《中英對照讀新聞》Gabon mother kills son with rat poison 加彭母親用老鼠藥殺子

◎陳成良

A Gabonese mother killed her son with rat poison and then tried to take her own life because she could not afford to pay for his schooling, judicial police said.

（西非國家）加彭一名母親用老鼠藥殺死兒子後，又試圖了斷自己的性命，因為她負擔不起兒子上學的費用，司法警察說。

The 20-year-old single mother told police she had asked for financial help from relatives to pay for her five-year old son's school materials, but without success.

這名20歲的單親媽媽告訴警方，為了支付5歲兒子的學雜費，她曾向親戚尋求財務援助，但沒有成功。

Police said she bought three packets of rat poison, which she mixed with Coca-Cola. "The young girl was preoccupied by her son's schooling and did not have enough money to organise his start of the school year," Emile Mboumbou, a judicial police officer, told Reuters. "She asked relatives for money but without success." The boy's grandmother said he died in hospital.

警方表示，她買了3包老鼠藥，然後與可口可樂混在一起。「這名年輕女孩一心只想著兒子上學的問題，卻沒有足夠的錢讓他今年開始上學，」司法警官艾米爾•姆彭包告訴路透說。「他向親戚借錢，但沒有成功。」這名男童的祖母說，他死在醫院。

The mother, who is in hospital and will undergo psychiatric tests before going to court, tried to kill herself with the mixture but was saved by doctors, police said.

這名母親試圖喝下混合老鼠藥的飲料自殺，但被醫生救回一命，目前人在醫院，她在出庭之前，將接受精神鑑定，警方說。

新聞辭典

afford：及物動詞，負擔得起；買得起。例句： I can't afford a new house. （我買不起新房子）。

schooling：學費，教育費，也可指學校教育。例句：I have little real schooling. （我沒受過什麼正式的學校教育）。

preoccupied：形容詞，全神貫注的；出神的。例句：Wewere preoccupied with our thoughts. （我們每人都心事重重）。

preoccupied另一個意思是「事先佔領的」。英文字根pre- 有「事先」的意思。

psychiatric：形容詞，精神病學的。a psychiatric clinic 是「精神病診所」。