美国被称为“疯狂三月”的大型大学篮球锦标赛将于本周开幕。男子锦标赛在印第安纳州举行，女子锦标赛在德克萨斯州举行。
Both tournaments are letting fans attend games. And all games are being held indoors.
两项比赛都允许球迷现场观赛。而且所有比赛都是在室内举行。
During the coronavirus pandemic, very few people have been permitted at indoor sporting events in the United States. But that is changing as more people are being vaccinated against the virus and COVID-19 is spreading a bit more slowly.
在新冠病毒大流行期间，美国只有极少数人被允许参与室内体育赛事。但是随着越来越多人接种了新冠疫苗，并且新冠肺炎的传播速度变慢，这种情况也在发生改变。
Most of the indoor arenas that will let fans watch games in person are very large. They can hold about 20,000 people. However, during the pandemic, attendance will be limited to about 25 percent. Fans will have to wear face coverings. Fans who do not know each other will not be permitted to sit together. And the arenas will work to make sure fresh air comes in with strong air movement systems.
大多数允许球迷现场观赛的室内场馆都非常大。它们可以容纳2万人左右。然而在大流行期间，上座率将被限制在25%左右。球迷们必须戴上口罩。彼此不认识的球迷将不允许坐在一起。而且，场馆将会利用强大的换气系统确保新鲜空气流入。
But are these events safe to attend?
但是参加这些活动安全吗？
Allen Hershkowitz is an environmental scientist. He said he would go to an indoor sporting event as long as other people in attendance follow the rules.
艾伦·赫什科维茨是一名环境科学家。他说，只要其他参与者遵守规定，他也会去观看室内体育比赛。
"Given the protocols, I would feel OK about it," he said.
他说：“考虑到（场馆防疫）方案，我对此感到满意。”
The arenas are very high from floor to ceiling. Experts say this helps with safety.
体育场馆从地板到天花板都很高。专家表示，这对安全性有帮助。
Richard Corsi is the head of Portland State University's College of Engineering and Computer Science. He said "I think the risks are probably very low" if people follow the rules, stay apart from each other and keep their faces covered unless they are eating or drinking.
理查德·科西是波特兰州立大学工程与计算机科学学院的院长。他说，如果人们遵守规定，彼此之间保持距离，除了进食或喝水都戴上口罩，我觉得风险可能会很小。
Ryan Gensler is the director of sports for a firm that designs large arenas. He said most buildings built in the last 20 years that hold sporting events already have good systems for moving and cleaning the air. They were built that way in order to improve the experience for people watching the games, not because of any pandemic worries.
瑞恩·詹斯勒是一家设计大型体育场馆的公司的体育总监。他说，过去20年来建造的大多数体育场馆都具备良好的交换和清洁空气的系统。这样建造的目的是为了改善人们的观赛体验，而不是出于担心任何大流行。
Ana Rule is an assistant professor at Johns Hopkins University. She said large indoor arenas like Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis have a lot of air. Lucas Oil Stadium will hold the last three games of the men's college basketball tournament. It can seat about 75,000 people. But during March Madness, only 17,500 fans will be able to attend each game.
安娜·鲁尔是约翰·霍普金斯大学的助理教授。她说，像印第安纳波利斯的卢卡斯石油球场之类的大型室内场馆都空气流通。卢卡斯石油球场将举行大学篮球男子锦标赛的最后三场比赛。它可以容纳约7.5万人。但是在大流行期间，每场比赛将只允许17500名球迷入场。
She explained that particles that go into the air when people breathe will have room to spread out. "So that helps," she said.
她解释说，人们呼吸时进入空气的颗粒物将会有扩散的空间。她说：“这有帮助。”
Shandy Dearth studies diseases for a large university in Indianapolis. She said if COVID-19 case numbers were still rising without control, it would not be a good idea to let fans attend games. But the conditions are now improving. She said people still should not gather in large groups as they arrive at the games. And they should continue to wear face coverings.
香蒂·德斯在印第安纳波利斯的一所大型大学研究疾病。她说，如果新冠肺炎病例数量仍然不受控增长，那么让球迷观赛不是一个好主意。但是现在情况正在改善。她说，人们在抵达现场时仍然不应该成群结队。并且他们应该继续戴着口罩。
"We've got a lot of lessons learned from the last year," Dearth said, "so it's not an experiment. I think we know enough now to know what we need to do."
德斯表示：“我们从去年吸取了许多教训，所以这不是一场实验。我想我们现在足够明白我们需要做些什么。”
I'm Dan Friedell.
我是丹·弗雷德尔。(51VOA.COM原创翻译，请勿转载，违者必究！)