2022年11月19日 VOA慢速英語：即將到來的世界杯上值得關注的故事和球員

Will you be watching the World Cup when it begins November 20 with the game between Ecuador and host country Qatar?
您會觀看 11 月 20 日厄瓜多爾與東道國卡塔爾之間的世界杯嗎？
 
The soccer tournament is normally played in the summer, but this year it will start in the late autumn and finish in winter. That is due to very high temperatures in the Middle East in the summer.
足球錦標賽平時在夏季進行，但今年將在深秋開始，在冬季結束。這是由于夏季中東地區(qū)的氣溫非常高。
 
If you like to watch the World Cup but do not watch world soccer all year long, here are some of the major stories to follow.
如果你喜歡看世界杯，但不是全年都在看世界足球，這里有一些重要的故事可以跟進。
 
How it works
如何運作
 
Here's how it works. The 32 teams are placed into eight groups of four. The teams in each group play each other once. Those with the best records move into a 16-team elimination stage. At that point, teams will go home if they lose.
這是如何運作的作品。 32 支球隊被分成八組，每組四支。每組中的球隊互相比賽一次。成績最好的隊伍進入 16 隊淘汰賽階段。屆時，如果球隊輸了，他們將回家。
 
Most days will have four games -- until the elimination stage begins. The first day with no games is December 7. The final game is December 18.
大多數(shù)日子將有四場比賽——直到淘汰賽階段開始。沒有比賽的第一天是 12 月 7 日。最后一場比賽是 12 月 18 日。
 
Top teams
頂級球隊
 
Which country will come out on top?
哪個國家會拔得頭籌？
 
The top teams in the world are Brazil, Belgium, Argentina, France and England.
世界頂級球隊是巴西、比利時、阿根廷、法國和英格蘭。
 
France is trying to win for the second time in a row. Brazil is looking for its sixth championship. Argentina has not lost in 35 games and would like to win one World Cup before Lionel Messi stops playing the sport. England has not played well lately, going winless in six games. But England has done well in recent international events like the European Championship.
法國正試圖連續(xù)第二次獲勝。巴西正在尋找其第六個冠軍。阿根廷在 35 場比賽中沒有輸過，并且希望在萊昂內爾·梅西停止參加這項運動之前贏得一屆世界杯。英格蘭最近表現(xiàn)不佳，六場比賽未嘗勝績。但英格蘭在最近的歐洲錦標賽等國際賽事中表現(xiàn)出色。
 
Belgium is the second-ranked team in the world and has been considered one of the top teams in recent World Cups. However, the Belgian players who were known as "the golden generation" are getting older. The health of Romelo Lukaku, one of the team's top goal scorers, is in question.
比利時是世界排名第二的球隊，在最近的世界杯上被認為是頂級球隊之一。然而，被譽為“黃金一代”的比利時球員卻日漸老去。球隊最佳射手之一羅梅洛·盧卡庫的健康狀況存在疑問。
 
Brazil has two strong players, Neymar and Vinicius Junior, and is currently in good shape. The South American nation is hoping for its first World Cup since 2002.
巴西擁有內馬爾和小維尼修斯兩名實力派球員，目前狀態(tài)不錯。這個南美國家希望自 2002 年以來首次參加世界杯。
 
Top players
頂級球員
 
Lionel Messi of Argentina is known as the best player in the world. He has won the world's best player award seven times. If he can help Argentina win, he may become known as the best soccer player ever. He is 35 years old and playing well for his team in Paris, but this could be his final World Cup.
阿根廷的萊昂內爾·梅西被譽為世界上最好的球員。他曾七次獲得世界最佳球員獎。如果他能幫助阿根廷獲勝，他可能會成為有史以來最好的足球運動員。他今年 35 歲，在巴黎為球隊踢得很好，但這可能是他最后一次參加世界杯。
 
Cristiano Ronaldo of Portugal is one of the most famous players in the world. He helped his country win the European Championship and has the most-ever goals in international games. However, he has never come close to winning the World Cup, and this will be his fifth try. He is also near the end of his career, so this may the last time he will play in the big tournament.
葡萄牙的克里斯蒂亞諾羅納爾多是世界上最著名的球員之一。他幫助他的國家贏得了歐洲冠軍杯，并且在國際比賽中擁有最多的進球。然而，他從未接近贏得世界杯，這將是他的第五次嘗試。他的職業(yè)生涯也接近尾聲，所以這可能是他最后一次參加大型錦標賽。
 
Kylian Mbappe became famous four years ago when he helped France win the World Cup at just 19 years old. He is even better now. If France wins, Mbappe will match Brazilian star Pele in winning his first two World Cups.
基利安·姆巴佩四年前成名，當時他年僅 19 歲，幫助法國贏得了世界杯歲。他現(xiàn)在更好了。如果法國獲勝，姆巴佩將與巴西球星貝利一起贏得他的前兩屆世界杯冠軍。
 
Kevin De Bruyne is Belgium's top playmaker and could help the world's Number 2 team finally win a World Cup.
凱文·德布勞內 (Kevin De Bruyne) 是比利時的頂級中場組織者，他有可能幫助世界排名第二的球隊最終贏得世界杯冠軍。
 
South Korea is concerned about the health of its top player, Heung-min Son. He is coming back from a facial injury suffered while playing with England's Tottenham Hotspur on November 1. Last year, Son tied with Mohammed Salah of Egypt for the most goals in the English Premier League. Son recently said he would play in Qatar with a protective face covering.
韓國擔心其頂級球員孫興慜的健康狀況。他在 11 月 1 日與英格蘭托特納姆熱刺隊比賽時面部受傷，正在復出。去年，孫興慜與埃及的穆罕默德薩拉赫并列成為英超聯(lián)賽進球最多的球員。兒子最近表示，他將在卡塔爾比賽時戴上防護面罩。
 
Neymar of Brazil is sometimes outshined by Messi and Mbappe, who play with him in Paris. But he is the number-one player for his home country.
巴西的內馬爾有時會被在巴黎與他一起踢球的梅西和姆巴佩擊敗。但他是他祖國的頭號球員。
 
Games to watch:
值得關注的比賽：
 
Qatar plays against Ecuador on Sunday, November 20. The first game of a World Cup is always important.
卡塔爾將于 11 月 20 日星期日對陣厄瓜多爾。世界杯的第一場比賽總是很重要。
 
Argentina plays Mexico on November 26. A win would likely put Argentina into the elimination stage.
阿根廷將于 11 月 26 日對陣墨西哥。一場勝利很可能讓阿根廷進入淘汰賽階段。
 
On November 27, Spain and Germany play. They are two of the recent World Cup winners and experts call them "giants" of world soccer.
11月27日，西班牙和德國比賽。他們是最近的世界杯冠軍中的兩位，專家稱他們?yōu)槭澜缱銐?ldquo;巨人”。
 
Two days later, on November 29, the United States plays Iran. The countries will meet in the group stage, just as they did in 1998. Some are calling it "The Mother of All Games Part II," as the countries continue to have a difficult relationship after ending diplomatic ties in 1980.
兩天后，即 11 月 29 日，美國對陣伊朗。兩國將在小組賽階段相遇，就像 1998 年那樣。一些人將其稱為“所有游戲之母第二部分”，因為這些國家在 1980 年結束外交關系后繼續(xù)保持著艱難的關系。