離開
進入《中英對照讀新聞》In wealthy Germany, growing up poor is a ’dead-end street’／在富裕的德國，窮著長大是條「死路」
德國柏林葛羅培斯（Gropiusstadt）住宅區內，一名女孩正在幼兒園兼家庭中心吃午餐。（法新社檔案照）
◎孫宇青
Chancellor Angela Merkel touted Germany as a country "where people live well and happily." But those words ring hollow to the one in five children living in poverty in Europe’s top economy, with little prospect of climbing the social ladder.
德國總理梅克爾誇耀德國是一個「人民安居樂業」的國家。但是，對這個歐洲頂尖經濟體來說，那些話聽來未免空泛，因為每5名兒童就有1人處境貧困，且社會階級向上攀升的可能性微乎其微。
At the Lichtenberg youth center in east Berlin, youngsters get ready to prepare dinner together. "We notice it a lot especially among the teenagers, they ask us： ’When can we eat? I haven’t eaten all day," said the center.
在東柏林的利希滕貝格青年中心，年輕人準備好一起做晚餐。該中心說：「我們經常注意到這種狀況，尤其是年輕人，他們會問：『什麼時候開飯？我整天都沒吃東西』。」
Their parents often lack the money or the time to provide regular meals, so the center aims to give them a space "where they can feel at home".
他們的父母通常沒錢、也沒時間準備三餐，所以該中心想提供一個空間，「讓他們有回家的感覺」。
Some 20 percent of under-18s live in "relative poverty," according to the family ministry, defined as living in households that have to get by on less than 60 percent of the average German household income.
德國家庭部指出，18歲以下族群有20％為「相對貧窮」，意指其家庭所得不及全國平均的60％。
Decrying what it calls "hereditary poverty" in Germany, a study found that just some three to 16 percent of households managed to cross the poverty line and improve their lot.
一項研究指出，上述家庭僅有3％至16％得以跨越貧窮線，改善自身命運，因此譴責這種情形為「貧窮遺傳」。
新聞辭典
tout：動詞，宣傳；吹捧。例句：Politicians always tout themselves as the savior of the country.（政客總愛吹捧自己是國家的救星。）
hollow：形容詞，空的；空洞的。例句：His remarks rang hollow.（他的評論很空洞。）
lot：名詞，命運。例句：She couldn’t stop repine at her unhappy lot.（她老是悲嘆自己命苦。）
