There could be quite a few empty seats at the Olympic Games in Rio this summer.

今夏的巴西里约奥运会上，很有可能会出现很多空位。

With just half of tickets sold and only four months before kickoff, Brazil's new minister of sports, Richardo Leyser, is looking into ways to boost ticket sales.

距2016年里约奥运会开幕只剩4个月时间了，可赛事门票才售出了一半，巴西新上任的体育部长里卡多·莱瑟正在制定相关计划以提振门票销量。

He told Brazilian newspaper Folha that the Brazilian government may purchase tickets that will be distributed to public schools. He said public officials must also work to boost worldwide confidence in Rio's ability to host the games and ensure travelers' safety.

他在接受巴西圣保罗报采访时表示，巴西政府会购买一部分门票并分发给公立学校。此外他还表示，政府官员也必须努力提升全世界人民对里约举办奥运会的能力以及保证旅客安全的信心。

The country is in the midst of a political upheaval¹ and massive protests, and lawmakers are currently considering a request to impeach² President Dilma Rousseff. Leyser was tapped to replace Brazil's former sports minister, who resigned just days ago.

巴西这个国家正深陷政坛动荡的危机中，大量的抗议者和国会委员目前正在筹划对总统罗塞夫展开弹劾。原体育部长在几天前离职，莱瑟刚刚上任。

The country's economy is also collapsing³, suffering the worst recession in 25 years.

这个国家的经济也接近崩溃，陷入25年来最严重的经济萧条时期。

It's also unclear whether construction of the Olympic facilities will be finished as organizers have faced steep funding constraints⁴ -- the budget was slashed⁵ by $500 million in January.

主办方面临着奥运预算的大幅缩减。预算在今年1月份时被削减了5亿美元，目前尚不确定奥运场馆是否能如期交付。

And there's concern that Brazil won't be able to attract tourists to the games over fears about high crime rates and terrorism. Brazil plans to use twice as many security agents as were used during the games in London in 2012.

由于巴西的高犯罪率和恐怖行为，人们也担心巴西将无法吸引游客到这里观看奥运会。巴西政府计划安排比2012伦敦奥运会还多出一倍的安保人员。

Athletes and health experts have raised concerns about the mosquito-borne Zika virus and have lobbied for the games to be postponed⁶. Brazilian officials have opposed the idea.

运动员和医疗专家表示出了对以蚊子为传播媒介的寨卡病毒的担忧，并以此游说相关管理者以期推迟比赛。不过此举遭到了巴西官员的反对。