来源：《基督科学箴言报》
原文刊登日期：2021年6月18日
本文较简单，适合英语二考生
Soccer, or football to those outside the United States, is the world’s most popular sport. In 2018, when its top tournament, the FIFA World Cup, was last held, some 3.5 billion people, about half the world’s population, tuned in to view the games. The average single World Cup match had 191 million fans glued to their TVs.
足球是世界上最受欢迎的运动。2018年，世界杯最近一次举办时，约有35亿人收看了比赛，约占世界人口的一半。平均每场世界杯比赛有1.91亿球迷守在电视机前。
That popularity extends to individual players, too. Eight of the 10 most followed athletes on Instagram are soccer players, the only exceptions being U.S. professional basketball player LeBron James and Indian cricketer Virat Kohli. The No. 1 athlete on Instagram, with some 278 million followers, is Portuguese superstar soccer player Cristiano Ronaldo.
这种受欢迎程度也延伸到了球员个人身上。Instagram上最受关注的10名运动员中有8名是足球运动员，只有美国职业篮球运动员勒布朗·詹姆斯和印度板球运动员维拉特·科利例外。Instagram上的头号球星是葡萄牙巨星罗纳尔多，拥有2.78亿粉丝。
Mr. Ronaldo is leading Portugal’s entry into the Union of European Football Associations’ long-awaited Euro 2020 tournament. Delayed from last year because of the pandemic, the event retains 2020 in its title, perhaps to save rebranding it in fans’ minds, and more likely because it would mean throwing out piles of goods with Euro 2020 that had already been manufactured. Two dozen star-studded European teams are competing in matches in 11 cities, with the finale set for England’s Wembley Stadium in London July 11.
罗纳尔多正带领葡萄牙参加期待已久的欧足联2020年欧洲杯。由于疫情的影响，本届欧洲杯由去年推迟到今年，但名称里保留了2020，这或许是为了避免在球迷心中重塑品牌形象，更有可能是因为这意味着不用扔掉成堆的已经制造好的2020年欧洲杯纪念品。24支明星云集的欧洲国家队将在11个城市举行比赛，决赛将于7月11日在伦敦温布利体育场举行。
The big event was supposed to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Euro championships, begun in 1960. It was also to signal a return to normalcy after months of pandemic and empty stadiums. Instead, Euro 2020 is seen now as a hoped-for diversion from that lingering challenge. Most stadiums will allow fans to fill only about 25% of their seats. Wembley will require fans to show they have been vaccinated. The players, coaches, and referees will be kept isolated as much as possible when off the field, while being given some 24,000 COVID-19 tests.
这一盛事原本是为了庆祝自1960年开始的欧洲杯60周年。这也标志着在经历了几个月的大流行和空空如也的体育场之后，局势已经恢复正常。相反，2020年欧洲杯现在被视为摆脱这一挥之不去的挑战的希望所在。大多数体育馆的上座率不能超过25%。温布利球场将要求球迷出示他们接种过疫苗的证明。在场外，球员、教练和裁判将被尽可能隔离，接受约2.4万次核酸检测。
The matches “will not change the outcome of the pandemic,” Daniel Koch, a health adviser to its organizers, told Britain’s Financial Times. But they could ease the stress of the pandemic if it makes people happier, he said. And as usual, Euro 2020 has the high goal of promoting goodwill and solidarity among European nations.
赛事组织者健康顾问丹尼尔•科赫对英国《金融时报》表示，比赛“不会改变大流行的结果”。但他说，如果能让人们更快乐，就能缓解疫情带来的压力。和往常一样，2020年欧洲杯的最高目标是促进欧洲国家之间的友好和团结。