“接班”章鱼保罗预言帝猫咪“预言”世界杯（图）

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

　　俄罗斯的一只猫被认为是预测2018年世界杯结果的动物。圣彼得堡冬宫博物馆的居民猫Achilles已被正式选为周四开始的世界杯的预测动物。这只白色和蓝眼睛的猫会尝试通过选择两碗食物来预测获胜者，每一碗食物都与参赛国家的旗帜相关。

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

　　去年，在世界杯的前身锦标赛FIFA联合会杯期间，猫科动物被证明是相当有技巧的，正确地猜出了四个主要比赛中的三个。据说阿喀琉斯正在卡斯博物馆的一家咖啡馆Cats Republic进行“直觉技能”的强化训练。

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

　　就像包括克里斯蒂亚诺·罗纳尔多，梅西，穆罕默德·萨拉赫和保罗·波格巴在内的主要运动员一样，Achilles将接受严格的饮食和锻炼以适应比赛。Achilles有一个未公开的出生缺陷耳聋，冬宫猫新闻秘书玛丽亚Haltunen表示，这也是一个良好直觉的指标。

　　"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." 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. 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.

　　“我们认为—事实证明是正确的—当你缺乏某种东西时，它会被别的东西补偿”Haltunen告诉APTN。“这就是为什么它会是一个非常好的预言家。” Achilles将跟随引发全球轰动的2010年南非世界杯保罗章鱼后成为的新的预言家。Paul Octopus在预测六场比赛中四场比赛的结果是正确的，包括西班牙队在世界杯决赛中的胜利。章鱼保罗住在德国水族馆，南非世界杯四个月后去世了。