12 Sport
12 Sport February 2 2022 | World and Press What you need to know about the 2022 Qatar World Cup SOCCER The 2022 World Cup will be the first held in the Middle East and the first held in November and December. By Michelle Kaufman 1 ON NOV.21, 2022, the world’s eyes will shift to Qatar, a tiny desert peninsula smaller than the state of Connecticut, which aims to quiet critics and prove it can pull off a World Cup. Hosting the global soccer tournament is a daunting task for any country, but especially for one that has no history of handling massive sporting events and is expecting an influx of 1.2 million visitors – nearly half the size of the nation’s population. 2 The entire tournament will be held in and around the capital city of Doha, with all eight stadiums within a 45-minute drive of the city center. World Cups are typically spread over numerous cities all over a country, with teams, fans, and media required The FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 Official Countdown Clock in Doha. | Photo: Getty Images to travel by plane and train from venue to venue, often across different time zones. 3 But this is not your typical World Cup. The 2022 World Cup will be the first held in the Middle East and the first held in November and December, due to Qatar’s sweltering summer heat. Even in the mild winter the weather can be quite warm, so all eight openair stadiums will be air conditioned through ankle-level vents for fans and larger vents around the field. … 4 Qatar has been making prom- ises since beating the United States for the bid 11 years ago, a controversial win that sparked accusations of bribery and led to a FIFA investigation. FIFA cleared Qatar of wrongdoing. 5 The Gulf nation has also been criticized for alleged human rights violations regarding working conditions of hundreds of thousands of migrant laborers, many of whom were tasked with building World Cup stadiums. Since 2015, the Qatari government has adopted labor reforms. The nation’s discriminatory policies toward the gay community have also come under scrutiny. Event organizers announced they will allow rainbow flags to comply with FIFA rules that require tolerance and inclusion. 6 There have been concerns about whether the Doha area can house all the visiting fans and accommodate the many thousands who arrive with no reserved tickets or lodging. Officials have offered assurances that there will be rooms on floating cruise ship hotels, at vacation homes, in prefab dorms, and air-conditioned tents and campgrounds. 7 The winter schedule means professional leagues in Europe and other parts of the world will have to break mid-season for about six weeks. Major League Soccer will not have its season interrupted because the MLS Cup final will be held a few weeks before the start of the World Cup. The MLS season was moved up three weeks, with a Feb. 26 start to ensure there would be no conflict. 8 “I am incredibly curious how it will play out because this is uncharted territory for everybody,” Alexi Lalas, the former U.S. national team star, said. “There is no precedent for any of these players, teams, or leagues. The EPL came out with their adjusted schedule; and they have some of the best players in the world that theoretically could be playing in a World Cup final, and then a week later the league starts right back up.” … 9 Thus far, 13 of the 32 teams have qualified – host Qatar, defending champion France, Germany, Denmark, Brazil, Belgium, Croatia, Spain, Serbia, England, Switzerland, the Netherlands, and Argentina. Italy and Portugal did not qualify through the European group stage, so they must survive a 12-team playoff round in March. Three of the 12 advance. … © 2021 Miami Herald. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. 