No sex please, we're from Manchester
請不要談性說愛，我們是曼徹斯特人

◎ 羅彥傑

Organisers of a major erotic festival are closing for business in Manchester due to a lack of interest, which they blame on recalcitrant northern English men.

一項大型情色藝術節活動的主辦單位準備結束在曼徹斯特的活動，原因是乏人問津，他們將此歸咎於英格蘭北部的男人拒不配合。

Erotica Manchester opened on Friday, selling a range of sex aids, clothing and footwear, but ticket sales have been poor and organisers say they will not be coming back.

曼徹斯特情色博覽會於週五開幕，販售各式各樣的性愛輔助器材、服飾與鞋類，但票房反應不佳，主辦單位表示他們不會再來了。

“We've tried to warm this city up for more than two years but northerners just haven't responded in sufficient numbers,” said event director Savvas Christodoulou.

「我們兩年多來一直試圖要炒熱這座城市，但北部人的反應不熱絡，」活動總指揮薩瓦斯•克利斯托多洛說。

“They are happy enough to come to our London event in the autumn but they seem embarrassed about being seen at Erotica Manchester.”

「他們非常樂於參加我們秋天在倫敦辦的活動，但似乎對於在曼徹斯特情色博覽會上露面感到難為情。」

Organisers said their research shows northern women wanted to attend the three-day adult show but were “under the thumb of their other halves”.

主辦單位說，他們的研究顯示北部的婦女想參加這項為期三天的成人用品大展，卻「受制於她們的另一半」。

Dictionary-新聞辭典

lack of：片語，指缺乏、不足。例句：Survey shows that respondents identified a lack of money as their greatest challenge.（民調顯示受訪者認為缺錢是他們最大的挑戰。）

embarrass：動詞，使尷尬、使難堪或難為情。例句：Her husband's drunken behaviour embarrassed her.（她丈夫的醉後行徑令她感到難堪。）

under the thumb of ∼：片語，在∼的巨大影響下，在∼的支配下。例句：Some teachers are very good at keeping their pupils under their thumbs.（有些教師非常善於牢牢控制學生。）

half：可同時當名詞與形容詞使用，指一半或一半的。半小時為 half an hour。這裡引申為配偶、夫妻中的另一半之意。例句：I realized Sophy will be my other half when I met her.（當我遇見蘇菲時，我就明白她會成為我的另一半。）