万达为何钟情铁人三项？

万达为何钟情铁人三项？

万达收购了世界铁人公司，这是王健林在体育领域的最新战利品。一家运营一些比赛项目的公司真的值6.5亿美元吗？王健林必然对铁人三项有着更远大的计划。

测试中可能遇到的词汇和知识：

bragging 吹嘘

trophies 奖品

underestimate 低估

demise 消亡

阅读即将开始，建议您计算一下阅读整篇文章所用时间，并对照我们在文章最后给出的参考值来估算您的阅读速度。

Ironman: Wanda why? （336 words）

Chinese billionaire is obviously in it for the long run

* * *

The bragging rights. The needlessly expensive bikes. The Lycra. What is there for a middle-aged man not to love about Ironman Triathlons? One middle-aged man loves them more than others. Wang Jianlin, one of China’s richest men, has just paid $650m (via his Wanda group) for World Triathlon Corporation, the company that runs Ironman. It is just the latest in a line of sporting trophies for Mr Wang — he also owns one-fifth of Atletico Madrid and Infront Sports & Media, a sports marketing group.

But can a company that runs a few races (even 141-mile ones) really be worth $650m? There are no publicly available figures for sales or profits. Ironman had 230,000 racers last year, each one paying between $160 and $600. Assume that it generated race fees of $100m and perhaps twice that in sponsorships (watches, mattresses, perfume — you name it). The price Wanda paid is still more than two times those revenues. There are no listed triathlon organisers but Live Nation, a US-based events company, trades at less than one times revenues.

So Mr Wang must have big plans for Ironman. The aim is to expand the sport in China, from 100 amateur Chinese triathletes to 200,000 by 2025. Infront Sport and a reality TV show will promote it all. State incentives to raise China’s sport revenues from $10bn to $780bn by 2025 will help. Mr Wang knows how to take advantage of Chinese growth — he has also invested in shopping malls, theme parks and hotels often in line with state priorities.

For anyone watching all this exertion from afar, there are two lessons. First, Mr Wang is still a big believer in the growth of the Chinese middle-class (even if stock market investors are starting to have their doubts). Second, do not underestimate the business potential of live events. They have helped to save the music business when many were predicting its demise. Even in the age of mobile phones, tablets and smart watches, not all entertainment takes place via a screen.

请根据你所读到的文章内容，完成以下自测题目：

1. What age people might like the Ironman Triathlons?

a. teenage

b. the aged people

c. middle-aged people

d. children

2. What kind of industries did Wang Jianlin interested in?

a. animal husbandry

b. tertiary industries

c. crop farming

d. energy exploitation

3. What is Wang’s attitude about the Chinese middle-class?

a. negative

b. unbelieving

c. optimistic

d. indifferent

4. What is the purpose of the mentioned music business?

a. to prove the importance of live events

b. to show the Chinese people's love

c. to support live music

d. To call for more people to participate

[1] 答案c. middle-aged people

解释：文章第一段，过分昂贵的自行车和莱卡紧身衣，中年男人有什么理由不爱铁人三项呢？

[2] 答案b. tertiary industries

解释：他还投资了大型购物中心、主题公园和酒店，这些属于第三产业。

[3] 答案c. optimistic

解释：王健林仍然对中国中产阶级的崛起深信不疑（即使股市投资者对此已经开始有所怀疑）。

[4] 答案a. to prove the importance of live events

解释：当很多人预测音乐产业即将终结时，是现场音乐(live music)帮助拯救了它，是为了证明不是所有的娱乐活动都通过屏幕来进行。