VOA慢速英语--特拉维夫击败耶路撒冷举办2019年欧洲歌唱大赛

Tel Aviv Beats Out Jerusalem for 2019 Eurovision

The Eurovision Song Contest says the singing competition will be held next year in the Israeli city of Tel Aviv.

欧洲电视网歌唱大赛表示明年的比赛将在以色列特拉维夫市举行。

Israel automatically became the host country after Israeli singer Netta Barzilai won the 2018 Eurovision Song Contest. The hugely popular event moves to the home country of the winner from year to year.

在以色列歌手妮塔·巴梓莱（Netta Barzilai）赢得2018年欧洲歌唱大赛之后，以色列自动成为东道国。这项巨受欢迎的活动每年都转移到获胜者的祖国举办。

Barzilai won the 2018 contest in Lisbon, Portugal with “Toy,” a dance song about women’s empowerment.

巴梓莱凭借“玩具”（Toy）这首关于女性赋权的舞曲赢得了在葡萄牙里斯本市举行的2018年歌唱大赛。

The European Broadcasting Union, EBU, operates Eurovision and chooses the city where the event is to be held. EBU officials had also considered two other cities, Jerusalem and Eilat, for the 2019 competition.

欧洲广播联盟（EBU）运营欧洲电视网并挑选该活动的举办城市。欧洲广播联盟官员还考虑过让耶路撒冷和埃拉托作为2019年歌曲大赛的举办城市。

EBU chief Jon Ola said in a statement that the two cities and Tel Aviv all had provided good bids for hosting the contest. He added: “In the end, we decided 1 that Tel Aviv provides the best overall setup for the world's largest live music event.”

欧洲广播联盟执行长Jon Ola在一份声明中表示，这两座城市和特拉维夫市都为举办比赛提供了良好的条件。他补充说：“最后我们认定特拉维夫市为这项全球最大的现场音乐活动提供了最好的完整体系。”

The mayor of Tel Aviv, Ron Huldai, welcomed the decision, calling Eurovision “a perfect fit” for his city. “We are looking forward to host a joyful 2 and nonstop event in the spirit of Tel Aviv,” he said.

特拉维夫市市长Ron Huldai对这一决定表示了欢迎，称欧洲歌唱大赛跟特拉维夫市“完美契合。”他说：“我们期待着以特拉维夫精神举办一场愉快、不间断的活动。”

At first, Israel’s government called on the EBU to choose Jerusalem as the host city. But it later backed off after threats of boycotts 4 from groups that opposed Jerusalem as the choice.

最初，以色列政府呼吁欧洲广播联盟选择耶路撒冷作为举办城市。但是它在反对耶路撒冷作为备选的团体威胁要抵制之后退缩了。

Israel captured east Jerusalem in 1967 after the Six-Day War against the armies of Egypt, Syria and Jordan. But Jerusalem is not internationally recognized as the capital. Today, Israel considers all of Jerusalem as its capital. The Palestinians want to make east Jerusalem the capital of a future Palestinian state.

以色列在1967年同埃及、叙利亚和约旦军队的六日战争之后占领了东耶路撒冷。但是耶路撒冷并非国际上公认的首都。以色列如今认定耶路撒冷是该国首都。巴勒斯坦人希望让东耶路撒冷成为未来的巴勒斯坦国的首都。

In December 2017, the United States announced it had decided to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. Many political and religious leaders around the world condemned 5 that decision.

2017年12月，美国决定宣布承认耶路撒冷作为以色列首都。世界各地的很多政治和宗教领袖都谴责了这一决定。

The day after the 2018 Eurovision contest ended, the United States officially moved its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

2018年欧洲歌唱大赛结束后一天，美国官员正式将其大使馆从特拉维夫搬到了耶路撒冷。

The Palestinian-led Boycotts, Divestment and Sanctions, or BDS group, carries out campaigns targeting Israel’s economy and culture. The organization had urged boycotts of the Eurovision contest no matter where it was held in Israel.

由巴勒斯坦人领导的抵制、撤资和制裁组织展开了针对以色列经济文化的宣传活动。该组织曾督促抵制欧洲歌唱大赛，无论它在以色列何处举办。

An open letter by the group in June said a boycott 3 would be a way to pressure Israel to obey “international law and to respect the human rights of Palestinians.”

该组织6月份发表的一封公开信表示，抵制将是迫使以色列遵守国际法并尊重巴勒斯坦人民的人权的一种方式。

Tel Aviv officials say they expect around 20,000 visitors to come to the city for the 2019 song contest. Eurovision organizers have set the contest semifinals for May 14 and 16, followed by the final on May 18.

特拉维夫官员表示，他们预期会有大约2万名游客前来该市观看2019年歌唱大赛。欧洲歌唱大赛的组织者已经将半决赛定在5月14日和16日，决赛定在5月18日。

I’m Lucija Millonig.

Words in This Story

bid – n. an attempt to achieve something

joyful – adj. very happy

no matter – phrase an expression meaning something is unimportant

automatically – adj. happening or being done without thought or effort