VOA常速英语:Qatar Denies World Cup Corruption

Cup.That would make it the most expensive tournament ever.In a speech at London’s Chatham House Thursday, the head of the Organizing Committee, Hassan Al-Thawadi, said the cost would be worthwhile.
卡塔尔耗费一百亿美元建造新体育场，并且在2022年世界杯前投入近两千亿美元用于改进基础设施。这将会使它成为有史以来最昂贵的体育赛事。周四，组织委员会领导人Hassan Al-Thawadi在伦敦查塔姆研究所发表讲话，表示这些付出是值得的。

“The passion for football that runs through the veins of our society.And the desire to demonstrate to the rest of the world that our region could be, and deserves to be,in the headlines for reasons other than conflict and strife.”
“对足球的热爱已经深深流淌在整个社会的血液中，我们渴望向全世界展示我们这个地区——我们能够，也值得全世界的瞩目，而不是因为冲突和争斗引起人们的注意。”

The scandals that have engulfed football’s World governing body FIFA led to the resignation and prosecution of many of the officials who voted for Qatar’s bid.FIFA appointed American lawyer Michael Garcia to investigate.He pointed what he called ‘serious and wide-ranging issues with the bidding and selection process’,before quitting in protest at FIFA’s handling of his report in 2014.
世界足球管理体系，即国际足联，深陷丑闻，导致多名参与过卡塔尔竞标投票的评委受到检举或引咎辞职。国际足联委派美国律师Michael Garcia进行调查。他曾指出在竞标选举过程中存在着他称之为“严重的、影响范围广”的事件，这是他在2014年抗议国际足联运作方式的报告中提出的，此后他便放弃了斗争。

A summary of the investigation led by a German judge largely cleared Qatar of any wrongdoing.“We stuck to the rules, and more importantly when the investigation happened with Michael Garcia after the bid,we cooperated fully out of a sense of vindication and out of a sense of confidence at the cleanliness of our bid.”
由德国评委领导的一项调查提交了总结报告，很大程度上证明了卡塔尔并无不道德行为。“我们严格遵守规则，更重要的是，在竞标后、Michael Garcia的调查开始时，我们就十分配合，这是出于对自己清白的坚信，也是对竞标过程透明的自信。”

Human rights groups have repeatedly accused Qatar of abusing the rights of the hundreds of thousands of migrant workers building the World Cup venues.Qatar’s so-called ‘kafala’ or sponsorship system ties the legal status of migrant workers to their employer.Al-Thawadi insisted the government is committed to reforming workers’ rights.
人权团体数次指责卡塔尔侵犯了数十万移民工人的人权，这些移民工人负责建造世界杯比赛场地。卡塔尔所谓的“kafala”或者说赞助体系将移民工人的合法地位与其雇主联系在了一起。Al-Thawadi坚称政府正在进行改革，维护工人的权益。

“Of most importance is the new law that was signed by His Highness the Emir in October 2015,abolishing the ‘kafala’ system and replacing it with a contractual agreement between employer and employee.”
“最重要的举措就是2015年十月Emir殿下签署的新法，废除“kafala”制度，以雇主与雇员之间的协议代替。”

Amnesty International’s James Lynch, said the assurances were not convincing.“I think where we disagree is about the speed of reform.You know, he says that the new sponsorship law reform is a really big deal that will change the lives of workers.We are much more skeptical about that; we think that it is the kafala system in all but name, and it is adjusted rather than really reformed.”
特赦国际的James Lynch认为这种做法并不能确保工人权益，不足以令人信服。“我们对改革的进度持有不同看法。Al-Thawadi认为新的赞助法改革对于改善工人生活状况来说是个伟大的举措，但是我们十分怀疑它是不是仅仅改了个名字，实际还是kafala制度。这只是调整，而不是真正的改革。”

Human rights groups are calling for an investigation into the high number of heart attacks among some migrant workers –which they believe could be related to the extreme heat.
人权团体呼吁调查移民工人的心脏病高发情况，他们认为这与极度高温有关