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進入《中英對照讀新聞》Cuomo and de Blasio defend shutting down NYC for storm 古莫與白思豪為防範暴風雪而關閉紐約市的決策辯駁
◎張沛元
New York’s leaders were on the defensive after shutting down America’s biggest city for a snowstorm that failed to meet expectations here after forecasters warned of a storm of potentially historic proportions.
在氣象預報人員警告此地將出現可能創下歷史紀錄的暴風雪、結果卻未如預期後，紐約的領導人為了因應暴風雪而關閉這座全美最大城市的決策辯駁。
Before the heavy snows even reached New York City on Tuesday, officials closed schools, shut down bridges and tunnels, canceled commuter rail service and, for the first time ever in a snowstorm, closed the sprawling subway train system. A travel ban was put in place, and drivers were subject to arrest.
在週二的這場暴風雪尚未抵達紐約市前，官員便關閉學校、橋樑與隧道，取消通勤鐵路運輸，並首度在暴風雪期間關閉路網叢生的地下鐵系統。此外還頒佈出遊禁令，違規駕車上路者可能被捕。
But it ended up leaving far less than 30 centimeters of snow in New York City.
然而，紐約市的降雪量甚至不到30公分。
Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Mayor Bill de Blasio staunchly defended their unprecedented, stringent restrictions, both saying they believed in landing on the side of caution and suggesting they would take such measures again.
紐約州州長古莫與紐約市長白思豪仍堅定為其歷來最嚴格的禁令辯護，表示他們深信小心駛得萬年船，並暗示未來仍將照辦。
"Would you rather be ahead of the action or behind? Would you rather be prepared or unprepared? Would you rather be safe or unsafe?" de Blasio asked Tuesday at City Hall. "To me it was a no-brainer: We had to take precautions to keep people safe." (AP)
「你是要先做預防還是事後補救？你是要準備妥當還是毫無準備？你是要安全還是不安全？」白思豪週二在市議會如此問道。「對我而言，這根本想都不用想：我們必須採取預防措施，確保民眾安全。」（美聯社）
新聞辭典
on the defensive：慣用語，採取守勢，辯駁。例句：The boy was on the defensive when questioned about shoplifting.（這男孩在被質疑是否於店內順手牽羊時否認。）
shut down：慣用語，關閉。
subject to something：慣用語，可能…。例句：The rules are subject to change without prior notification.（這些規定可能不會事先通知就逕自改變。）
