《中英對照讀新聞》Bottle of rare Irish whiskey for sale at 100,000 pounds一瓶稀有愛爾蘭威士忌 10萬英鎊求售

◎ 魏國金

A rare bottle of Irish whiskey is up for sale at a record 100,000 pounds, making it the world's most expensive single malt.

一瓶稀有的愛爾蘭威士忌開價創紀錄的10萬英鎊（台幣577萬餘元）求售，使它成為舉世最昂貴的單一純麥威士忌。

The whiskey--spelled whisky in Scotland -- dates from the late 1800s and is believed to be the last surviving bottle from the Nun's Island Distillery in County Galway, western Ireland, which ceased production in 1913.

這瓶威士忌(whiskey)--在蘇格蘭拼成whisky--製造於1800年代晚期，據信也是西愛爾蘭高威郡修女島酒廠最後存留的一瓶酒，該酒廠於1913年停止產酒。

“It is a lot of money but it's like looking for the last dinosaur really,” spirits expert Ken Thomas said. “This is surely one of the rarest bottles in the world.”

「這是所費不貲，但就像在尋找最後一隻恐龍，」烈酒專家肯．湯瑪斯說。「無疑的，這是世界上最稀有的一瓶酒。」

Thomas, who runs a specialist drinks store in southwest England, is selling the whiskey via his Web site -- whiskyandwines.com -- on behalf of its owner, who inherited it.

在英格蘭西南部經營一間酒類專賣店的湯瑪斯，代表該瓶酒所有人（此人因繼承而獲酒），透過他的網站--whiskyandwines.com賣酒。

“This woman walked in with the bottle in an old carrier bag and said she thought it might be worth money, and the more I looked into it the more exciting it became,” Thomas said.

「這位女士以舊手提袋裝酒，走進來說，她想這瓶酒或許值錢，而我愈是細究這瓶酒就變得愈是興奮，」湯瑪斯說。

He said he believed the whiskey would be in good condition should its eventual buyer actually pull the cork.

他表示，他相信如果最終的買家真的開酒，這瓶威士忌的口感應屬上等。

新聞辭典

for sale：求售、出售。Not for sale即非賣品。On sale通常指打折出售。

single malt：單一麥芽威士忌。蘇格蘭威士忌分成單一麥芽威士忌與調和威士忌（Blended），前者是由發芽的大麥製成，後者則是由麥芽威士忌與穀物威士忌調和而成。

spirits：在此指烈酒。

cork：軟木瓶塞，draw（pull out） the cork from the bottle指開瓶、開酒。