中英對照讀新聞》The EU’s new center point after Brexit：a field in Bavaria 歐盟在英國脫歐後的新中心點：巴伐利亞一處田野

◎管淑平

Now that the European Union includes one less country, its geographical center has shifted to the southeast — landing in a nondescript field in Bavaria：Gadheim, a village of 80 people near the German city of Wuerzburg.

現在歐盟成員少了一國，其地理中心已向東南移，坐落在巴伐利亞一處平凡無奇的田野：加德海姆，一個人口80人、靠近德國符茲堡的村莊。

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The honor of being the center of Europe stems from calculations by France’s national cartographic institute, IGN, which places the point at 9 degrees, 54 minutes, 7 seconds east and 49 degrees, 50 minutes, 35 seconds north.

做為歐盟中心的榮耀，來自法國國家地理測量研究所「法國國家地理研究院」（IGN）的計算，定為東經9度54分7秒和北緯49度50分35秒的點。

Gadheim takes over from a spot in another northern Bavarian municipality, Westerngrund, which is 56 kilometers to the northwest.

加德海姆取代西北方56公里、另一座巴伐利亞北方城市威斯滕格隆德的地位。

Goetz said he first heard of IGN’s calculation on a local radio station in March 2017. "At first, I thought it was an April fool’s joke, an early one. But it turned out very quickly that it was really the case,’’ he said. （AP）

（維茨赫海姆鎮長）戈茨說，他2017年3月初次在一個地方廣播電台上聽到IGN計算結果。「起初我以為那是提早來的愚人節玩笑。但是，很快發現真的是這樣」，他說。（美聯社）

新聞辭典

nondescript：形容詞，非常普通的；難以歸類、形容的。例句：Our house is located in a nondescript countryside.（我們的房子位於一處平凡無奇的鄉下。）

take over：動詞，接掌、接管，接替。例句：The military has taken over vast swaths of the country. （軍方已經接管該國大片地區。）

be the case：片語，指某事是事實。例句：He said he went to school yesterday. But that was not the case.（他說他昨天去上學了。但是事實並非如此。）