貓咪接班章魚保羅擔任世界盃“官方預言家”

A cat in Russia has been presented as the latest prognosticating creature tasked with predicting the outcome of the 2018 World Cup.

俄羅斯一隻貓咪最近被奉爲最新的“預言帝”，它的任務是預測俄羅斯世界盃的比賽結果。

Achilles, the resident cat of the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, has been officially chosen as an oracle for the upcoming FIFA World Cup, which kicks off Thursday.

這隻貓名叫阿喀琉斯，生活在聖彼得堡的冬宮博物館。它已被正式選定爲本屆世界盃的“預測官”。2018年世界盃將於本週四開賽。

The white, blue-eyed cat will attempt to predict the winners by choosing between two bowls of food, each adorned with the flag of the competing nation.

這隻藍眼白貓將通過在兩碗貓糧中做選擇來預測獲勝球隊，每碗貓糧中各插一面參賽隊的隊旗。

Last year, during the FIFA Confederations Cup, a precursor tournament for the World Cup, the feline proved to be quite skilled, correctly guessing three out of four major matches.

在去年的國際足聯聯合會杯比賽中，阿喀琉斯就展現出了它“神算子”的技能。它對4場主要賽事進行了預測，成功命中了3場。國際足聯聯合會杯是世界盃的先驅賽。

Achilles is said to be undergoing intense training in "intuition skills" at the Cats Republic, a cafe that's part of the Cats Museum.

據稱，阿喀琉斯正在貓咪博物館的貓咪共和咖啡廳接受“直覺力”的密集培訓。

Much like the major athletes involved in the Cup, including Cristiano Ronaldo, Leo Messi, Mohammed Salah and Paul Pogba, Achilles will undergo a strict diet and exercise regimen to get in shape for the tournament.

就像參加本屆世界盃的克里斯蒂亞諾?羅納爾多、里奧?梅西、穆罕默德?薩拉赫和保羅?博格巴等大牌球星那樣，阿喀琉斯將嚴格控制飲食，還將接受體能訓練，爲世界盃保持完美體態。

Achilles is deaf and also has an undisclosed birth defect that Hermitage Cats Press Secretary Maria Haltunen says is an indicator of good intuition.

阿喀琉斯耳聾，還有未透露的出生缺陷。冬宮博物館貓咪事務新聞祕書瑪利亞-赫圖內說這表明它的直覺很好。

"We considered — and it turned out to be right — that when you lack something, it is compensated by something else," Haltunen told APTN. "That's why he was a very good oracle."

她告訴美聯社電視新聞網說：“我們認爲，某方面的缺陷會由另一方面的優勢來彌補。事實也證明這是正確的。因此它能出色地完成預測任務。”

Achilles will follow in the off-beat guessing games of Paul the octopus, which became a global sensation as an oracle for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

阿喀琉斯將接班章魚保羅，預測比賽結果。在2010年的南非世界盃期間，神算章魚保羅引發全球關注。

Paul the Octopus was correct in predicting the outcome of four out of six matches, including Spain's victory in the World Cup final. Paul, who lived in a German aquarium, died four months later.

在六場比賽中，章魚保羅準確預測了四場比賽結果，包括西班牙在決賽中的勝利。保羅居住在德國一家水族館，在世界盃結束四個月後去世。

During the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, Swiss guinea pig Madame Shiva and a British piranha named Pele were considered oracles, but apparently lacked the same foresight that made Paul a worldwide sensation.

在2014年的巴西世界盃期間，瑞士豚鼠希瓦夫人和英國水虎魚佩萊也都預測了比賽結果，但準確度明顯不及章魚保羅。

The world will be watching as Achilles tries to prove his prediction skills.

阿喀琉斯能否證明其“神算子”能力，我們拭目以待。