「经济学人」Home comforts
Home comforts
Empty stadiums have shrunk football teams' home advantage
Officiating bias disappears without fans, but clubs still play better at home
LOCKDOWNS WERE particularly frustrating for football devotees, who had no live matches to watch while stuck at home. But the fans most pleased by the sport's return may be statisticians. For them, empty stadiums are not a cheerless last resort, but rather a chance to tackle a great quandary: why do travelling teams tend to lose?
对于足球爱好者来说，疫情封锁尤其令人沮丧，他们被困在家里时没有现场比赛可看。但对这项运动的回归最高兴的球迷可能是统计学家。对他们来说，毫无欢呼声的空场比赛并不是万不得已的方法，而是解决一个巨大难题的机会：为什么客场球队往往会输球？
devotee /ˌdɛvəˈtiː/
表示“（狂热的）崇拜者，爱好者”，英文解释为“a person who admires and is very enthusiastic about sb/sth”如：football devotees 足球爱好者。
the first/last/final resort
表示“应急措施；可首先（或最后）采取的手段”，英文解释为“the first or last course of action that you should or can take in a particular situation”。
短语：
⚽️as a last resort = in the last resort 表示“作为最后一招，在万不得已的时候”（if all other methods fail）举个🌰：
In the last resort (= in the end) everyone must decide for themselves.
最后人人都得自己作决定。
Police are supposed to use guns only as a last resort.
警方只有在万不得已的时候才能开枪。
🎬电影《陵园路口》（Cemetery Junction）中的台词提到：I need a favorr. You're my last resort.我需要你的帮助 你是我最后一丝希望
quandary
quandary /ˈkwɒndrɪ, -dərɪ/ 表示“困惑；进退两难；困窘；窘境；犹豫不决”，英文解释为“the state of not being able to decide what to do in a difficult situation”举个🌰：
I've had two job offers, and I'm in a real quandary about/over which one to accept.
我得到两份工作，不知该接受哪个，真是左右为难。
Most studies have blamed referees for trying to placate fans. In one experiment, officials were shown recorded games and asked how they would have ruled. They were kinder to home sides when they could hear baying fans than when the sound was muted. Some analyses of live matches have found more bias with denser crowds. Before this summer, few competitive fixtures were played without fans. One study from this May found just 160 cases since 2002. In this small sample, the home team's edge vanished. Referees gave similar numbers of cards for fouls to both sides, and visitors won almost as often as hosts did.
大多数研究都将问题归咎于是裁判员为了安抚球迷（LR：所谓的主场哨）。在一个实验中，向裁判员播放比赛录像，并询问他们会如何判罚。当他们能听到球迷的叫喊声时，他们对主队的态度要比声音静音时好。一些对现场比赛的分析发现，在人群更密集的情况下，会出现更多的偏袒。在今年夏天之前，很少有没有球迷参加的竞技比赛。今年5月的一项研究发现，自2002年以来仅有160场比赛没有球迷参加。在这个小样本中，主队的优势消失了。裁判给双方犯规红黄牌数差不多，客队获胜的次数几乎和主队一样多。
placate /pləˈkeɪt/
表示“安抚；平息”，英文解释为“If you placate someone, you do or say something to make them stop feeling angry.”举个🌰：
He smiled, and made a gesture intended to placate me.
他微笑了一下，做了一个意在安抚我的手势。
🎬电影《林中小屋》（The Cabin in the Woods）中的台词提到：It's our task to placate the ancient ones. 我们要做的 是安抚它们。
bay
bay作动词，表示“吠叫；大声叫嚷”，更多是表示狗或狼等动物的嚎叫，英文解释为“to make a long, deep cry repeatedly”此处指的比赛现场球迷的呐喊，叫喊。
短语：
⚽️be baying for sth表示“厉声强要；愤怒地要求”（to demand sth in a loud and angry way）举个🌰：
The referee's decision left the crowd baying for blood (= threatening violence towards him).
裁判的裁决引起群众怒吼着要暴力相向。
bias
表示“偏见；偏心；偏向”，英文解释为“a strong feeling in favour of or against one group of people, or one side in an argument, often not based on fair judgement”举个🌰：
Employers must consider all candidates impartially and without bias.
雇主必须公平而毫无成见地考虑所有求职者。
fixture
fixture常见含义指的是“固定设施，固定装置”，如房屋内安装的浴缸或抽水马桶，此处是英式用法，算是熟词僻义，表示“（定时举办的）体育活动，体育赛事”，英文解释为“a day and usually a time agreed for a sports event”举个🌰：
Next season's fixtures will be published early next month.
下赛季的赛事日程将在下月初公布。
edge
此处表示“优势；优越之处”，英文解释为“an advantage over other people”，下文则用更通俗的advantage来替换这一含义。举个🌰：
The company needs to improve its competitive edge.
公司必须提高它的竞争力。
foul
表示“犯规”，英文解释为“an action that is against the rules of the game”。
⚽️部分比赛相关术语：
This finding could easily be skewed by a few clumsy tackles or flukey goals. But the pandemic has made a larger study possible. At our request 21st Club, a consultancy, has analysed 1,534 matches played without fans this year, spanning dozens of leagues.
