经济学人精读：推迟奥运给日本带来多大损失？ | 外刊双语

官宣：2020东京奥运会推迟至2021年

新冠肺炎肆虐全球之际，国际体坛进入了前所未有的“空窗期”。刚刚过去的一周时间里，欧洲五大联赛、欧冠和欧联、职业网球、花滑世锦赛等世界体坛一系列重量级赛事纷纷按下了“暂停键”。

最新一期经济学人上有篇文章对此进行了报道，文章标题叫做Cancelling sport will dent morale. A solution may be needed. 取消赛事将打击士气，必须采取措施。

其中dent morale表示“打击士气；挫伤士气”。

这一观点我们暂不作评价，先来看文中的这几句话：

01

多项赛事取消对经济造成重大影响

经济学人原文：

The economic implications will be significant. Sport is a big business. As well as attending games, American fans buy around $15bn of sports merchandise annually. Globally, many fans pay to subscribe to a sports channel to watch games: the global audience for English Premier League football was 3.2bn people last season in 188 countries.

高斋参考译文：

这将对经济产生重大影响。体育赛事已成为一项重要产业。在美国，体育粉丝不仅会买票观看比赛，平均每年花在体育用品上的总金额高达150亿美元。从全球范围来看，大量粉丝会订阅体育频道观看比赛，如上个赛季英格兰超级联赛（English Premier League football）观众人数达到32亿，遍布全球188个国家。

1. 固定表达：economic implications是固定表达，表示“经济影响”。The economic implications will be significant可以当作一个固定表达来记，表示“对经济产生重大影响”。

implications可以说impacts，其实这里说的是不好影响，也可以说consequences或fallout；

fallout可以表示不良后果，如金融时报上这句：

But the fallout from a collapse in the mortgage and lending markets could shake fragile consumer confidence further.

然而，抵押和贷款市场崩盘的影响，可能会进一步动摇本已脆弱的消费者信心。

Significant也可以说substantial或considerable。

这句话也可以说This will have significant economic implications。

2. a big business：一大产业；一个大生意；一个重要业务。如《华尔街日报》例句：

ETFs, which typically track market indexes, have become a big business for banks.

ETF一般指跟踪市场指数，已经成为银行业的一块重要业务。

今天这句话中的Sport is a big business意思是体育赛事已经不单单是比赛，已经变成一项产业。

3. As well as attending games中as well as作介词，后面接doing或原型，意为“除了……之外，不仅，还有”，相当于in addition to doing sth。如金融时报例句：

As well as trying to master the Chinese language, Mr Zuckerberg has entertained China’s chief censor at his San Francisco home.

除了努力学习中文，扎克伯格还在旧金山的家中款待中国审查机构负责人。

As well as的更多用法看这里：别再用错 as well as 和and啦！

4. American fans buy around $15bn of sports merchandise annually：buy+xxx+of sth也可以说spend+xxx+on sth，所以American fans spend around $15bn on sports merchandise annually。

5. 翻译思维：attend games的理解。注意这里不要翻译为“参加比赛；出席比赛”，对于粉丝来说，他们的attend就是买票进场观看比赛。所以我把attending games翻译为“买票观看比赛”。

6. sports merchandise：体育用品。也可以说sporting goods。这里是在强调体育赛事是一项产业，可以带来经济效益，所以用merchandise，但是不要说“体育商品”。

subscribe to表示“订阅”之意时，可以表示订阅频道、栏目、服务、报刊等等。

subscribe to还可以表示定期向……捐款，如：

I subscribe to a few favourite charities.

我定期向几个中意的慈善机构捐款。

subscribe to还可以表示同意：

We subscribe to the resolution.

我们赞同这项决议。

subscribe to也可以表示支持，如：

As a Liberal Democrat I subscribe to the internationalist approach.

作为自由民主党成员，我支持国际主义路线。

7. 固定搭配：“……的观众”是the audience for ...。注意介词搭配是for。如路透社报道：

Television ratings indicate that nearly 43 percent of the audience for general entertainment channels over the last two years is male.

电视收视率调查显示，过去两年间，普通娱乐频道近43%的观众是男性。

8. last season中的season表示“赛季”，在体育赛事中season指“赛季”。

02

东京奥运会推迟至2021年举办

人民网报道：当地时间3月24日，国际奥委会宣布原计划于今年7月24日至8月9日进行的第三十二届奥运会推迟至2021年举办，赛事名称依旧为“东京2020年奥运会和残奥会”。

路透社报道：

After weeks of speculation and mounting criticism at the delay in announcing a postponement, Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and International Olympic Committee (IOC) president Thomas Bach agreed the event would be rescheduled for the summer of 2021 at the latest.

高斋参考译文：

数周以来，日本首相安倍晋三和国际奥委会主席巴赫在延迟奥运会一事上迟迟未能作出决定，质疑和批评之声愈演愈烈，二人最终宣布延迟2020东京奥运会，最晚将在2021年夏天举办。

1. speculation and mounting criticism：质疑和批评之声愈演愈烈。

在此之前，安倍和巴赫的态度是奥运会将如期举行，不会考虑延期。如经济学人上这句：

Despite mounting doubts from athletes and sporting federations, the president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) would not contemplate a delay: “The Tokyo games will and must go on.”

