《中英對照讀新聞》Argentina to start 2015 with lapdogs flying high 阿根廷迎新年，開放寵物犬搭飛機

◎李信漢

Argentine President Cristina Fernandez chose an unexpected theme for her year-end message to the country: a change in policy at the state-run airline to allow passengers to carry their already notoriously-pampered lapdogs with them on flights.

阿根廷總統克莉絲汀娜‧費南德茲選擇以一種意料之外的方式，向她的國民傳達歲末年終訊息：改變國營航空公司的政策，允許旅客帶他們那些早已被寵壞的寵物犬同乘飛機。

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Punctuated by photographs on her Facebook page of the two-term leader sitting on presidential plane Tango 01 with her Toy Poodle Lolita, Fernandez said the perk will be shared by travelers on Aerolineas Argentinas, the country’s main carrier, starting in mid January.

連任兩屆阿國總統的費南德茲，在「臉書」專頁上發表她與貴賓犬「羅莉塔」共乘總統專機「探戈1號」的照片。費南德茲說，這項福利將從1月中旬開始，與搭乘阿根廷航空公司（阿國最大航空公司）的旅客共享。

"Careful! I said only small pets," the post says. "Don’t try to board with a 50 kilo mastiff. Lolita only weighs two kilos."

「當心！我說的是小寵物」，費南德茲在貼文中說道。「不要嘗試帶一隻50公斤的獒犬。羅莉塔只有2公斤重。」

Lapdogs are a status symbol in Argentina, dressed sometimes in fitted sweaters emblazoned with colors of their owners’ favorite soccer club. Fernandez’s dog post got more than 36,000 ’likes’.

寵物犬在阿根廷成為一種身分地位的象徵，牠們有時穿著剪裁合身的運動衫，運動衫上飾以主人喜愛的足球俱樂部顏色。費南德茲的貼文獲得超過3萬6000個「讚」。

What Argentines are less keen on, and what got no mention in Fernandez’s message, was the country’s double-digit inflation and contracting gross domestic product.

阿根廷兩位數的通貨膨脹，和銳減的國內生產毛額，讓阿根廷人對費南德茲的訊息興趣缺缺，也不想評論。

Her successor will inherit a pet-friendly airline policy but an economy left in deep trouble by repeated sovereign debt defaults and heavy-handed trade and currency controls. (Reuters)

她的繼任者將延續寵物搭機的友善政策，但會因阿國一再拖欠主權債務和對貿易及貨幣的拙劣管制手段，而陷入嚴重的經濟困境中。（路透）

新聞辭典

lapdog：名詞，寵物狗。例句：His coworkers regarded him as the boss’s lapdog.（他的工作夥伴視他為老闆的寵物狗。）

emblazon：動詞，用紋章裝飾。例句：The helmets were emblazoned with the team’s name.（這頂頭盔上飾有這支隊伍的名字。）

inflation：名詞，通貨膨脹。例句：The government has been unable to control inflation.（政府已無法控制通貨膨脹。）