这一研究发现很容易因一些不当抢断球或侥幸进球而影响准确性（LR：样本小）。不过，疫情大流行使得开展一项更大的研究成为可能。在我们的要求下，咨询公司21st Club，分析了今年1,534场没有球迷的比赛，横跨几十个联赛。
skew /skjuː/
表示“歪曲；曲解；使不公允；影响…的准确性”，英文解释为“to change or influence sth with the result that it is not accurate, fair, normal, etc.”，如：to skew the statistics 影响统计数字的准确性。
clumsy
表示“无技巧的；冒犯人的；不得体的”，英文解释为“done without skill or in a way that offends people”。
tackle
作名词，表示“ （足球等）抢断球，阻截铲球；（橄榄球或美式足球）擒抱摔倒，阻截”，英文解释为“an act of trying to take the ball from an opponent in football ( soccer ), etc.; an act of knocking an opponent to the ground in rugby or American football”。
flukey
fluky /ˈfluː.ki/ = flukey，表示“赶巧的；侥幸的；不可靠的”，英文解释为“done or gained by an accident, esp a lucky one；Obtained or achieved more by chance than skill”，此处的fluky goals可以理解为侥幸的进球，凭运气进球得分。
Sure enough, officials no longer appear biased. Although the pattern varies widely by league, the total share of cards received by home teams has risen from 46% before lockdowns to 50% afterwards.
果然，裁判们不再出现偏袒。虽然各联赛的模式差异很大，但主队获得的判罚红黄牌数比例已经从疫情封锁前的46%上升到封锁后的50%。
However, the lack of help from referees has merely reduced home sides’ advantage, rather than eliminating it. Football leagues give teams three points for a win, one for a draw and none for a loss. With crowds watching, home teams gained 58% of points; without them, hosts have still earned 56%. In other words, three-quarters of home overperformance remains intact.
然而，缺乏裁判的帮助，只是减少了主队的优势，而不是消除了其优势。足球联赛中赢球球队得3分，平局球队得1分，输球球队不得分。在有观众观看的情况下，主队获得了58%的积分；在没有观众观看的情况下，主队仍然获得了56%的积分。换句话说，四分之三的主场优势依然没有改变。
draw
作名词，熟词僻义，表示“平局；和局；不分胜负”，英文解释为“a game in which both teams or players finish with the same number of points”举个🌰：
The match ended in a two-all draw.
比赛以二平结束。
intact
表示“完好无损；完整”，英文解释为“ complete and not damaged”举个🌰：
Most of the house remains intact even after two hundred years.
虽然过了两百年，这房子的大部分还保持完好。
He emerged from the trial with his reputation intact.
他受审获释，名誉丝毫未受损害。
🎬《奇异博士》（Doctor Strange）中的台词提到的：Cranial nerves intact. 脑神经完好无损。
So why have teams fared better at home, even without biased officials? Since May, hosts have taken 53% of shots at goal—less than the 55% they took in full stadiums, but enough to give them an edge.
那么，即使没有裁判偏袒，为什么球队在主场表现更好呢？自5月以来，主队有53%的射门次数--低于有观众在场时的55%，但也足以让他们占据优势了。
fare
值得积累的一个词，fare作动词，表示“进展；成功；遭遇”，直白地解释就是，xxx做得好/做得不好，表现得好/表现不好，后面可接well或者是badly（文中为比较级），英文解释为“If you say that someone or something fares well or badly, you are referring to the degree of success they achieve in a particular situation or activity.”举个🌰：
How did you fare in your exams?
你考得怎么样？
🎬电影《总统杀局》（The Ides of March）中的台词提到：And you wouldn't fare too well in federal prison.你在联邦监狱也不会好过。
The cause of this gap remains mysterious. In American sports, visitors have to endure long trips between games. But travel times within European countries rarely exceed a few hours. A more plausible reason is that coaches still use conservative line-ups and strategies when playing away, even though hostile officials no longer undermine their best players’ efforts. If that is a factor, managers who excoriate referees ought to consider their own failings, too.
这种差距的原因仍然是不易解释的。在美国的体育比赛中，客队不得不忍受比赛之间的长途旅行。但欧洲国家内的旅行时间很少超过几个小时的。一个更合理的原因是，教练们在客场比赛时仍然使用保守的阵容和战术，即使主场裁判不再辜负他们最好球员的努力。如果这也是一个因素，那么那些痛斥裁判的主教练也应该考虑一下自己的失误。
plausible
表示“有道理的；可信的”，英文解释为“reasonable and likely to be true”举个🌰：
Her story sounded perfectly plausible.
她的说辞听起来言之有理。
line-up
1）表示“阵容；阵式”，英文解释为“the people who are going to take part in a particular event”，如：the starting line-up (= the players who will begin the game) 比赛首发队员阵容。
2）表示“节目安排；项目安排”，英文解释为“a set of items, events etc. arranged to follow one another”。
away
上面总结时也提到了，客队有叫away teams的，away在体育运动中，特指“在客场”，英文解释为“at the opponent's ground or stadium”，还有如：an away match/game 客场比赛。
excoriate
excoriate /ɪkˈskɔːrɪˌeɪt/表示“严厉指责，痛斥”，英文解释为“to write or say that a play, book, political action, etc. is very bad”举个🌰：
He proceeded to excoriate me in front of the nurses.
他继续在这些护士们面前指责我。
This article appeared in the Graphic detail section of the print edition under the headline "Home comforts" (July 25th 2020)
注：中文文本机器翻译仅供参考，并非一一对应
LearnAndRecord
2015年2月8日
2020年7月30日
第2000天
每天持续行动学外语