《中英對照讀新聞》Firm aims to turn ash to cash 1家公司要將骨灰變現金

◎魏國金

An Irish couple have come up with an idea to turn ash to cash by offering to scatter the cremated remains of foreigners in Ireland.

1對愛爾蘭夫妻想到將骨灰變現金的點子–幫火化的外國人骨灰撒在愛爾蘭。

Ed and Helen O'Neill set up their firm, Ashes to Ireland, after an Irish-American friend asked them to scatter her husband's remains over the Irish Sea. "When we saw how much it meant to her we realized there was a niche in the market," Helen O'Neill said.

艾德與海倫•歐尼爾在受到1位愛爾蘭裔美籍朋友請託將她丈夫的骨灰撒在愛爾蘭海後，成立了他們的公司「送骨灰到愛爾蘭」。「當我們看到這對她有多大意義後，我們了解到它有市場利基。」海倫•歐尼爾說。

O'Neill said the response so far had been largely from the United States, where some 40 million claim Irish ancestry, and Britain, where thousands of Irish people sought work during tough economic times at home in the 1940s and 1950s.

歐尼爾指出，迄今反應大部分來自美國與英國，在美國有4千萬人宣稱有愛爾蘭血統，而成千上萬的愛爾蘭人在1940年代與1950年代的經濟艱困時期前往英國找工作。

"We're hoping to tap into the Australian market as well," she said.

「我們也希望敲開澳洲市場。」她說。

The company arranges for transportation of the ashes and provides the deceased's family with a video of the scattering. "It can be difficult for older people to travel and since September 11 many Americans are still nervous of crossing the Atlantic," O'Neill said.

該公司會安排骨灰運送事宜，並提供喪家撒骨灰的錄影帶。「旅行對年長者而言，有其困難，而且自911後，許多美國人仍對橫越大西洋感到不安。」歐尼爾說。

新聞辭典

come up with （an idea）：想到、突發奇想。I came up with a good idea to make money. 我突然想到1個賺錢的好點子。

cremate：動詞，火葬。cremated remains就是骨灰，意即ashes。

set up：創立、創辦。He set himself up in business.他開創事業。

niche：名詞，適當的職務或地位、利基。He found a niche in the field of entertainment.他在娛樂界找到發展的機會。