Bringing the World Cup to Asia was supposed to expand the reach of the global game in a happy confluence of good will and good business. The action on the pitch has certainly been dramatic, and most fans were thrilled. But less than half way through the month-long tournament, the good will is already wearing thinand business seems relatively slow, with fewer visitors and Cup-related sales than expected. Deeply embarrassed by the image of part-empty stadiums besieged by angry ticket hunters, Japanese prime minister ordered an official investigation into the ticket fiasco. Claiming losses of more than $800,000 per game, Korea's soccer federation even threatened to sue Byrom, the official ticket agent, for failing to print and deliver tickets on time.

　　Japan and Korea both hoped to score big pointsat home and abroadwith the World Cup. Perhaps it was the memories of the 1964 Tokyo Olympics and the 1988 Seoul Olympics, which were considered turning points in their nations' development. Mired in a decade-long slump, Japan longs for anything that might shock its economy back to life. Korea, meanwhile, hopes the Cup will steady its halting recovery from the 1997 Asian financial crisisand help brand it as Asia's most wired nation. Their plan: inject billions of dollars into new facilities, welcome throngs of tourists and for one glorious month showcase their countries to the biggest television audience in world history.

　　中譯英3

　　有了房子，就想車子，老百姓想法和銀行不謀而合。銀行在鞏固了自己的住房貸款之后，又將目光瞄上了汽車市場。昨天，建行上海分行推出了十大優(yōu)惠舉措，欲在外資非金融機(jī)構(gòu)染指汽車貸款之前，做大自己的汽車貸款。

　　此前，銀行界人士紛紛預(yù)測，外資非金融機(jī)構(gòu)進(jìn)入汽貸市場后，很有可能會在手續(xù)簡便和貸款利率上做文章，以吸引購車族。因此，建行的十大舉措也同樣是為了簡化手續(xù)和提供優(yōu)惠利率，希望此舉能使該行的汽車貸款占個(gè)人消費(fèi)信貸的比重從原來的三成提升至五成以上。