上海世博欲惊艳亮相

        Early this month, the Expo site was a huge muddy field filled with workers, cranes, piles of building materials and heaps of construction debris. It was difficult to imagine that everything would be completed in time. China says 192 countries will come to this city of 19 million to participate in the six-month festival, drawing an estimated 70 million attendees. (The 12-month 1964-65 New York World's Fair drew more than 50 million.)

　　本月初，世博会场还是一个巨大的泥泞土地，到处是工人、起重机以及成堆的建筑材料和大量的建筑垃圾。当时很难相像一切能按时完工。中国称192个国家将来到上海参加这个长达六个月的盛会，预计将吸引7,000万名参会者。（1964年至1965年在纽约举办的世博会历时一年，吸引了超过五千万人。）上海目前共有1900万人。

　　Still, tour packagers so far report very modest interest from Americans and Europeans, with rooms for the fair period easy to find even at the best hotels. 'People just don't know about the Expo, even many Chinese citizens,' says Terrence Ou, president of the Beijing-based Great Wall Adventure tour agency.

　　然而，旅行社方面显示出迄今为止欧美游客对上海世博会的兴趣不高，因此即便在上海最好的酒店人们也能轻易地找到世博会期间的空余客房。总部位于北京的Great Wall Adventure旅行社总裁Terrence Ou说，人们只是不知道世博会，就连许多中国人也不知道。