俄羅斯聯(lián)邦政府分析中心的一名經(jīng)濟(jì)學(xué)家。他給出了一個(gè)不同尋常的答案。他將世界杯比作了婚紗。
"On one hand, it's necessary. It makes everybody happy," Grigoryev told VOA. "The exact economic efficiency definitely cannot be defined in American quarterly financial reports. It's a long-term story. We still hope to become not only a hockey country, but a football country."
格里戈耶夫表示：“一方面它是必要的，它讓每個(gè)人都開(kāi)心。但它確切的經(jīng)濟(jì)效益肯定是美國(guó)式季度財(cái)務(wù)報(bào)告中無(wú)法體現(xiàn)出來(lái)的。它的影響是長(zhǎng)遠(yuǎn)的。我們?nèi)匀幌Ｍ粌H要成為一個(gè)冰球國(guó)度，也要成為一個(gè)足球國(guó)度。”
Brazil held the last World Cup in 2014 at an estimated cost of $11 billion. Four years later, the difference is clear to Brazilian football fans in Moscow.
巴西2014年舉辦了上一屆世界杯，預(yù)計(jì)花費(fèi)了110億美元。4年之后，對(duì)莫斯科的巴西球迷來(lái)說(shuō)，差異是很明顯的。
"Comparing Brazil with Russia, the infrastructure here is much better than ours," Marcio Pessoa told VOA, as he walked through Red Square.
馬西奧·佩索(Marcio Pessoa)在穿過(guò)紅場(chǎng)時(shí)對(duì)美國(guó)之音表示：“如果拿巴西與俄羅斯相比，這里的基礎(chǔ)設(shè)施比我們的強(qiáng)多了。”
Russia's $15 billion investment is aimed at improving the country's image, even as it faces sanctions. International restrictions were put in place over Russia's activities in Ukraine and the annexation of Crimea in 2014.
俄羅斯這150億美元投資旨在改善該國(guó)形象，即使它正面臨制裁。俄羅斯在烏克蘭的活動(dòng)以及2014年吞并克里米亞招致了國(guó)際制裁。
Dmitry Oreshkin is a political expert. He said Russian President Vladimir Putin tries to govern as though the sanctions are not important. "'Despite sanctions, we conduct such a gorgeous World Cup. Despite sanctions we go ahead with the war in Syria'...until the very moment that they start feeling that for all this pleasure, they are paying [for something]," said Oreshkin.
德米特里·奧列什金(Dmitry Oreshkin)是一位政治專家。他說(shuō)，俄羅斯總統(tǒng)普京試圖讓這些制裁顯得不那么重要。“’盡管面臨制裁，我們還是舉辦了如此宏偉的世界杯。盡管面臨制裁，我們還是投入了敘利亞戰(zhàn)爭(zhēng)。‘直到某個(gè)階段他們開(kāi)始感覺(jué)到，所有這些興奮，他們都要付出代價(jià)。”
The first to feel the financial difficulty are likely to be the middle-aged people looking forward to retirement.
首先感到財(cái)務(wù)困難的可能是期望退休的中年人。
On opening day of the World Cup last week, the government announced an increase in the pension age, from 60 to 65 for men, and a much bigger jump for women, from 55 to 63.
在上周世界杯開(kāi)幕當(dāng)天，俄羅斯政府宣布提高退休年齡，男性從60歲提高到65歲，女性從55歲提高到63歲。
Eva lives in Moscow. The 62-year-old told VOA that most Russians were not surprised.
伊娃住在莫斯科。62歲的她告訴美國(guó)之音，大多數(shù)俄羅斯人并不感到驚訝。
She said she believed that officials thought that the championship would ease the effect of the news.
她說(shuō)，她覺(jué)得官員們認(rèn)為世界杯比賽會(huì)降低這一新聞的影響。
Eva described a joke that people were telling about the increase in the retirement ago.
伊娃講述了人們以前說(shuō)到退休年齡提高的一個(gè)笑話。
"‘Yesterday, I had four years until pension age. Today, I have nine years. And they still keep telling us that you can't get your youth back!'" she said.
她：“‘昨天，我還有4年退休。到了今天，我還有9年退休。他們還一直對(duì)我們說(shuō)，青春一去不復(fù)返。"
Russia said the World Cup is partly a gift for its young people. There is talk of unforgettable memories and new buildings. The World Cup ends on July 15, but its value will be measured in the coming years.
俄羅斯表示，世界杯在一定程度上是給年輕人的禮物，他們得到了難忘的記憶以及新的設(shè)施。世界杯將于7月15日結(jié)束，但是它的價(jià)值會(huì)在未來(lái)幾年得到衡量。
I'm Susan Shand.
蘇珊·珊德報(bào)道。
The FIFA World Cup soccer championship in Russia is the most costly ever held.
Officials say the total cost will be $15 billion.
Close to $3 billion has been spent on 12 new or improved stadiums. At least $8 billion has been spent on infrastructure, including new roads, railroads and airports.
Now, experts question whether there will be a good return for the Russian taxpayer.
Professor Leonid Grigoryev is an economist at the Analytical Center for the Government of the Russian Federation. He offers an unusual answer. He compares the World Cup to a wedding dress.
“On one hand, it’s necessary. It makes everybody happy," Grigoryev told VOA. "The exact economic efficiency definitely cannot be defined in American quarterly financial reports. It’s a long-term story. We still hope to become not only a hockey country, but a football country."
Brazil held the last World Cup in 2014 at an estimated cost of $11 billion. Four years later, the difference is clear to Brazilian football fans in Moscow
“Comparing Brazil with Russia, the infrastructure here is much better than ours,” Marcio Pessoa told VOA, as he walked through Red Square.
Russia’s $15 billion investment is aimed at improving the country’s image, even as it faces sanctions. International restrictions were put in place over Russia’s activities in Ukraine and the annexation of Crimea in 2014.
Dmitry Oreshkin is a political expert. He said Russian President Vladimir Putin tries to govern as though the sanctions are not important. “'Despite sanctions, we conduct such a gorgeous World Cup. Despite sanctions we go ahead with the war in Syria’…until the very moment that they start feeling that for all this pleasure, they are paying [for something],” said Oreshkin.
The first to feel the financial difficulty are likely to be the middle-aged people looking forward to retirement.
On opening day of the World Cup last week, the government announced an increase in the pension age, from 60 to 65 for men, and a much bigger jump for women, from 55 to 63.
Eva lives in Moscow. The 62-year-old told VOA that most Russians were not surprised.
She said she believed that officials thought that the championship would ease the effect of the news.
Eva described a joke that people were telling about the increase in the retirement ago.
“‘Yesterday, I had four years until pension age. Today, I have nine years. And they still keep telling us that you can’t get your youth back!’” she said.
Russia said the World Cup is partly a gift for its young people. There is talk of unforgettable memories and new buildings. The World Cup ends on July 15, but its value will be measured in the coming years.
I’m Susan Shand.
_______________________________________________________________
Word in This Story
stadium – n. a very large usually roofless building that has a large open area surrounded by many rows of seats and that is used for sports events, concerts
infrastructure – n. the basic equipment and structures (such as roads and bridges) that are needed for a country, region, or organization to function properly
efficiency – n. the ability to do something or produce something without wasting materials, time, or energy
sanctions – n. an action that is taken or an order that is given to force a country to obey international laws by limiting or stopping trade with that country, by not allowing economic aid for that country
annexation – n. to add an area or region to a country, state, etc. : to take control of a territory or place
gorgeous – adj. very beautiful or attractive
pension – n. an amount of money that a company or the government pays to a person who is old or sick and no longer works
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