VOA慢速英语--拉丁美洲球迷期待世界杯决赛

Latin¹ American Football Fans Looking Forward to World Cup Finals

Tens of thousands of people from Central and South America are spending part of their summer in Russia.

They have gone to Moscow and 10 other Russian cities for the championship of international football, the FIFA 2018 World Cup. They have been cheering on football teams from across Latin America -- from Mexico and Colombia to Peru and Argentina.

Yet some of the many Europeans who are in Russia for the World Cup appear less excited. They said their friends at home told them they were foolish to go.

The French news agency² AFP says the differences among football fans at the biggest event in sports is a sign of Russia’s slow move away from Europe since 2000. That is the year when Vladimir Putin became the country’s president.

Russia is now welcoming new allies³ that happen to love football, a sport known as soccer in the United States. Central and South American media rarely report about Russian wrongdoing or poisoning cases.

Zbigniew Iwanowski is with the Institute of Latin American Studies in Moscow. He noted⁴ that, "Russia's image is better in Latin America than it is in Europe and the US."

Colombian football fan Mauricio Miranda praised what he saw in Moscow. He said, "We didn't expect it to be this beautiful and the people are amazing."

Jo De Munter of Belgium, a public relations specialist, does not necessarily⁵ disagree. But he said his friends do. "I think Europeans are a bit afraid,” he added.

Europeans and Latin Americans are more likely to attend World Cup events held in their home countries because travel planning is easier and they know the area.

But many Europeans made the long trip across the African continent in 2010 to witness the World Cup in South Africa.

Information from FIFA, football’s governing body, showed almost 50 percent more Britons bought tickets for the South Africa World Cup than the games in Russia.

Australians were in third place in 2010, but are just ninth for ticket sales in Russia.

Germany and England bought the fourth and fifth most World Cup tickets in 2010, and France was ninth.

France dropped out of the top 10 in Russia, while Britain dropped down to last place. Germany stayed in fourth place.

The United States has long led purchases among non-hosting countries because of its economy and large communities from Mexico and Central America.

Without counting the U.S., Latin Americans bought two-thirds of the tickets sold to the top 10 countries.

Many fans from Latin America are office workers in big cities. For example, Colombia's Mauricio Miranda is a city planner with a new job in Canada.

Alexandro Grado is a former financial adviser⁶ with Mexico's Citibanamex. He now owns a plastics recycling business. He said, "Going to Russia is not expensive if you buy everything ahead of time."

Yet not all fans have enough money to enjoy restaurants near the Kremlin. Sociologists who study soccer say this is where Latin American football federations⁸ come in.

Ludovic Lestrelin is with the Universite de Caen in Normandy, France. He said less wealthy fans in Europe get far less travel and housing⁹ assistance¹⁰ from government agencies¹¹. He adds that they are increasingly¹² more likely to stay home and watch World Cup action on television.

This means Europeans who attend World Cups are likely to be richer than the average football fan. But Latin American visitors are more likely to come from all economic classes and walks of life.

I’m Jonathan Evans.

Words in This Story

ticket – n. a piece of paper that enables¹³ a person to see a show or travel in a vehicle

amazing – adj. surprising

non-hosting – adj. something that does not hold an event

expensive – adj. costing a lot of money

reflect – v. to show something; to make known

federation⁷ – n. an organization made by joining together smaller groups

1 Latin   

adj.拉丁的，拉丁语的，拉丁人的；n.拉丁语

参考例句：

• She learned Latin without a master.她无师自通学会了拉丁语。
• Please use only Latin characters.请仅使用拉丁文字符。

2 agency   

n.经办；代理；代理处

参考例句：

• This disease is spread through the agency of insects.这种疾病是通过昆虫媒介传播的。
• He spoke in the person of Xinhua News Agency.他代表新华社讲话。

3 allies   

联盟国，同盟者； 同盟国，同盟者( ally的名词复数 )； 支持者； 盟军

参考例句：

• The allies would fear that they were pawns in a superpower condominium. 这个联盟担心他们会成为超级大国共管的牺牲品。
• A number of the United States' allies had urged him not to take a hasty decision. 美国的一些盟友已力劝他不要急于作决定。

4 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

5 necessarily   

adv.必要地，必需地；必定地，必然地

参考例句：

• More work does not necessarily call for more men.增加工作量不一定就要增添人员。
• A voter must necessarily be no younger than eighteen.选民必须在18岁以上。

6 adviser   

n.劝告者，顾问

参考例句：

• They employed me as an adviser.他们聘请我当顾问。
• Our department has engaged a foreign teacher as phonetic adviser.我们系已经聘请了一位外籍老师作为语音顾问。

7 federation   

n.同盟，联邦，联合，联盟，联合会

参考例句：

• It is a federation of 10 regional unions.它是由十个地方工会结合成的联合会。
• Mr.Putin was inaugurated as the President of the Russian Federation.普京正式就任俄罗斯联邦总统。

8 federations   

n.联邦( federation的名词复数 )；同盟；联盟；联合会

参考例句：

• These problems are women's special problems and special work of women's federations. 这样的问题，就是妇女的特殊问题，就是妇联的特殊工作。 来自互联网
• The Bridge Federate is a feasible solution to achieve multi-federations interconnection. 基于桥接成员实现多联邦互连是目前较为通用和可行的方法。 来自互联网

9 housing   

n.房屋，住宅；住房建筑；外壳，外罩

参考例句：

• Do you think our housing sales will turn around during this year?你认为今年我们的住宅销路会好转吗？
• The housing sales have been turning down since the summer.入夏以来，房屋的销售量日趋减少。

10 assistance   

n.援助，帮助

参考例句：

• She called and called but no one came to her assistance.她叫了又叫，但没有人来帮。
• He will get the great possible assistance.他将获得尽可能大的帮助。

11 agencies   

n.代理( agency的名词复数 )；服务机构；（政府的）专门机构；代理（或经销）业务（或关系）

参考例句：

• There are many specialized agencies in the United Nations. 联合国有许多专门机构。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The project is funded by the World Bank and other multilateral agencies. 这项计划由世界银行和其他多国机构资助。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 increasingly   

adv.逐渐地，日益地，逐渐增加地

参考例句：

• Rivers are being increasingly made use of by man. 河流正在日益为人类所利用。
• I find it increasingly difficult to live within my income.我发现靠收入过日子越来越难了。

13 enables   

v.使能够，提供做…的权利[措施]( enable的第三人称单数 )；使可能

参考例句：

• The software enables you to access the Internet in seconds. 这种软件使你在几秒钟内便可访问互联网。
• This pass enables me to travel half-price on trains. 我用这张通行证可以半价乘火车。 来自《简明英汉词典》