Sayco the Dolphin has predicted Argentina to win the match over Germany in their quarter final match up. [Agencies] |
It takes a brave creature to disagree with Paul, Germany's soothsaying octopus, who has an impeccable track record on World Cup predictions to date. But step (or swim) forward Sayco, the dolphin from the Argentine port city of Mar del Plata. Sayco's keepers at the city aquarium decided on Thursday to see if the friendly creature preferred to play with a ball in German red-black-gold or Argentine sky blue and white. Leaping four metres out of the water, Sayco unhesitatingly went for the Argentine ball placed on a platform above his pool. Locals immediately saw a positive omen, with Argentina set to face Germany in the World Cup quarter-finals in Cape Town on Sunday. Even so, Sayco does not have the track record of Paul, an eight-legged oracle in the Germany city of Oberhausen, who has shot to stardom for his spot-on predictions and who has forecast a German win. Paul needed just eight seconds to make up his mind about the Germans' chances against England -- even though he was born in England -- and earlier in the tournament he correctly tipped wins over Ghana and Australia. Not only that, he proved he is not just attracted by Germany's flag by correctly predicting a loss to Serbia in the group phase. (Read by Nelly Min. Nelly Min is a journalist at the China Daily Web site.) (Agencies) |
德國(guó)的神算章魚“保羅”對(duì)本屆世界杯的賽果預(yù)測(cè)至今未出差錯(cuò),看來誰要想向它發(fā)起挑戰(zhàn)還需要點(diǎn)勇氣。 但來自阿根廷海港城市馬德普拉塔的一只名叫“薩克”的海豚就自告奮勇地站了出來。 本周四,馬德普拉塔市水族館的飼養(yǎng)員們準(zhǔn)備了兩個(gè)球,一個(gè)球上貼著德國(guó)的紅黑金三色國(guó)旗,另一只球貼著阿根廷的藍(lán)白相間國(guó)旗,然后看性情友好的薩克更喜歡玩哪個(gè)球。 當(dāng)時(shí),薩克跳出水面四米,然后毫不猶豫地頂起了置于水池上方平臺(tái)上的貼有阿根廷國(guó)旗的球。 薩克的這一舉動(dòng)讓當(dāng)?shù)氐娜藗兛吹搅撕谜最^。阿根廷隊(duì)將于本周日在開普敦舉行的世界杯四分之一決賽中迎戰(zhàn)德國(guó)隊(duì)。 但即便如此,薩克并沒有“保羅”那樣的“輝煌”戰(zhàn)績(jī)。家在德國(guó)奧伯豪森市的“八爪神魚”保羅因準(zhǔn)確預(yù)測(cè)世界杯比賽賽果而一舉成名。據(jù)“保羅”預(yù)測(cè),德國(guó)將在四分之一決賽中擊敗阿根廷。 雖然出生于英國(guó),但在預(yù)測(cè)英格蘭對(duì)陣德國(guó)的那場(chǎng)比賽時(shí),保羅僅用8秒鐘就做出了德國(guó)將取勝的預(yù)測(cè)。在之前的比賽中,它還準(zhǔn)確預(yù)測(cè)出德國(guó)會(huì)戰(zhàn)勝加納和澳大利亞隊(duì)。 但不要以為保羅屢次預(yù)測(cè)德國(guó)取勝是因?yàn)樗矚g德國(guó)國(guó)旗,它曾準(zhǔn)確預(yù)測(cè)出德國(guó)在小組賽中會(huì)輸給塞爾維亞。 相關(guān)閱讀 神奇章魚預(yù)測(cè)德國(guó)將戰(zhàn)勝阿根廷 澳姐妹不間斷看世界杯87小時(shí)創(chuàng)紀(jì)錄 德國(guó)雇主協(xié)會(huì):?jiǎn)T工上班可看世界杯 (中國(guó)日?qǐng)?bào)網(wǎng)英語點(diǎn)津 Julie 編輯蔡姍姍) |
Vocabulary: soothsay:to foretell events; predict(占卜,預(yù)言) step forward: make oneself visible; take action(自告奮勇,主動(dòng)站出來) omen:prophetic significance; presage(預(yù)兆,征兆) oracle:神諭,神示;能提供寶貴信息的人權(quán)威,智囊 spot-on:exactly correct or accurate(準(zhǔn)確的) |