0 – 2 TO SHIFT to s.th. h.: s. auf etw. richten — peninsula “p´"nInsj´l´‘ Halbinsel — to quiet s.o. jdn. verstummen lassen — to pull s.th. off etw. vollbringen — to host austragen — daunting “"dO…ntIN‘ einschüchternd; überwältigend — influx “"Infløks‘ Zustrom — entire “In"taI´‘ gesamt — numerous “"nju…m´r´s‘ zahlreich — venue “"venju…‘ Austragungsort 3 – 4 sweltering heat Gluthitze — ankle-level auf Knöchelhöhe — vent Lüftungsschacht — bid Bewerbung — controversial “ÆkÅntr´"v‰…S´l‘ umstritten — to spark entfachen; h.: laut werden Continued from page 1 lassen — accusations of bribery “ÆœkjU"zeIS´nz‘ Bestechungsvorwürfe — investigation Untersuchung — to clear s.o. of s.th. jdn. von etw. freisprechen — wrongdoing Fehlverhalten 5 alleged “´"ledZd‘ mutmaßlich — human rights violations “ÆvaI´"leIS´nz‘ Menschenrechtsverletzungen — migrant laborer Arbeitsmigrant(in) — to task s.o. jdn. beauftragen — to come under scrutiny “"skru…tIni‘ auf dem Prüfstand stehen; h.: Kritik hervorrufen — to comply with s.th. etw. entsprechen 6 – 7 to house; s.w.u. to accommodate “´"kÅm´deIt‘ unterbringen — lodging Unterkunft — officials (fig) Behörden — to offer assurances “´"SO…r´nsIz‘ zusichern — prefab dorm Fertigbau-Jugendherbergen — Major League Soccer US-amerikanische und kanadische Fußballliga — to ensure “In"SO…‘ sicherstellen 8 – 9 incredibly unglaublich — to play out s. entwickeln — uncharted territory Neuland — precedent “"presId´nt‘ vergleichbarer Fall — EPL = English Premier League — adjusted angepasst — host Gastgeber — group stage Gruppenphase — playoff round Playoff-Ausscheidungsrunde 8 Speaking after meeting with Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Brussels, the European Union’s top foreign policy official said countries need to avoid a “nervous breakdown” in their reactions to the situation. “We know very well what the degree of threats are and the way in which we must react, and no doubt we must avoid alarmist reactions,” Josep Borrell said Monday. 9 But others believe exactly the opposite: That it is the offers of diplomacy, not the threat of war, that is the bluff. Writing for the website War on the Rocks on Monday, Michael Kofman argued that Russia’s demands simply could not be met by the United States and its NATO allies. “By publicizing its demands and refusing to unbundle them in ways that might achieve compromise, Russia has made its diplomatic effort appear more performative than genuine,” wrote Kofman, director of the Russia studies program at the think tank CNA, later adding: “Perhaps Moscow is just fishing for what it can get, but the political demands do not align with the military side of the equation.” … 10 Despite denying it was planning any military action, Russia has made a series of unilateral demands that would forestall Ukraine entering NATO and effectively limit NATO forces to the military bloc’s 1997 borders, before its eastern expansion. The country has drafted agreements with the United States and NATO, with Deputy Foreign Minister Ryabkov saying Monday the demands weren’t a restaurant menu that could be chosen from. 11 To many, the scope of those drafts suggests a lack of seriousness. “Few serious negotiations begin with one side drafting, let alone publishing, an entire agreement,” Michael McFaul, a former U.S. ambassador to Moscow, recently wrote for ‘The Post,’ adding that Putin appeared to not be negotiating but offering an ultimatum. “And ultimatums, as we know from history, are often pretexts for annexation or war.” 12 Bluffs are made to be called. That could put Putin in the position of being the man who bet it all and came away from the table with nothing. Is he really willing to let that happen? “By backing away from a military escalation, Putin would risk being accused of failing to secure serious concessions on Ukraine or from NATO. He would be seen as a man who talks a lot and threatens but, when faced with a tough response from the other side, eventually backs down,” British historian Timothy Ash wrote for the Atlantic Council this week. … 13 If an attack does happen, those who thought Putin was bluffing will have been shown to be wrong. Historically, countries like Germany had hoped that closer economic integration and dialogue with Russia would ensure peaceful relations. As Fix put it: “This is a litmus test for Germany’s approach toward Russia.” © 2022 The Washington Post 8 Secretary of State US-Außenminister(in) — top foreign policy official h.: EU-Außenbeauftragte(r) — nervous breakdown Nervenzus.bruch — alarmist reaction Panikmache 9 offer of diplomacy “dI"pl´Um´si‘ diplomatisches Angebot — to publicize “"pøblIsaIz‘ bekannt machen — to unbundle “-"--‘ entflechten; trennen — performative “p´"fO…m´tIv‘ pro forma; zum Schein — genuine “"dZenjuIn‘ aufrichtig — to align with s.th. “´"laIn‘ mit etw. im Einklang stehen — equation “I"kweIZ´n‘ Gleichung 10 to deny bestreiten — unilateral einseitig — to forestall “fO…"stO…l‘ verhindern — effectively im Grunde genommen — to limit