According to a report released by the National Language Resource Monitoring and Research Center (国家语言资源监测与研究中心) in mid July, the word “the World Expo Shanghai” ranks among the most popular lexicons in the General Category in China’s print media in the first half of 2010.
国家语言资源监测与研究中心7月中旬发布的一项调查报告显示，“上海世博会” 名列2010年上半年中国报纸流行语“综合类”中最流行的词汇之一。
As an ordinary resident of Shanghai, I experience the multiple changes that Expo brings to the city: busy construction sites, opening of new subway lines, crowds on the streets, omnipresent promotion signs … Of course, the most direct impact on many Shanghai citizens is that they will have to accommodate visitors – friends, classmates, relatives – in their home, or serve as their tour guides in various ways.
作为一名在上海生活的普通人，我亲身经历了世博会为这座城市带来的各种变化：繁忙的建筑工地、新开通的地铁线路、街道上拥挤的人流、无处不在的世博标志。。。。。。 当然，对于许多上海居民来说，最直接的影响莫过于他们都将或多或少地接待几批客人 – 朋友、同学、亲戚 – 或安排在自己家中食宿，或做业余向导带领参观。
For some reasons, I am not enthusiastic about the Expo, despite its linguistic popularity in government discourse as well as in ordinary street talk. Perhaps I have developed prejudice against it by reading about the low air quality and notorious traffic accidents caused by heavy trucks, for which tight project deadlines in preparation for the Expo are often blamed.
尽管“世博”是一个流行度极高的词，无论是在政府文件还是街头巷尾的谈话中，我对它却不是十分感兴趣。也许读到了太多关于它的负面新闻，从而心理上产生了某种抵制情绪。媒体上不断读到住宅区附近尘土飞扬，空气质量低下，或者土方车撞人的事件，其中很大一部分都是世博工程为了赶工期造成的。
What I dislike is that to visit the Expo becomes sort of obligatory for many people: companies and schools either distribute tickets to their employees or directly organize group visits. This happens not only in Shanghai, but also in other provinces. Many of my friends outside Shanghai called me, saying that they would come for the Expo with colleagues, of course with the trip paid by their “dan1 wei4” (unit, employer) – a word that takes heavy features of the so-called Chinese characteristics, and for which I haven’t found a proper English rendition.
我最不喜欢的是，某种程度上，参观世博带上了强制性的行政色彩：许多公司和学校都会给员工发票，或者直接组织集体参观。不仅上海如此，外地也同样。我不断收到外地朋友的电话，说他们单位会组织集体看上海世博。（“单位”一词很具有中国特色，至今我还没有想到一个合适的英语翻译。）
No matter whether they like it or not, Shanghainese have to accept the Expo year effects in this hot summer: heavy traffic (e.g. the number of daily subway riders reaching a historical high of 6.73 million at the end of July), guest visits, soaring hotel rates, hard-to-seek flight and train tickets, and many more.
不管他们是否情愿，上海居民在酷夏之中都不得不面对世博年效应：交通拥挤（7月底上海地铁日客流量达673 万人，创历史新高）、来客接待、酒店房价飙升、飞机火车一票难求，等等。
These are probably what the government wants to see, for tourism is bound to prosper and bring revenue. But I am not sure whether this is a worthwhile goal to pursue, in comparison with the huge expenses Shanghai has paid.
这些也许正是政府希望看到的，毕竟旅游业会欣欣向荣，政府收入会大幅增加。但是，我不知道，与世博巨大的投入相比，这些短期的经济利益是否值得。
