Tickets to the 2016 Olympics aren’t selling, and Brazil is scrambling to boost demand

开幕在即，巴西奥运门票销售惨淡

There could be quite a few empty seats at the Olympic Games in Rio this summer.

今夏，巴西里约热内卢奥运会上，一定会有很多空位。

With just half of tickets sold and only four months before kickoff, Brazil’s new minister of sports, Richardo Leyser, is looking into ways to boost ticket sales.

距2016年里约热内卢奥运会开幕只剩4个月时间，门票才售出了一半，巴西新上任的体育部长Richardo Leyse正在制定计划以提振门票销量。

He told Brazilian newspaper Folha that the Brazilian government may purchase tickets that will be distributed to public schools. He said public officials must also work to boost worldwide confidence in Rio’s ability to host the games and ensure travelers’ safety.

他在接受巴西圣保罗报采访时表示，巴西政府会购买一部分门票，并分发给公立学校。他表示，政府官员也必须努力推动全世界人民对里约举办奥运会的能力以及保证旅客安全的信心。

They’ll have to work to ease fears over more than one issue.

他们得面对和解决的难题可不止一个。

The country is in the midst of a political upheaval and massive protests, and lawmakers are currently considering a request to impeach President Dilma Rousseff.

这个国家正深陷政坛动荡的危机中，大量的抗议者和国会委员目前正在筹划对总统罗塞夫展开弹劾。

Leyser was tapped to replace Brazil’s former sports minister, who resigned just days ago.

原体育部长在几天前离职，Leyse刚刚上任。

The country’s economy is also collapsing, suffering the worst recession in 25 years.

这个国家的经济也近崩溃，陷入25年来最严重的萧条时期。

It’s also unclear whether construction of the Olympic facilities will be finished as organizers have faced steep funding constraints -- the budget was slashed by $500 million in January.

主办方面临着奥运预算的大幅缩减——预算在1月份被削减了5亿美元，目前尚不确定奥运场馆是否能如期交付。

And there’s concern that Brazil won’t be able to attract tourists to the games over fears about high crime rates and terrorism. Brazil plans to use twice as many security agents as were used during the games in London in 2012.

由于巴西的高犯罪率和恐怖行为，人们也担心巴西将无法吸引游客到这里观看奥运会。巴西计划安排比2012伦敦奥运会还多出一倍的安保人员。

Athletes and health experts have raised concerns about the mosquito-borne Zika virus and have lobbied for the games to be postponed. Brazilian officials have opposed the idea.

运动员和医疗专家加强了对以蚊子为传播媒介的寨卡病毒的担忧，并游说以期推迟比赛，不过此举遭到了巴西官员的反对。