《中英對照讀新聞》Pregnant pause as Aussie mums wait for baby bonus 澳洲準媽媽為等新生兒獎金暫停懷孕

◎俞智敏

Australian hospitals are bracing for a baby boom in July as expectant mothers try to delay imminent births to take advantage of a new welfare payment, researchers said.

澳洲各醫院準備在7月迎接嬰兒潮，因為許多即將臨盆的媽媽們為了充分利用一項新的福利獎金，紛紛想辦法延後生產時間，研究人員表示。

From July 1, a baby bonus paid to the parents for every newborn child will increase by A$1,000 to A$4,000.

自7月1日起，每位新生兒父母可領取的新生兒獎金將增加澳幣1,000元至澳幣4,000元（約新台幣9萬6,000餘元）。

Economists said that after the baby bonus was introduced in July 2004 about 700 births were delayed by a week to take advantage of the new payment. Most of those births involved caesarean sections or induced deliveries.

經濟學家說，自新生兒獎金政策於2004年7月起實施後，約有700位新生兒的出生時間延後了1週，好領取新的獎金。其中大多數新生兒都是以剖腹手術或經人工催生後誕生。

In a bid to overcome Australia's low fertility rate and ageing population, Prime Minister John Howard's conservative government has urged couples to have more children. Treasurer Peter Costello suggested two years ago that Australian couples should have "one for mum, one for dad and one for the country".

為解決澳洲生育率低、人口高齡化的問題，總理霍華德領導的保守黨政府呼籲夫婦應生育更多子女。財政部長寇斯德洛2年前曾建議，澳洲夫婦應「為媽媽生一個、為爸爸生一個，再為國家生一個。」

Figures released this month showed that Australians were doing their patriotic duty, with the nation in the grip of a baby boom for the first time in 12 years.

本月公佈的數據顯示，澳洲人的確盡了愛國義務，因為澳洲出現12年來首波嬰兒潮。

新聞辭典

pregnant pause：pregnant 除指懷孕外，亦可指意味深長的、含蓄的，如 His words were followed by a pregnant pause.（他話說完後，接下來是一段意味深長的停頓。）但在本文中指婦女延後懷孕時間的雙關語。

caesarean sections/operations：剖腹生產。Caesar原為羅馬皇帝凱撒，caesarean指凱撒的、或指羅馬皇帝的，亦可引申指皇帝的、專制的、獨裁的。