中英對照讀新聞》Paraguay official sacked after dealings with fictitious country 與虛構國家打交道，巴拉圭官員遭革職

◎魏國金

A senior Paraguayan official was fired after signing a cooperation memorandum with a country he has since learned does not exist.

一名巴拉圭高級官員，在與一個他後來得知並不存在的國家簽署一份合作備忘錄後被開除。

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Arnaldo Chamorro told reporters he was dismissed from his job as chief of staff to the agriculture minister after signing the document with purported officials from the "United States of Kailasa".

阿納爾多‧查莫洛告訴記者，在他與據稱為「凱拉薩合眾國」的官員簽署該文件後，他被免除農業部幕僚長的職務。

"They (the "officials") came and expressed a wish to help Paraguay. They presented several projects, we listened to them and that was that," he said, admitting to having been fooled.

「他們（官員）前來表達希望幫助巴拉圭，他們提出多項計畫，我們聽了他們的話，事情就是這樣」，他說，並承認被愚弄。

Chamorro said the fake officials also met his minister Carlos Gimenez. Their motive was not known. The memorandum signed by the two parties had envisaged the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two "countries."

查莫洛說，這些假官員也與他的部長卡洛斯‧吉曼尼茲會面，他們的動機不明。這份雙方簽署的備忘錄，設想兩個「國家」之間建立邦交。

新聞辭典

fictitious：虛構的、假的。例句：Her self-possession was fictitious.（她的沉著是佯裝的。）

dismiss：免職、不再考慮。例句：We dismissed the problem.（我們不再考慮這個問題。）