中英對照讀新聞》Trash bins in Dotonbori in Osaka speak with Kansai accent 大阪道頓堀的垃圾桶用關西腔說話

◎張沛元

Littering has long soiled the bustling Dotonbori district here as tourists who enjoyed takoyaki and other local specialties often just tossed away the plastic trays and sticks.

由於享用章魚燒與其他當地特色美食的遊客時常隨手丟棄塑膠托盤與竹籤，繁華的（日本大阪）道頓堀地區長期以來因亂丟垃圾而髒亂不堪。

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But now local merchants are banking on two garbage bins that speak with a Kansai accent, which made their debut on Jan. 5, to improve visitors’ manners.

而今當地商家寄望兩個在1月5日首度亮相、會用關西腔說話的垃圾桶，能讓遊客的禮儀有所改進。

When a person opens the lid of a container and throws garbage in, a voice comes from the container that says, “Ookini,” or thank you in the vernacular dialect.

當有人打開垃圾桶的蓋子以及把垃圾丟進去時，垃圾桶便會以當地方言說「Ookini」，即感謝之意。

Once the container is filled with a certain volume of garbage, it is detected by a sensor and the container compresses the trash inside automatically, allowing the bin to contain five times the capacity.

該垃圾桶一旦裝滿一定容量的垃圾，感應器就會偵測到，桶子便會自動把垃圾往內壓，好讓桶子能裝下5倍容量的垃圾。

新聞辭典

soil：動詞，弄髒。

bank on someone/something：片語，指望，信賴；依賴，依靠。例句：He banked on the year-end bonus to pay off his debts.（他指望用年終獎金付清債務。）

make one’s debut：慣用語，初次登場／登台，出道。例句：The ballerina made her stage debut at the age of 15.（該芭蕾舞女星15歲時初次登台演出。）