beschränken — forces Streitkräfte — to draft aufsetzen; s.w.u. draft Entwurf 11 scope Umfang — seriousness “"sI´ri´sn´s‘ Ernsthaftigkeit — negotiations “n´Æg´USi"eIS´nz‘ Verhandlungen; s.w.u. to negotiate “n´"g´USieIt‘ verhandeln — to publish veröffentlichen — entire gesamt — to offer an ultimatum “ÆøltI"meIt´m‘ ein U. stellen — pretext Vorwand — annexation Annektierung 12 – 13 to call s.o.’s bluff jdn. auffordern, Farbe zu bekennen — to bet it all alles auf e-e Karte setzen — to back away from s.th. vor etw. zurückschrecken — to threaten “"Tret´n‘ drohen — eventually “I"ventSu´li‘ schließlich — to ensure “In"SO…‘ gewährleisten — relations Beziehungen — litmus test “"lItm´s‘ (fig) Prüfstein — approach Herangehensweise
World and Press | February 2 2022 Space 13 NASA launches new mission: crash into asteroid, defend planet Earth SCIENCE The Double Asteroid Redirection Test spacecraft could be the first to alter an asteroid’s path. By Joey Roulette 1 IT WAS2017, and astronomers projected an asteroid the size of a cruise ship would strike Japan sometime in the next decade. Scientists and government officials from NASA and other space agencies, gathered at an annual planetary defense conference in Tokyo, hastily devised a plan to knock the asteroid off its path toward Earth. The island’s fate relied on a fleet of robotic spacecraft that would launch in the next few years. 2 In 2020, the world’s space agencies banded together, launching four ships toward the menacing space rock. The ships, known as kinetic impactors, struck their targets head-on. Japan was spared a herculean evacuation effort, its cities and neighborhoods saved from annihilation. 3 None of these events really happened. It was a simulation, the kind of tabletop role-playing exercise that officials conduct on a regular basis. And deflecting an object from deep space on its way to a deadly rendezvous with Earth has become a preferred solution at these practice drills for protecting the planet. Yet no one knows whether the technique will actually work. Never in human history has our species tried to knock an asteroid away from our world. 4 That is about to change. On Wednesday at 1:21 a.m. Eastern time, NASA launched the Double Asteroid Redirection Test mission, or DART, from a U.S. Space Force base in California. A 1,200-pound, refrigerator-size spacecraft will trek around the sun to slam into a small asteroid named Dimorphos at 15,000 mph next year. If the mission succeeds, it could demonstrate for the first time humanity’s ability to punch A still image from an animation of the expected collision of the Double Asteroid Redirection Test spacecraft and Dimorphos (left). | Photo: NASA via The New York Times a potentially hazardous asteroid away from Earth. 5 “We’re doing this work and testing this DART capability before we need it,” said Lindley Johnson, NASA’s chief of planetary defense. “We don’t want to be flying an untested capability when we’re trying to save a population on the Earth’s surface.” 6 The 4 million DART mission is unusual for NASA, a civilian agency that focuses mainly on exploration, climate monitoring, and hunting for signs of past life in our solar system. While it coordinates with and relies on the U.S. Department of Defense for some activities, NASA has not traditionally been responsible for leading efforts to protect the United States – or Earth, for that matter – from any security threat. 7 That changed in 2005, when Congress assigned the agency the imperative of protecting the planet from dangerous objects that orbit the sun and have the bad habit of occasionally crossing paths with our world. That includes tracking tens of thousands of so-called near-Earth asteroids large enough to wreak catastrophic damage. Lawmakers assigned NASA the task of cataloging 90% of the total expected amount of these space rocks, but it has missed that goal. 8 “You’ve got to find them before you can get them, and you want to find them early,” said Kelly Fast, who manages NASA’s Near-Earth Object Observations Program, the agency’s effort to keep an eye on all nearby asteroids that are bigger than a football stadium. 9 NASA later set up the Planetary Defense Coordination Office in 2016 after a watchdog report urged the agency to better organize its asteroid-tracking efforts. That office, led by Johnson, is tasked with warning the Defense Department and Federal Emergency Management Agency of any threatening asteroids, which is one of NASA’s few responsibilities leading a national response to a major disaster threat. 