《中英對照讀新聞》Your country needs you （to dress up as Taliban） 國家需要你(打扮成神學士)

◎俞智敏

Germany's defence minister, Peter Struck, may have produced the answer to the problem that has eluded his beleaguered chancellor, Gerhard Schroder -- how to reduce Germany's teaming army of unemployed. Get them all to dress up and pretend to be the Taliban.

德國國防部長史圖克或許已經找到讓飽受抨擊的德國總理施若德頭痛問題的答案 - 也就是如何減少德國大批的失業人口：讓他們全都穿上道具服裝，假扮成神學士士兵。

Mr Struck made his unorthodox proposal after touring a military barracks in Vorpommern in eastern Germany, which prepares the German army for peacekeeping duties in Afghanistan and the Balkans.

史圖克是在前往德國東部佛波門的一所軍營巡視後提出這個奇特的建議，這所軍營負責訓練準備派往阿富汗及巴爾幹半島執行維持和平任務的德國部隊。

After watching a training exercise in which German soldiers frisked suspects at a checkpoint, the minister was horrified to discover that the “suspects” were highly paid professional soldiers.

在參觀完一場德國士兵在檢查哨搜查嫌犯的演習後，部長吃驚地發現，這些「嫌犯」都是由高薪的志願役士兵扮演。

It would be much cheaper, he said, if some of Germany's 5 million unemployed could be persuaded to play the enemy instead. With 30% unemployment in Vorpommern, it should be simple to find 400 jobless Germans for battle exercises who could play excitable Serbian crowds or Taliban sympathisers, he added.

史圖克說，假如德國高達五百萬的失業人口中有部分能被說服來假扮演習中的敵軍，演習成本一定會便宜許多。他還說，以佛波門達三十％的失業率，要找到四百名失業的德國人在戰鬥演習中扮演激動的塞爾維亞群眾或神學士同情者應該不是難事。

新聞辭典

dress up: 穿上正式服裝或扮演特殊角色的服裝，如They dressed up and went to the prom.（他們打扮漂亮去參加舞會）；亦可指裝飾、使更具吸引力或掩飾，如 a fiasco dressed up as a triumph （把慘敗巧飾為勝利）。反義詞為 dress down，指作非正式或休閒打扮，但也可指遭痛斥，如 He was dressed down by the teacher for lateness. （他因遲到而被老師斥責）。

elude :文中指的是困惑之意，但亦可指巧妙地躲避、規避或逃脫等，如 The mice eluded the traps. （老鼠避開了陷阱）。

beleaguer: 指被包圍、圍攻，同義字為 besiege，亦可指不斷遭騷擾、困擾，如 We are beleaguered by problems. （我們受許多問題所困擾）。