With the World Cup soccer tournament underway in South Africa, a couple of things for the science-interested audience to watch for.

值此南非世界杯戰(zhàn)勢(shì)正酣之際，除了觀看精彩的足球比賽，愛(ài)好科學(xué)的球迷們還可以留心一下以下幾點(diǎn)：

First, the games will feature a new ball, called the Jabulani, the Zulu word for “celebrate.” And some players think something foul is afoot. They contend that the ball doesn’t behave the way a normal soccer ball should, that it even turns the wrong way in mid-air. Adidas, which makes the ball, claims that the players complaining all have contracts with Adidas’s competitors.

首先，采用新型比賽用球是本屆世界杯的一大亮點(diǎn)。所選用的球叫作Jabulani，在祖魯語(yǔ)中是“普天同慶”的意思。一些球員對(duì)此表示不以為然， 他們聲稱(chēng)，這種球踢起來(lái)不像是個(gè)“足球”，飛到半空甚至?xí)D(zhuǎn)錯(cuò)方向。 該球的制造商阿迪達(dá)斯則對(duì)此做出了回應(yīng)-這些不買(mǎi)帳的球員都和自家競(jìng)爭(zhēng)對(duì)手有合同關(guān)系。

The Sports Technology Research Group at England’s Loughborough University designed the ball. The sections aren’t stitched together anymore. Instead, the seams are glued or heat-sealed. The group leader, Andy Harland, told the Telegraph newspaper, “We have created a ball that is almost perfectly round, and more accurate than ever before.” Well, millions of soccer fans will ultimately decide the latter.

英格蘭拉夫伯勒大學(xué)的運(yùn)動(dòng)科技研究團(tuán)隊(duì)設(shè)計(jì)了Jabulani， 足球的各部分不再是縫在一起的， 而是用膠水粘合或熱密封的。 該團(tuán)隊(duì)的領(lǐng)導(dǎo)者，安迪·哈倫告訴《每日電訊報(bào)》的記者，“我們創(chuàng)造出了幾近完美的圓球，比之前的任何一種都要圓。” 這球完不完美，還要留待千百萬(wàn)的球迷判決，且讓我們拭目以待。

Also watch for the effects of altitude. Some of the games in South Africa will be played at elevations over a mile high, which could make catching one’s breath the primary goal.

另外，球迷們還可以關(guān)注海拔因素對(duì)比賽的影響。 部分比賽將在海拔超過(guò)一英里的地區(qū)舉行，解決呼吸困難問(wèn)題將成為球員們的首要任務(wù)。