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Brazil's win over Cameroon on Monday should prolong the festive atmosphere that has persisted here since the World Cup kicked off earlier this month.
周一桑巴軍團大勝喀麥隆隊應(yīng)該會延續(xù)本月早些時候世界杯開賽以來巴西舉國上下的歡慶氣氛。
Brazilians may need all the distraction they can get. Unbeknown to most soccer fans, economists have slashed their forecasts for Brazil's growth in each of the past four weeks, while inflation looks to remain painfully high through 2015.
巴西人可能需要這樣的歡樂氣氛來分散他們的注意力。大部分球迷不知道的是，過去四周經(jīng)濟學家連續(xù)下調(diào)了對巴西經(jīng)濟增長的預期，整個2015年巴西通脹率似乎都將維持在令人痛苦的高位。
'This combination of low growth and pressured inflation makes for a policy makers' nightmare,' economists at Santander said in a report this week. Alberto Ramos, the chief Latin America economist at Goldman Sachs, said last week that Brazil's economy seems to be 'gravitating towards a stagflation scenario.'
西班牙國家銀行(Santander)經(jīng)濟學家在本周的一份報告中寫道，低增長與高通脹并存成為了決策者的“噩夢”。高盛(Goldman Sachs)首席拉丁美洲經(jīng)濟學家拉莫斯(Alberto Ramos)上周表示，巴西經(jīng)濟似乎正在走向滯脹。
Brazil's 4-1 thrashing of Cameroon put the Seleção in the knockout stage of the Cup, where it will try to string together four consecutive victories for the championship. The hosts are the odds-on favorite to win, but sport bookies still put their chances at just one in three.
巴西4比1力克喀麥隆使得桑巴軍團晉級世界杯16強，它將爭取在淘汰賽中續(xù)寫之前三場不敗的輝煌。作為此次世界杯的主辦國，巴西奪冠呼聲很高，但是博彩公司認為巴西奪冠的機率也只有三分之一。
'We really haven't taken as much money for Brazil at this stage in the tournament as we might have expected,' says Alex Donohue, a spokesman for London-based bookie Ladbrokes. He said the early ouster of both England and defending World Cup champions Spain have helped the odds of most other teams that advanced beyond the tournament's group stage.
總部位于倫敦的博彩公司Ladbrokes的發(fā)言人多諾霍(Alex Donohue)稱，世界杯比到現(xiàn)在這個階段，押巴西贏的資金并沒有他們原先預料的那么多。他說，英格蘭隊和世界杯衛(wèi)冕冠軍西班牙隊的過早出局降低了其他小組賽出線的多數(shù)球隊的賠率。
Costa Rica's chances of winning, for instance, have improved from 4,000-to-1 to just 66-to-1 thanks to unexpected victories over Uruguay and Italy, Mr. Donohue says.
多諾霍說，例如，由于意外擊敗了烏拉圭和意大利，哥斯達黎加奪冠的賠率已經(jīng)從4,000:1降低至66:1。
The tournament has proved to be a happy refuge for Brazilians who, just a few weeks ago, were so displeased with their country's direction that they told pollsters it was a bad idea to host the competition. As has happened countless times in dozens of countries, common support for a soccer team has drawn a nation's attention away from a toxic political environment and a damaged economy.
本次比賽已經(jīng)證明給巴西人帶來了難得的歡樂；僅在幾周之前，他們還對國家的方向非常不滿，以至于在民調(diào)中稱舉辦世界杯是個壞主意。就像在許多國家無數(shù)次發(fā)生過的那樣，對一只足球隊的共同支持使得人們的注意力離開有毒的政治環(huán)境和糟糕的經(jīng)濟狀況。
Elimination from the first World Cup it has hosted in 64 years would bring a hard reality check to Brazil. Earlier this month, a public-opinion study by the Pew Research Center showed that 61% of Brazilians thought hosting the tournament would hurt their country by taking money away from public services.
本月早些時候，Pew Research Center的民調(diào)顯示，61%的巴西人認為舉辦世界杯對本國不利，因為錢拿去辦比賽了，花在公共服務(wù)上的就少了。
'If Brazil wins, a lot of what was said--about overspending on stadiums and other things--will be forgotten,' says Erialdo Rosario, 52, a small-business owner. 'If they lose, it's another story.'
52歲的小業(yè)主羅薩里奧(Erialdo Rosario)稱，如果巴西贏了，那些有關(guān)在體育館和其他方面過度支出的非議將被忘記；如果巴西輸了，那么情況就完全不一樣了。
Brazil's economy is seen expanding by a paltry 1.16% this year, according to a weekly central bank consensus survey of 100 economists published Monday. Inflation was seen ending the year at 6.46%.
周一發(fā)布的央行每周調(diào)查顯示，100名經(jīng)濟學家普遍預計今年巴西經(jīng)濟的增長率僅為1.16%。而經(jīng)濟學家對今年年底的通脹率預期卻高達6.46%。
Experts say fiscal austerity is Brazil's best bet to bring inflation down. But such a move would also be likely to dent growth, and in an election year that has already been plagued by striking public-sector workers seeking higher pay, the chances of that look slim.
專家稱，實施財政緊縮措施是巴西壓低通脹率的最佳選擇。但這樣做也可能會抑制經(jīng)濟增長。今年是大選年，經(jīng)濟增長已經(jīng)受到了尋求加薪的公共部門工人罷工的拖累，因此政府實施財政緊縮措施的可能性似乎不大。
President Dilma Rousseff in May announced a 10% increase to the government's hallmark social program, known as 'Bolsa Familia,' while Finance Minister Guido Mantega last week extended a pair of business tax-credit programs.
巴西總統(tǒng)羅塞夫(Dilma Rousseff)曾在5月份宣布，將把政府標志性社保項目“家庭津貼計劃”(Bolsa Familia)的規(guī)模擴大10%。該國財政部長曼特加(Guido Mantega)上周延長了兩個企業(yè)稅收減免方案的實施期限。
Pedro Barbosa, a partner at Rio de Janeiro-based hedge fund STK Capital, said the measures are akin to driving a car up a hill and then shifting into fourth gear.
位于里約熱內(nèi)盧的對沖基金STK Capital的合伙人巴爾博薩(Pedro Barbosa)稱，這些措施就好像開車上山，然后把車速提到四檔。
'The government's economic model has clearly run its course and has left a very bad mix of high inflation, low growth and high spending,' Mr. Barbosa said. 'Today's game in Brasilia was beautiful, a great show. But it was almost like a dream.'
巴爾博薩稱，顯然政府的經(jīng)濟模式已經(jīng)走到盡頭，現(xiàn)在的情況是高通脹、低增長、高支出；今天在巴西利亞進行的比賽非常精彩，但感覺幾乎是一場夢。