这里doubts和speculation表示同一含义，注意介词搭配，某人的置疑是doubts from。mounting在这里是形容词，mounting ...也可以说growing。

mounting可以表示加大，在CATTI和MTI报告汉译英里面经常见：mounting downward pressure on the economy经济下行压力加大。

“would not contemplate a delay”意思就是“不会考虑延期”，其中delay可以替换为postponement。

“contemplate”还可以用consider。如bbc报道：

The IOC had given itself a deadline of four weeks to consider delaying the Games but there had been mounting pressure from a host of Olympic committees and athletes demanding a quicker decision.

这句话中consider delaying the Games和contemplate a delay是同一含义的不同表达，大家要学会同义词替换。

其中“推迟”除了用postpone之外，还可以说put off，delay；或者用名词postponement，delay。

A. 经济学人上有篇文章的标题就叫作：

It’s official: coronavirus puts off the Tokyo Olympics

B. cnbc报道：

The 2020 Olympics will be delayed about a year due to the coronavirus pandemic, officials announced Tuesday.

其中due to也可以说because of，amid。如cnbc报道：

Tokyo 2020 Olympics are postponed amid coronavirus pandemic.

C. bbc在报道多项体育赛事取消时有这么一句话：

Canada became the first major country to withdraw from both events on Sunday, while USA Track and Field, athletics' US governing body, had also called for a postponement.

加拿大是第一个退出这两项重要赛事的国家，美国田径协会（USA Track and Field，美国田径管理机构）也呼吁推迟比赛。

call for postponing the Games和call for a postponement表达同一含义。

2. 同义表达：be rescheduled for the summer of 2021 at the latest意思是“最晚将在2021年夏天举办”，be rescheduled for是一个固定表达，表示“计划在另一时间举行/举办/进行”，原计划在某一时间举行就是be scheduled for。

A. 如cnbc报道：

The Paralympic Games had been scheduled for Aug. 25 to Sept. 6.

B. 路透社报道：

This would mean the Games, scheduled for July 24-Aug. 9, are likely to be held in the summer of 2021.

“最晚将在什么时候举办”还可以说take place no later than ...其中take place是主动，表示句型，如果是被动，就用be held。如bbc上的这句：

The event, due to begin on 24 July, will now take place "no later than summer 2021".

其中due to do sth是一个固定搭配，表示“按计划；原计划……”。

如路透社例句：

The British premiere of the movie was due to take place in London on Tuesday. Warner Bros. declined to comment.

这部影片原计划周二在伦敦首映，华纳兄弟拒绝置评。

纽约时报上有句话是这么说的：

Bach and Abe bowed to a groundswell of resistance and formally postponed the Games, which had been scheduled to begin in late July, until 2021.

所以“due to begin on 24 July”完全可以替换为scheduled to begin on 24 July，scheduled to begin in late July，scheduled for July 24-Aug. 9。

其中“-”表示to的含义；注意介词搭配，具体到某一天是on，on 24 July；在某月或某月的某个时段是in，即in late July。

补充：bow to本意是“向……鞠躬”，引申为“向……屈服；屈从于”之意。如bow to international pressure屈从于国际压力。

a groundswell of也是一个固定搭配，表示“……呼声/风潮/浪潮高涨”，表示多的含义，具体含义根据语境确定。如《华尔街日报》例句：

Yet there's hardly a groundswell of support for this view.

但是并没有太多人支持这种观点。

自1896年第一届现代奥林匹克运动会举办以来，还从未有过奥运会被推迟的先例。只有1916年柏林奥运会、1940年东京奥运会、1944年伦敦奥运会因为一战和二战被取消。正如原文所说：

It is the first break in the four-year cycle for the summer Olympics since the 1940 and 1944 Games were cancelled because of World War Two.

其中the four-year-cycle在这里表示“四年一届的”。

“第一次延迟举行”还可以有多种表达，比如：

A. 路透社：

Major sporting nations Australia and Canada withdrew on Monday as organisers came under global pressure to postpone the event for the first time in its 124-year modern history.

to postpone the event for the first time in its 124-year modern history即“在1896年第一届现代奥林匹克运动会举办以来的124年间，这是第一次延迟举办奥运会”。

B. 路透社：

The Olympics have never before been delayed, though they were cancelled altogether in 1916, 1940 and 1944 during the two world wars.

C. bbc：

The Olympics have never been delayed in their 124-year modern history, though they were cancelled altogether in 1916, 1940 and 1944 during World War One and World War Two.

D. usatoday：

While the Olympics have previously been canceled during periods of war, and complicated by boycotts, this is the first time they have ever been suspended.

03

推迟奥运给日本带来多大损失

这两段大家泛读下吧：

One reason the IOC took longer to make the decision was because it wanted to have a plan of action. Many of the arenas, sports centers, and hotels in and around Tokyo have special use agreements for the games, which were to open on July 24. Remaking those agreements is doable, but will come at a cost. Tokyo has alreadyspent a reported $28 billion to hold the games.

An Olympics postponement would be a blow for host country Japan, which haspumped in more than $12 billion of investment, and huge sums are also at stake for sponsors and broadcasters.

损失再大，也没有人们的健康和生命安全重要，正如国际残奥会主席安德鲁·帕森斯（Andrew Parsons）所言：

“The health and well-being of human life must always be our number one priority.Sport is not the most important thing right now, preserving human life is.”

“人们的健康和福祉一直是我们的重中之重。当下，体育赛事不是关键，保障生命安全才是最重要的事。”

今天就分享这么多，欢迎大家转发和分享。

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