《中英對照讀新聞》Britain lifts 'no smile' rule for child passport pics 英國解除兒童護照相片「不得微笑」的規定

◎羅彥傑

A rule obliging British parents to undertake the near-impossible task of making their babies adopt a "neutral" expression on passport photographs has been dropped after thousands of pictures were rejected, a report said.

一項要求英國父母必須進行幾近不可能的任務—讓小嬰兒在護照相片上擺出「面無表情」的規定，在數以千計的相片被駁回後已遭廢除，一篇報導說。

In less than three months last year, more than 15,000 applications for children's passports were turned down because the applicants’ expressions were deemed irregular, The Daily Telegraph reported.

去年在不到3個月內，超過15000件兒童護照申請案遭到拒絕，因為申請者的表情被認定不合格，每日電訊報報導。

They fell foul of a rule insisting photographs show all applicants looking straight ahead with a neutral expression, their mouth closed and eyes open—difficult enough for parents to enforce on a young child, let alone a baby.

它們違反了一項規定，該規定要求相片須顯示所有申請者向前直視，面無表情，嘴巴緊閉，眼睛睜開—父母硬要小孩子這麼做都已經很困難了，遑論是小嬰兒。

Between September 12 and November 26 last year 15,441 child passport applications were rejected, according to the figures.

根據數據，在去年9月12日至11月26日之間，共有15441件兒童護照申請案被駁回。

One parent had a photo rejected because her daughter's mouth was open, while another was told that her 11-week-old baby's face was too shiny and was advised to use make-up.

一名家長被退件，是因為照片中她女兒的嘴巴打開，另一名家長則是被告知，她11周大的小嬰兒臉太亮了，還被建議上點妝。

新聞辭典

neutral︰形容詞，中性的、沒有變化的。a neutral expression 即指面無表情。例句︰He spoke words of praise in a neutral voice.（他以不帶感情的聲音說讚美的話。）

fall foul of︰片語，違背∼。例句︰The company fell foul of anti-trust law in Europe.（這家公司違反了歐洲的反托辣斯法。）

let alone︰片語，指遑論、更不用說。例句︰I have not even read the first chapter, let alone finished the book.（我連第一章都沒看，更別說讀完全書了。）

make-up︰名詞，化妝。