《中英對照讀新聞》Dirty car owners face Moscow fine 莫斯科髒車車主面臨罰款

◎俞智敏

Drivers in Moscow are currently facing what the city authorities have declared "clean car month".Many cars have been out of use over the harsh winter. But motorists who fail to ensure that their vehicles are free of dirt and grime are liable to be fined.

莫斯科的駕駛人正面臨市政當局宣布的「清潔車輛月」。在寒冬季節許多車輛都被暫停使用。但未能確保愛車不覆滿污泥和塵垢的車主，現在面臨被罰款命運。

Needless to say, it is not popular with car owners who are questioning the legality of the move. They say it is just an opportunity for unscrupulous traffic policemen to fine drivers. Motorists also argue that Russian law is only broken if the number plates are obscured by grime.

不用說，這項措施不受車主們歡迎，他們也質疑此舉的合法性。車主們表示，這不過是讓肆無忌憚的交通警察有更多機會開罰單。駕駛人也說，只有在車牌號碼髒污到看不清楚的清況下，車主才算違法。

In winter, some Russians simply keep their cars off the streets. Blizzards make driving difficult.Temperatures of -20C and below can cause cars to seize up completely. In spring, vehicles reappear on the roads as if from hibernation.

在冬天，部分俄羅斯人乾脆不開車上路。在暴風雪中很難開車。攝氏零下20度或更低的氣溫可能讓車子動彈不得。到了春天，車輛重新回到路上，彷彿自冬眠中醒來一樣。

The website of the newspaper Izvestiya asked its readers for their views, and 46% agreed a car was dirty if the number plate was not visible. 23% said it was if the car had "wash me" written on it, 22% if the make or the colour of the car could not be determined. A stubborn 9% maintained that a car was dirty only if the actual driver was invisible.

當地報紙Izvestiya在網站上徵詢讀者的看法，結果有46%的讀者同意如果車牌看不清楚就表示車子太髒。有23%的讀者認為，假如車身上寫有「快給我洗澡」等字樣，才表示車子太髒，還有22%的人認為，車子的款式或顏色已難以辨識就算髒。不過，有9%的頑固讀者堅稱，只有當連駕駛的身影都看不到時，車子才算髒。

新聞辭典

liable：指負有法律責任的、有法律義務的，如︰The shipping company will be liable for damage.（運輸公司將對損壞負責。）亦可指容易…的，或可能…的，如︰Every man is liable to error.（每個人都可能犯錯。）

unscrupulous： 肆無忌憚的、不講道德的、無恥的，如︰He is an unscrupulous businessman.（他是個不擇手段的商人。）

seize up：非正式用語，指無法動彈或無法正常運作。The washing machine totally seized up.（洗衣機完全沒辦法運作。）