《中英對照讀新聞》At the Russian Mosquito Festival, the more bites the better 在俄羅斯蚊子節，被叮越多越好

◎魏國金

While fears of the Zika virus have kept some people away from the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, for residents of one Russian town the more mosquito bites the better.

對茲卡病毒的憂慮，讓部分人士對里約熱內盧的奧運會退避三舍，但對一個俄羅斯城鎮的居民而言，被蚊子叮得越多越好。

請繼續往下閱讀...

At this weekend’s Russian Mosquito Festival in the town of Berezniki, 9-year-old Irina Ilyukhina won the "tastiest girl" category with 43 bites to show for going berry-picking in the forest with her mother. She was awarded a ceramic cup in recognition of the welts all over her legs.

在別列茲尼基鎮本週末舉行的「俄羅斯蚊子節」上，9歲的伊柳希娜展示她和母親在樹林裡採莓果時，被蚊子叮咬的43個包，一舉奪下「最美味女孩」獎。她獲頒一個陶製獎杯，表彰她滿腿的腫包。

Unusually hot and dry weather in the Ural Mountains town, however, has greatly depleted the number of mosquitoes this year. Festival organizers had to cancel the traditional mosquito hunt, where participants try to collect as many of the insects as possible in jars.

不過，這座烏拉山城鎮異常炎熱、乾燥的天氣，已使今年的蚊子數量大幅減少。蚊子節的主辦單位必須取消傳統的捕蚊競賽，該項目的參加者必須盡可能將最多的蚊子放進瓶子裡。

The heat also had Yana Solyarskaya sweltering in her mosquito costume as she led some of the dancing at the festival, now in its fourth year. Russia has detected only a few Zika cases, all in people who are believed to have been infected in areas overseas where the virus has spread.

高溫也讓索亞斯卡雅在該節日中領跳舞蹈時汗流浹背，這項節慶活動今年已邁入第4年。俄國僅監測到少量的茲卡病例，據信所有患者都是在該病毒擴散的國外地區感染。

新聞辭典

keep away （from）：（使某人、某事）不靠近。例句：He has kept away from liquor and tobacco.（他菸酒不沾。）

in recognition of：表彰、報償。例句：Please accept this gift in recognition of your service.（請收下這份禮物，以酬謝你的服務。）

deplete：使枯竭、大為減少。例句：A long drought had depleted reservoirs.（長時期乾旱使水庫枯竭。）