【双语新闻】章鱼保罗成英格兰申办世界杯形象大使 英格兰, 保罗, 形象大使, 世界杯, 章鱼

星期一

Paul the octopus, the oracle of the World Cup in South Africa, has become an official ambassador for England's bid to host the tournament in 2018, organizers said Friday.

Paul, who was hatched in England but has spent the last two years in an aquarium in western Germany, joins footballers David Beckham and Rio Ferdinand, Formula One driver Lewis Hamilton and singers Noel Gallagher and Sting in backing the bid.

"Paul has spent the last two years of his life in Germany, but he is definitely a proud Englishman and is therefore delighted to put his support behind England 2018," said Nicola Hamilton, manager at the Weymouth Sea Life Centre in southern England, where Paul was born.

"We have had a number of football approaches from around the world but Paul was only ever going to choose his homeland."

She said Paul had officially retired from predicting matches, a skill that won him worldwide fame during this year's World Cup when he correctly predicted the outcome of seven Germany games and that Spain would win the final.

"With his predicting days behind him Paul is now concentrating on a number of new projects and the England 2018 campaign is something we are sure he feels passionately about," Hamilton said.

Following his prediction success, Paul has signed a book deal, is due to appear in a film and is the face of a range of merchandise, with the proceeds to be donated to charity, according to the England 2018 bid team.

A delegation from world football body FIFA arrives on Monday for a four-day visit to assess England's bid.

England is competing with Russia, the United States, Australia, and joint bids from Spain and Portugal, and Holland and Belgium to host the 2018 tournament.

The winning bids for 2018 and the 2022 World Cup will be revealed on December 2.

有关组织者于上周五称，因预测南非世界杯而一举成名的神算章鱼保罗已成为英格兰申办2018年世界杯的官方形象大使。

章鱼保罗出生于英格兰，但过去两年它一直生活在德国西部的一家水族馆。与它一起为英格兰申办助威的明星还包括球星大卫•贝克汉姆和里奥•费迪南德、F1赛手刘易斯•汉密尔顿、歌手诺埃尔•加拉格尔和斯汀。

保罗的出生地、位于英格兰南部的威茅斯海洋世界的经理尼古拉•汉密尔顿说：“别看保罗过去两年一直生活在德国，但它可是一个具有爱国热情的英国籍章鱼，因此它一定非常乐意支持英格兰申办2018年世界杯。”

“全世界有好几个国家申办这届世界杯，但保罗只会选择支持它的祖国。”

据她介绍，保罗现已“金盆洗手”，不再预测比赛。保罗在今年的世界杯中正确预测出德国队七场比赛的结果以及西班牙队夺冠的决赛结果，并因此走红全球。

汉密尔顿说：“世界杯赛结束后，保罗不再预测比赛，现在正在做一些新项目，我们相信它对支持英格兰申办2018年世界杯这件事会很有热情。”

据英格兰2018年世界杯申办委员会介绍，在成功预测世界杯的一系列比赛后，保罗签了一份书约，还将“出演电影”，并为一系列商品“代言”，这些活动的全部收益都将捐给慈善机构。

世界足球运动管理机构国际足联的一个代表团于本周一开始对英格兰进行为期四天的申办评估。

英格兰申办2018年世界杯的竞争对手包括俄罗斯、美国、澳大利亚、联合申办国西班牙和葡萄牙、以及荷兰和比利时。

2018年和2022年世界杯的举办国将于今年12月2日揭晓。