《中英對照讀新聞》1 million fewer French people drink wine today than in 2000今日法國飲酒人口比2000年時少100萬人

◎張其賢

French people are drinking less wine, with 1 million fewer wine drinkers today than five years ago, according to a new study published recently.

法國人酒喝得少了，今日的飲酒人士比5年前少了100萬人，根據最近公佈的一項研究指出。

Some 32 million French people, or just over half the people, still say they drink wine, according to a study from the National Interprofessional Office of wine. In 2000, the figure was 33 million.

根據國家酒類專業局的一項研究，3200多萬法國人，也就是只比法國人口一半略多的人，仍然喝酒。在2000年時，這個數字是3300萬人。

The study concludes that almost all regular wine drinkers are over age 35, and that young people today drink less than their parents.

這項研究結論認為，幾乎所有的固定喝酒人士，年齡都在35歲以上，而今日的年輕人酒喝得比他們的父母少。

As the French wine industry struggle to keep up in a competitive international market, the average wine consumption in France has fallen by more than half in the past 40 years-from 160 litres annually per inhabitant in 1965, to less than 70 litres per inhabitant in 2005, the study said.

正當法國釀酒工業為了在一個競爭激烈的國際市場中維持不墜而奮戰時，法國國內的酒類平均消耗量，在過去40年裡卻已下滑了一半以上-從1965年時每位住民每年消耗160公升，下滑到2005年時的每人不到70公升，這項研究說。

Occasional drinking has overtaken regular wine consumption, the study showed. In 1980, around two-thirds of French people said they drank wine every day-while only one third in 2005 say they drink wine daily.

偶爾喝酒的風氣，已經超過了固定喝酒的風氣，這項研究顯示。在1980年時，約有三分之二的法國人說他們每天喝酒，在2005年時卻只有三分之一的人說他們每天喝酒。

新聞辭典

figure：名詞，數字。例句：The release of figures showed fresh signs of recovery in the industrial sector（統計數字的公佈，顯示工業部門出現新的復甦跡象）。figure亦可當體態、身材之意，keep one's figure即保持身材。

keep up：不及物動詞片語，（某種狀態的）繼續。例句：Economists predict that the oil price will keep up（經濟學家預測油價將繼續居高不下）。

overtake：動詞，超過；超越。另一常見的動詞用法是「超車」。