For not having a team in the World Cup, China is getting deeply immersed in soccer--and not always in a healthy way. To many Chinese fans, the sport seems trapped in a cycle of corruption and disappointment. The most recent embarrassment came this week with revelations of an underground 'sick leave' industry in which unscrupulous soccer fans purchase fake doctor's notes to take time off from work and watch the World Cup.

中国国家队没能入选世界杯并不妨碍中国深深沉迷于足球，只是有时方法并不健康。对很多中国球迷来说，中国足球看起来陷入了腐败和失望的怪圈。最近一件令人尴尬的事情发生在本周，有报导披露中国出现了地下“世界杯病假条”行业，不择手段的球迷买伪造的医生病假条，翘班看世界杯。

An article on Wednesday in the Shanghai Daily reports that sales of notes certifying imaginary ailments are skyrocketing. Fans can buy notes for anything from a one-day fever to a full-blown pregnancy in order to see the games. The People's Daily writes that 'Employers Fear the World Cup' because so many employees are faking illness to get out of work or stumbling into the office after having stayed up all night to watch soccer matches. In the first round of the World Cup, games regularly aired at 2:30 a.m. in China, finishing around 4 a.m. or later. That only gives fans a few hours to buy a fake sick note on www.taobao.com, a site alleged to have been connecting buyers and 'doctors,' before work.

《上海日报》周三的一篇文章报导说，世界杯病假条的销售非常火爆。球迷可以买到各种病假条，从短到一天的发烧，到漫长的怀孕待产，为的就是看世界杯。《人民日报》发表题为《老板们的“世界杯恐惧症”》的文章，因为有太多的员工装病翘班或在熬夜看球后头昏眼花地来上班。在世界杯第一轮比赛中，赛事常常是在北京时间凌晨两点半直播，在四点左右甚至更晚结束。这样，球迷在上班前就只有几个小时的时间在淘宝网(www.taobao.com)上买伪造病假条。该网站据称能为买家和“医生”牵线搭桥。

On top of this, Chinese police are announcing the results of an investigation into online gambling, a problem which has continually plagued Chinese soccer.

此外，中国警方宣布了打击网络赌球的结果。网络赌球一直是困扰中国足球的一个问题。

According to a Xinhua article on Tuesday, people have been arrested this time. So far, police have broken 740 online gambling cases nationwide. While Chinese soccer gambling is not the worst in the world, it is unusually widespread for a country in which soccer is not a traditional pastime.

据新华社周二的文章，这次有人被拘捕了。目前为止，警方已经在全国破获了740起网络赌球案件。尽管中国足球赌博并非世界上最严重的，对于一个足球并非传统休闲项目的国家来说，却是少见的泛滥。

As if fake sick notes and illegal gambling weren't enough, Chinese fans are calling for the national men's team to be dismissed. It seems the combination of the failure to qualify for the World Cup and recent successes by other Asian teams has turned Chinese fans against the men's team. A forum on Kaixin.com, a popular Chinese networking site whose name means 'happiness,' expresses the Chinese fans' ire. According to an article in the China Daily, a strong majority of fans are voting that 'the Chinese national men's team should be dismissed.' To be sure, kaixin polls are not scientific metrics of public opinion. Nevertheless, this one appears to tap into a real enough sentiment.

除了伪造病假条和非法赌球之外，中国球迷还呼吁解散中国男足。看起来，没能入选世界杯加上最近其他亚洲球队的纷纷成功让中国球迷对中国男足越发不满。颇受欢迎的中文社交网站开心网(Kaixin.com)上的一个论坛表达了中国球迷的不满。据《中国日报》的一篇文章，大部分球迷支持“中国男足应该解散”。不错，开心网的调查并非对公众舆论的科学衡量。不过，看起来却显示了足够真实的公众情绪。

What new problems for China will arise as the World Cup rolls on? At this point, no news would be good news. Those tired of bad press for Chinese soccer may find themselves hoping for the World Cup to be over.

随着世界杯的继续，中国还会出现什么新问题？目前，没有消息就是好消息。那些对中国足球负面消息已经厌烦了的人可能会发现自己希望世界杯快点结束。