俄罗斯投入150亿美元举办世界杯会有什么回报?

    The FIFA World Cup soccer championship in Russia is the most costly ever held.
    在俄罗斯举行的国际足联世界杯足球赛是有史以来最昂贵的一届。

    Officials say the total cost will be $15 billion.
    有关官员表示,总费用将会达到150亿美元。

    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.
    其中将近30亿美元被用于新建或升级体育场馆,还有至少80亿美元被用于基础设施,包括新建道路、铁路和机场。

    Now, experts question whether there will be a good return for the Russian taxpayer.
    现在,专家们质疑俄罗斯纳税人是否会得到很好的回报。

    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.
    列奥尼德·格里戈耶夫(Leonid Grigoryev)教授是俄罗斯联邦政府分析中心的一名经济学家。他给出了一个不同寻常的答案。他将世界杯比作了婚纱。

    "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,它让每个人都开心。但它确切的经济效益肯定是美国式季度财务报告中无法体现出来的。它的影响是长远的。我们仍然希望不仅要成为一个冰球国度,也要成为一个足球国度。”

    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年举办了上一届世界杯,预计花费了110亿美元。4年之后,对莫斯科的巴西球迷来说,差异是很明显的。

    "Comparing Brazil with Russia, the infrastructure here is much better than ours," Marcio Pessoa told VOA, as he walked through Red Square.
    马西奥·佩索(Marcio Pessoa)在穿过红场时对美国之音表示:“如果拿巴西与俄罗斯相比,这里的基础设施比我们的强多了。”

    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.
    俄罗斯这150亿美元投资旨在改善该国形象,即使它正面临制裁。俄罗斯在乌克兰的活动以及2014年吞并克里米亚招致了国际制裁。

    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·奥列什金(Dmitry Oreshkin)是一位政治专家。他说,俄罗斯总统普京试图让这些制裁显得不那么重要。“’尽管面临制裁,我们还是举办了如此宏伟的世界杯。尽管面临制裁,我们还是投入了叙利亚战争。‘直到某个阶段他们开始感觉到,所有这些兴奋,他们都要付出代价。”

    The first to feel the financial difficulty are likely to be the middle-aged people looking forward to retirement.
    首先感到财务困难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.
    在上周世界杯开幕当天,俄罗斯政府宣布提高退休年龄,男性从60岁提高到65岁,女性从55岁提高到63岁。

    Eva lives in Moscow. The 62-year-old told VOA that most Russians were not surprised.
    伊娃住在莫斯科。62岁的她告诉美国之音,大多数俄罗斯人并不感到惊讶。

    She said she believed that officials thought that the championship would ease the effect of the news.
    她说,她觉得官员们认为世界杯比赛会降低这一新闻的影响。

    Eva described a joke that people were telling about the increase in the retirement ago.
    伊娃讲述了人们以前说到退休年龄提高的一个笑话。

    "‘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,我还有4年退休。到了今天,我还有9年退休。他们还一直对我们说,青春一去不复返。"

    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.
    俄罗斯表示,世界杯在一定程度上是给年轻人的礼物,他们得到了难忘的记忆以及新的设施。世界杯将于7月15日结束,但是它的价值会在未来几年得到衡量。

    I'm Susan Shand.
    我是苏珊·珊德。(51VOA.COM原创翻译,禁止转载,违者必究!)