中國網站品牌欄目（頻道）
|
 Incentivised: Malysia's Wei Chong Lee could walk away with about ￡400,000 plus a gold bar worth some ￡380,000 if he wins the Olympic badminton |
|
Team GB athletes who win gold at this year's home Olympics will be immortalised in the national memory. But for competitors from some other nations, prestige isn't the only thing driving them on. Virtually all the world's national Olympic committees will be offering cash rewards to athletes who take gold in theirdisciplines. Except Britain, which maintains that victory is its own reward. A gold medalist from Malaysia will walk away with about ￡400,000, for example. But if they emerge triumphant from badminton, the country's strongest sport, they will receive an additional lump of gold - literally - worth some ￡380,000, The Sunday Times reports. A gold medallist from Russia's remote Chelyabinsk region, meanwhile, will walk away with a ￡600,000 reward. For Team GB stars the rewards are far less tangible. From the moment any take gold, the Royal Mail will begin designing a stamp bearing their image and deliver them to 500 post offices for sale the following day. The champions' stamps will be available in books of six for ￡3.60 or individually for 60p - to be immortalised forever among philatelists. UK athletes could be forgiven then for looking enviously at the incentives on offer to their international rivals. The Indian government will be offering coaching jobs to its athletes who win medals, the country's sports minister Ajay Maken has announced. Of the nations that finished in the top 10 of total medal hauls at Beijing four years ago, Italy is the most generous to its stars. It offers ￡116,000 for a gold. The basic payment on offer to Russian athletes is ￡85,000, but that can hiked up significantly by regional bonuses. The US will pay a not to be sniffed at ￡15,000 to a gold medallist, while Austria and Germany will pay just under ￡13,000. Still, with fat sponsorship deals on offer and the prospect of punditry work with broadcasters at future Games and related events, Team GB stars are unlikely to go hungry in years to come. (Read by Rosie Tuck. Rosie Tuck is a journalist at the China Daily Website.) (Agencies) |
在本次主場奧運會中獲得金牌的英國運動員無疑將在英國名垂青史，但對一些其他國家的運動員來說，催他們奮進的動力可不僅僅是參加奧運所能獲得的榮譽和地位。 實際上，世界上所有國家的奧委會都會給予那些在各自項目獲得金牌的選手現金獎勵。 除了依然認為勝利本身就是獎賞的英國。 據《星期日泰晤士報》報道，一位馬來西亞金牌獲得者可以領取40萬英鎊的獎金，而如果他們在本國最強的項目羽毛球上獲得金牌，除了40萬英鎊獎金，他們還將獲得一塊價值38萬英鎊的金條。 一位來自俄羅斯偏遠地區車里雅賓斯克地區的選手如果獲得金牌，將得到高達60萬英鎊的獎金。 然而英國隊的明星們獲得的獎勵相比之下則抽象得多。一旦有英國運動員拿了金牌，英國皇家郵政就會即刻開始設計一款印有該運動員頭像的郵票，并在第二天發送至全國500家郵局對外發售。 印有冠軍頭像的郵票將會以每套6張，3.6英鎊的價格或單張60便士的價格發售——在集郵者的世界中永垂不朽。 因此，英國運動員們如果對其國外競爭對手的獎金面露妒色是可以原諒的。 印度體育部長阿賈?梅肯已經宣布，印度政府將為獲得獎牌的運動員提供教練工作。 在四年前北京奧運會獎牌榜前十名的國家中，意大利是最慷慨的國家，其獲得金牌的運動員可以得到11.6萬英鎊的獎金。 俄羅斯選手獲得金牌的最低獎勵是8.5萬英鎊，但加上地方獎金，數額也相當可觀。美國付給金牌運動員的獎金是1.5萬英鎊，還能讓人勉強接受，而奧地利和德國的獎金只有不到1.3萬英鎊。 不過，豐厚的贊助費用和與廣播員一同在未來奧運會及相關賽事的權威解說工作使得英國的獎牌獲得者們在未來數年里還不至于挨餓。 相關閱讀 （中國日報網英語點津 陳丹妮 編輯：Julie） |
|
Vocabulary: GB: Great Britain immortalise: 使不朽 prestige: 名望，聲望 discipline: 項目 philatelist: 集郵家 incentive: 獎勵，獎金 punditry: 權威之意見，言行等；權威人士 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