10 The DART mission shows how the agency is embracing this responsibility. NASA has been studying space rocks up close for decades. It has landed robots on the surface of Mars, plucked samples from a large asteroid named Bennu (which may threaten Earth in the 22nd century), and even deliberately crashed spacecraft into a comet and into the moon, all for the sake of science. But striking an asteroid hard enough to alter its orbit in space poses new challenges for the agency’s engineers and scientists. 11 The DART space probe will visit Dimorphos and another asteroid, Didymos, in September or October 2022. The two asteroids, called a binary system, orbit the sun every two years along an eggshaped path that stretches out near Mars and back around near Earth. Dimorphos is the smaller of the pair, orbiting Didymos like a moon at a distance of about 1 mile and completing a revolution of the larger rock every 11 hours and 55 minutes. 12 Dimorphos, similar in size to one of the pyramids of Giza, is not a threat to Earth. And when NASA’s DART spacecraft makes contact, it will become the smallest celestial body ever visited by a spacecraft. That will be a challenging mission. “It’s the first time we’ve ever tested a technique to deliberately move an asteroid using our own capabilities and systems,” said Brent Barbee, a member of the DART mission team and an aerospace engineer at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center. “It’s kind of a big milestone for our species. Like, the dinosaurs didn’t have a DART mission.” … © 2021 The New York Times Company This article originally appeared in The New York Times. Cartoons interpretieren, Bilder beschreiben • Intensives Training • Üben in aufsteigenden Schwierigkeitsgraden • Als Vorlage für Tests und Klassenarbeiten geeignet Cartoon & Co. ¤ 14,90 [D] ISBN 978-3-7961-1062-7 www.sprachzeitungen.de 0 – 1 TO LAUNCH“lO…nS‘ starten — redirection “ri…daI"rekS´n‘ Umlenkung — spacecraft Raumfahrzeug — to alter “"O…lt´‘ ändern — astronomer “´"strÅn´m´‘ Astronom(in) — to project “-"-‘ vorhersagen — government official Behördenmitarbeiter(in) — space agency Raumfahrtbehörde — planetary defense “"plœnIt´ri‘ planetare Verteidigung — hastily “"heIstIli‘ eilig — to devise “dI"vaIz‘ entwickeln — fleet Flotte 2 – 3 to band together s. zus.tun — menacing “"menIsIN‘ bedrohlich — kinetic impactor “kI"netIk‘ kinetischer Impaktor — head-on direkt; frontal — to spare s.o. s.th. jdm. etw. ersparen — herculean effort “Æh‰…kj´"li…´n‘ Herkulesaufgabe — annihilation “´ÆnaII"leIS´n‘ Vernichtung — tabletop am Tisch — to deflect umlenken — practice drill praktische Übung — technique “tek"ni…k‘ Methode — species “"spi…Si…z‘ 4 – 5 refrigerator-size “rI"frIdZ´reIt´‘ von der Größe e-s Kühlschranks — to trek around seine Bahn ziehen — to slam into einschlagen — 15,000 mph ca. 24.140,6 km/h — humanity Menschheit — to punch away wegschlagen — hazardous “"hœz´d´s‘ gefährlich — capability “ÆkeIp´"bIl´ti‘ Fähigkeit; h.: Gerät 6 – 7 exploration Erforschung — climate monitoring “"mÅnIt´rIN‘ Klimabeobachtung — solar system Sonnensystem — Department of Defense Verteidigungsministerium — security threat “Tret‘ Sicherheitsbedrohung — to assign “´"saIn‘ zuweisen; übertragen — imperative “Im"per´tIv‘ Gebot; h.: Auftrag — to orbit umkreisen — occasionally “´"keIZ´n´li‘ gelegentlich — to track verfolgen — to wreak damage “ri…k‘ Schaden anrichten — lawmaker Abgeordnete(r) 8 – 9 observation Beobachtung — to keep an eye on s.th. etw. im Auge behalten — watchdog report Bericht e-r Aufsichtsbehörde — to urge s.o. “‰…dZ‘ jdn. dringend auffordern — to be tasked with doing die Aufgabe haben — Federal Emergency Management Agency US-Katastrophenschutzbehörde — threatening bedrohlich — response “rI"spÅns‘ Reaktion 10 to embrace s.th. h.: etw. umsetzen — up close aus nächster Nähe — to pluck entnehmen — samples Proben — deliberately “dI"lIb´r´tli‘ absichtlich — for the sake of s.th. um e-r S. willen — to pose darstellen 11 – 12 space probe Raumsonde — binary system “"baIn´ri‘ h.: Doppelasteroid (b. binär) — egg-shaped eiförmig — to stretch out s. erstrecken — revolution Umdrehung — celestial body “s´"lesti´l‘ Himmelskörper — aerospace engineer “"e´r´UspeIs‘ Raumfahrtingenieur(in)
