中国网站品牌栏目（频道）
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Two year-old octopus Paul, the so-called "octopus oracle" predicts Spain's victory in their 2010 World Cup semi-final soccer match against Germany by choosing a mussel, from a glass box decorated with the Spanish national flag instead of a glass box with the German flag, at the Sea Life Aquarium in the western German city of Oberhausen July 6, 2010.(Agencies) |
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Some Germans are calling for a public roasting of the oracle octopus who correctly picked the winner of all six of their national soccer team's World Cup matches -- including a bitter defeat to Spain on Wednesday. Paul, a two-year-old octopus in a German aquarium, turned into a global celebrity for his uncanny ability to predict the winner of all Germany's matches -- even a group stage defeat to Serbia and an ousting by Spain in the semi-finals. "Nothing beats grilled octopus," said Dolores Lusch, a Germany fan who works on a Berlin fish stall. "Cut him up in thin slices and grill him on all sides with a dash of lemon juice, olive oil and garlic on it. Delicious!" Not an ordinarily superstitious people, Germans became believers in Paul's possible psychic powers. The country was shocked and distraught when he picked Spain to win after tipping German wins over Argentina, England, Ghana and Australia. German newspapers and websites were filled with suggestions of what to do with Paul -- most involved cooking and eating him. "Throw him in the frying pan," wrote the Berliner Kurier newspaper in a popular sentiment echoed by Die Welt, Sueddeutsche Zeitung, the Hamburger Abendblatt and other newspapers. Paul's picks have become news across Germany and around the world. German networks have had live reports on Paul's picks. On Friday, Paul will tip the winner of Saturday's Germany-Uruguay match for third place as well as the winner of the Spain-Netherlands final on Sunday. Networks in Germany, Spain and the Netherlands are planning live coverage. (Read by Renee Haines. Renee Haines is a journalist at the China Daily Web site.) (Agencies) |
德国队在本届世界杯上六场比赛的结果都被神算章鱼一一言中，其中包括上周三负于西班牙队的那场比赛，所以日前一些德国人大呼要把这只章鱼给烤了。 生活在德国一家水族馆的章鱼“保罗”今年两岁，它因准确预测出德国队在本届世界杯上的所有比赛的结果而红遍全球，其中甚至包括德国在小组赛中负于塞尔维亚队的那场比赛以及在半决赛中被西班牙队淘汰的比赛。 柏林一个鱼摊老板、德国队球迷德洛丽丝•卢施说：“没有什么比烤章鱼更美味的了。把它切成薄片，涂上点儿柠檬汁、橄榄油和大蒜，再把它给烤了。味道一定很好！” 德国人并不迷信，但保罗的“神算”能力则让他们不得不信服。保罗曾准确预测出德国将战胜阿根廷、英格兰、加纳和澳大利亚队，之后又做出了德国将败给西班牙队的预测，这让德国举国陷入了震惊和恐慌。 现在，德国的报纸和网站上到处都是如何处置保罗的建议，其中大部分都提到了要把它给煮熟了吃。 《柏林信笺报》写道：“把它扔进煎锅”。《世界报》、《南德意志报》、《汉堡晚报》和其它多家报纸也持同样看法。 保罗对世界杯的预测已成为德国乃至全世界媒体关注的焦点，德国电视台还对其预测过程进行过直播。 本周五，保罗将对本周六德国队与乌拉圭队争夺第三名的比赛、以及本周日西班牙队与荷兰队的夺冠赛进行预测。德国、西班牙和荷兰计划对预测过程进行现场直播。 相关阅读 （中国日报网英语点津 Julie 编辑蔡姗姗） |
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Vocabulary: uncanny：having or seeming to have a supernatural or inexplicable basis; beyond the ordinary or normal; extraordinary（离奇的，不可思议的） psychic：outside of natural or scientific knowledge; spiritual（有特异功能的，通灵的） tip：to provide with a piece of confidential, advance, or inside information（预言……获胜；事先说……会成功） |
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