中英對照讀新聞╱ US Congress bans word ’lunatic’ in federal legislation 美國國會禁止聯邦法案中使用「瘋子」字眼
◎ 管淑平
The sharply divided US Congress has been able to agree on one thing at least - that the word "lunatic" should be banned.
極度分歧的美國國會至少在一件事上能有共識:應該禁用「瘋子」這個字眼。
The House of Representatives voted 398-1 on Wednesday to strike the term from all federal legislation, after the Senate did the same in May.
眾議院週三以398票對1票的票數通過,將這個用語從所有聯邦法案中刪除。此前參議院已於5月做出相同決定。
The measure is designed to remove language that has become outdated or demeaning from the US code.
這項議案旨在刪除美國法規中已過時或有貶意的語言文字。
Senator Kent Conrad, one of the sponsors of the measure, said:"Federal law should reflect the 21st Century understanding of mental illness and disease, and that the continued use of this pejorative term has no place in the US code."
支持這項議案的參議員肯特.康瑞德說,「聯邦法律應反映21世紀對心理問題和疾病的了解,不容許繼續在美國法規中使用這種貶損用語。」
The only "no" vote came from Texas congressman Louie Gohmert, who said it was madness for lawmakers to waste time on such a measure when more high-profile issues loomed, such as the federal debt.
唯一投下不贊成票的是德州眾議員路易.高梅特,他說,像聯邦債務等更重要議題迫在眉睫之際,議員在這種議案上浪費時間真是瘋了。
"Not only should we not eliminate the word ’lunatic’ from federal law when the most pressing issue of the day is saving our country from bankruptcy," said Rep Gohmert in a statement.
「在今日最緊迫問題是挽救我們的國家免於破產的當前,我們不僅不應該將『瘋子』這個字眼從聯邦法案中刪除」,眾議員高梅特在聲明中說。
"We should use the word to describe the people who want to continue with business as usual in Washington."
「我們反而應該用這個字形容那些希望華府日子照常過的人。」
新聞辭典
lunatic:形容詞或名詞,瘋的、喪心病狂的,愚蠢的。例句:You must bear the consequences of your lunatic decision.(你的愚蠢決定,後果自負。)
demeaning:形容詞,貶低的;原形為動詞,demean,貶低。例句:He was criticized for using the demeaning word "retarded".(他因為使用「智障」這個貶低人的字眼而遭受批評。)
loom:動詞,隱約或逐漸浮現,迫近。例句:We are facing the looming threat of a double-dip recession.(我們正面臨迫在眼前的經濟二次衰退威脅。)
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