《中英對照讀新聞》Junk mail row postman keeps his job 垃圾郵件爭議的郵差保住工作

◎羅彥傑

A postman who gave people advice on how to stem the rising tide of junk mail is to keep his job, the Royal Mail said.

一名建議民眾如何防堵如潮水般的垃圾郵件的郵差，將可保住飯碗，皇家郵政說。

Roger Annies, 48, wrote and delivered leaflets to people on his round explaining how to block letters offering loans, credit cards and other services.

羅傑．安尼斯，48歲，撰寫與發送小傳單給送信路線上的民眾，教他們如何阻止刊登貸款、信用卡與其他廣告信件。

While some people welcomed the advice, Royal Mail bosses took a dim view of the apparent bid to undermine a lucrative and growing part of its business.

雖然有些人喜歡這項建議，但皇家郵政的主管對這種明顯要破壞一項高利潤且持續成長的業務舉動不表苟同。

Annies was suspended pending a disciplinary inquiry into an "alleged misconduct issue." However the company has decided against sacking him.

安尼斯在遭到「被指行為不當案」的調查期間遭停職。不過，公司決定不炒他魷魚。

Each year, the Royal Mail delivers more than 3 billion unaddressed promotional letters, charging advertisers up to 91 pounds per thousand posted.

每年，皇家郵政投遞超過30億份無地址（即非特定對象）的廣告信，每寄一千份向廣告商收取高達91英鎊費用。

The postman’s leaflet read："Royal Mail plans to increase your advertising mail. This will mean a lot more unwanted post. If you complete the slip below and send it to the Royal Mail delivery office you should not get any of the above-mentioned unwanted advertising."

這名郵差散發的傳單寫道：「皇家郵政打算增加投遞閣下的廣告信。這意味會多出很多不請自來的郵件。如果你填寫如下的回條，並寄到皇家郵政投遞室，閣下就不會收到任何上述廣告郵件。」

新聞辭典

keep one’s job：保住工作。例句：Like most of us, he’d like to keep his job.（像我們多數人一樣，他想保住自己的工作。）

stem：動詞，阻擋、阻止。例句：Critics charge that the law will do little to stem the flow of spam emails.（批評者指控這項法律將無法阻止垃圾郵件湧入。）

take a dim view of ：採負面或悲觀的看法。例句：Our company takes a dim view of people who do not wear a suit and tie. （我們公司對不穿西裝打領帶的人評價不高。）