No other sporting event captures the world's imagination like the FIFA World Cup. Ever since the first tentative competition in Uruguay in 1930, FIFA's flagship has constantly grown in popularity and prestige.

沒有任何一項賽事可以像FIFA世界杯這樣神奇。自從第一屆比賽于1930年在烏拉圭舉辦之后，國際足聯的受歡迎程度和威望便與日俱增。

A group of visionary French football administrators, led in the 1920s by the innovative Jules Rimet, are credited with the original idea of bringing the world's strongest national football teams together to compete for the title of World Champions. The original gold trophy bore Jules Rimet's name and was contested three times in the 1930s, before the Second World War put a 12-year stop to the competition.

19世紀20年代創新主義者雷米特領導了一群充滿幻想的法國足球管理員，提出了將世界最強的國家隊聚集到一起爭奪世界足球冠軍的想法。最初的冠軍金杯由雷米特·朱爾斯的名字命名，并在19世紀30年代舉行了三次。二戰之前，此賽事被停辦了12年。

When it resumed, the FIFA World Cup rapidly advanced to its undisputed status as the greatest single sporting event of the modern world. Held since 1958 alternately in Europe and the Americas, the World Cup broke new ground with the Executive Committee's decision in May 1996 to select Korea and Japan as co-hosts for the 2002 edition.

當世界杯賽事再次舉辦時，FIFA世界杯就迅猛地以其無可異議的地位成為了當今世界最專業的單項體育賽事。自從1958年在歐洲和美洲交替舉辦后，1996年5月，國際足聯執行委員會選擇韓國和日本作為2002年世界杯的聯合東道主。

Since 1930, the 16 tournaments have seen only seven different winners. However, the FIFA World Cup has also been punctuated by dramatic upsets that have helped create footballing history - the United States defeating England in 1950, North Korea's defeat of Italy in 1966, Cameroon's emergence in the 1980s and their opening match defeat of the Argentinean cup-holders in 1990....

自從1930年以來，16屆世界杯的冠軍得主只有7支國家隊。但世界杯賽程中出現的一個又一個戲劇性奇跡也不斷改寫著世界杯的歷史。1950年，美國打敗英格蘭；1966年，朝鮮戰勝意大利，20世紀80年代，喀麥隆的崛起更是開創了新的篇章。1990年，喀麥隆在開幕戰中打敗世界冠軍得主阿根廷隊……

Today, the FIFA World Cup holds the entire global public under its spell. An accumulated audience of over 37 billion people watched the France 98 tournament, including approximately 1.3 billion for the final alone, while over 2.7 million people flocked to watch the 64 matches in the French stadia.

現在，FIFA世界杯以其魅力吸引了全球所有觀眾。1998年法國世界杯賽事總共吸引了超過了370億人次觀看，僅決賽就大約有13億，同時有超過270萬人聚集在法國體育館觀看了64場比賽。

After all these years and so many changes, however, the main focus of the FIFA World Cup remains the same - the glistening golden trophy, which is the embodiment of every footballer's ambition.

在經歷了這么多年的發展和變革后，FIFA世界杯的焦點仍然沒有改變，那就是每位球員雄心的化身——閃耀的大力神杯。

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（來源：滬江英語  編輯：Julie）