萬達為何鐘情鐵人三項？

萬達為何鐘情鐵人三項？

萬達收購了世界鐵人公司，這是王健林在體育領域的最新戰(zhàn)利品。一家運營一些比賽項目的公司真的值6.5億美元嗎？王健林必然對鐵人三項有著更遠大的計劃。

測試中可能遇到的詞匯和知識：

bragging 吹噓

trophies 獎品

underestimate 低估

demise 消亡

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Ironman: Wanda why? （336 words）

Chinese billionaire is obviously in it for the long run

* * *

The bragging rights. The needlessly expensive bikes. The Lycra. What is there for a middle-aged man not to love about Ironman Triathlons? One middle-aged man loves them more than others. Wang Jianlin, one of China’s richest men, has just paid $650m (via his Wanda group) for World Triathlon Corporation, the company that runs Ironman. It is just the latest in a line of sporting trophies for Mr Wang — he also owns one-fifth of Atletico Madrid and Infront Sports & Media, a sports marketing group.

But can a company that runs a few races (even 141-mile ones) really be worth $650m? There are no publicly available figures for sales or profits. Ironman had 230,000 racers last year, each one paying between $160 and $600. Assume that it generated race fees of $100m and perhaps twice that in sponsorships (watches, mattresses, perfume — you name it). The price Wanda paid is still more than two times those revenues. There are no listed triathlon organisers but Live Nation, a US-based events company, trades at less than one times revenues.

So Mr Wang must have big plans for Ironman. The aim is to expand the sport in China, from 100 amateur Chinese triathletes to 200,000 by 2025. Infront Sport and a reality TV show will promote it all. State incentives to raise China’s sport revenues from $10bn to $780bn by 2025 will help. Mr Wang knows how to take advantage of Chinese growth — he has also invested in shopping malls, theme parks and hotels often in line with state priorities.

For anyone watching all this exertion from afar, there are two lessons. First, Mr Wang is still a big believer in the growth of the Chinese middle-class (even if stock market investors are starting to have their doubts). Second, do not underestimate the business potential of live events. They have helped to save the music business when many were predicting its demise. Even in the age of mobile phones, tablets and smart watches, not all entertainment takes place via a screen.

請根據你所讀到的文章內容，完成以下自測題目：

1. What age people might like the Ironman Triathlons?

a. teenage

b. the aged people

c. middle-aged people

d. children

2. What kind of industries did Wang Jianlin interested in?

a. animal husbandry

b. tertiary industries

c. crop farming

d. energy exploitation

3. What is Wang’s attitude about the Chinese middle-class?

a. negative

b. unbelieving

c. optimistic

d. indifferent

4. What is the purpose of the mentioned music business?

a. to prove the importance of live events

b. to show the Chinese people's love

c. to support live music

d. To call for more people to participate

[1] 答案c. middle-aged people

解釋：文章第一段，過分昂貴的自行車和萊卡緊身衣，中年男人有什么理由不愛鐵人三項呢？

[2] 答案b. tertiary industries

解釋：他還投資了大型購物中心、主題公園和酒店，這些屬于第三產業(yè)。

[3] 答案c. optimistic

解釋：王健林仍然對中國中產階級的崛起深信不疑（即使股市投資者對此已經開始有所懷疑）。

[4] 答案a. to prove the importance of live events

解釋：當很多人預測音樂產業(yè)即將終結時，是現場音樂(live music)幫助拯救了它，是為了證明不是所有的娛樂活動都通過屏幕來進行。