《中英對照讀新聞》Retired California grocery clerk could be Britain's next Earl of Essex加州雜貨店退休出納可能成為下一世艾賽克斯伯爵

◎張沛元

Retired grocery clerk Bill Capell woke up to a phone call from a British reporter last month, informing him that a cousin had died. He told his wife to go back to bed, gave the reporter a comment and was snoozing minutes later.

退休的雜貨店出納比爾•凱培爾上月被來自一名英國記者的電話吵醒，告知其遠親過世的消息。他叫妻子回去睡，向該記者發表一段評論，幾分鐘後又進入夢鄉。

Capell's cousin was the 10th Earl of Essex. His death puts Capell, a born-and-bred Californian, one step away from the title.

凱培爾的遠親是（英國）第十世艾賽克斯伯爵。他的辭世，使得土生土長的加州人凱培爾只差一步就能繼承這項頭銜。

“I'm a pretty laid-back guy,“ Cappell, 52, said from his Yuba City home. “I've known since way back in 1966, as a teenager, when my dad got a call. It's always been on the back burner, sure, but I never really thought about it.“

「我是一個非常懶散的人，」52歲的凱培爾在猶巴市的自宅如是說。「我自從1966年還是青少年時聽到我爸接到一通電話，就知道（這件事）了。這件事不重要，一直擱著，但我從沒認真想過它。」

And before he can assume the title, he must wait for the cousin who became the 11th Earl of Essex to die. Paul Capell, a 61-year-old childless bachelor, inherited the title from his father in June.

在取得這項頭銜之前，他必須先等已成為第十一世艾賽克斯伯爵的堂兄過世。61歲、膝下無子的單身漢保羅•凱培爾，6月間自其父繼承這項頭銜。

新聞辭典

cousin：名詞，堂表兄弟姊妹；遠親。英文中的倫常關係不若中文複雜，無論男女或堂表親皆是cousin。若要確定性別與堂表親，可從姓氏（同姓應是堂表）與名字（男子名或女子名）來判斷。

Earl of Essex：艾賽克斯伯爵。Earl，伯爵，在英國貴族階級中僅次於公爵（Duke）與侯爵（Marquess）。Essex，艾賽克斯，地名，即該貴族的封邑領地。

back burner：名詞，熱已熟食物的後灶，引申為非優先的次要事物，用法為put（某事）on the/a back burner。例句：The matter is still on the back burner.（這件事暫不考慮。）