英國的博彩公司們最害怕的莫過於英格蘭奪冠了，那樣的話，他們會賠不少。在他們眼裏，最好的冠亞軍順序是第一名巴西,第二英格蘭。

　　鏈結： http://sports.yahoo.com/sow/news?slug=afp-fblwc2006engbritain&prov=afp&type=lgns

　　原文： British bookmakers certain World Cup winners - except if England win

　　by Christophe Schmidt

　　June 14, 2006

　　LONDON (AFP) - British bookies are rubbing their hands with glee at the prospect of their greatest ever World Cup victory, with only one disastrous possibility standing in their way: England winning the tournament.

　　"Let's be clear: if England win the World Cup, it will be the worst result in our history in terms of payouts," Simon Clare from Coral told AFP.

　　At bookmakers Ladbrokes, William Hill, Coral, Paddy Power and Bet365, the favourites to win the trophy are the same: Brazil first, then England, Germany, Argentina, Italy and France.

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　　England's position as second favourites owes much to patrotic betting by the nation's punters.

　　But for the bookmakers, there is a down side to the wads of cash backing England coming their way: if captain David Beckham lifts the trophy, they will have some huge payouts to make.

　　But the farther England progress in the competition, the more money the bookmakers rake in.

　　作者-丁曉晨-北京第二外國語學院-英語系

責編：佟杉杉