《中英對照讀新聞》How Stalin's favourite hotel hid a tonne of explosives 史達林最喜愛的飯店竟藏有一噸炸藥

◎俞智敏

For more than six decades it was the social hub of the Soviet elite. A domineering hotel metres away from the walls of the Kremlin, it was the designated posting house of party luminaries, and Stalin liked to celebrate his birthday in its plush restaurant.

60多年來，這裡一直是蘇聯菁英的社交中心。這座距離克里姆林宮圍牆只有幾公尺遠的高聳飯店曾經是共黨達官貴人指定的下榻處，史達林更喜歡在飯店內的豪華餐廳慶祝生日。

But last week it has emerged that the guests of the hotel Moskva were literally sitting on a timebomb. Workmen demolishing the structure found more than a tonne of explosives in its foundations, city police revealed.

但上週大家卻發現，莫斯科飯店的賓客們當時簡直就是坐在定時炸彈上。據莫斯科市警方表示，工人在拆除飯店結構時，竟在飯店地基裡找到了超過1噸的炸藥。

They said the explosives had probably been planted by the NKVD--the KGB's predecessor --to be detonated if the Nazis took the capital during the second world war.

警方表示，這些炸藥可能是由國家安全局（KGB ）的前身NKVD所埋設，假如納粹部隊在2次大戰期間佔領首都莫斯科，就要引爆炸藥。

新聞辭典

domineering：在文中指飯店外觀高聳壯觀，但domineering主要形容某人行為專橫、跋扈，動詞為domineer（常接over），如A mother who domineers over her family is likely to lose her children's love.（對家人專橫的母親很可能會失去子女的愛）。或The people refused to be domineered by the king.（人民不願接受國王的暴虐統治）。同義字為tyranize。

designate：指定、選定、表明。如Smith was designated as chairman.（史密斯被指派為主席）。

designate亦可做形容詞，但常置於被其修飾的名詞之後，指已受委任或當選但尚未就任者，如president designate即指尚未就任的總統。

luminary：原指可發光（或反射光）的星體如太陽、月亮等，亦可指權威人士、傑出人物，如political luminaries（政界名人）。

plush：原指厚毛絨製的，亦指豪華的、奢華的、優裕的。如plush toys（長毛絨玩具）、plush mansions（豪華大廈）。He holds several plush posts in a row.（他一下子兼了好幾個薪水優渥的職務）。