《中英對照讀新聞》Girl, 8, dies after suffocating on birthday balloon 8歲女童因生日氣球窒息而死

◎張沛元

Fire officials in Oregon say a birthday balloon caused an 8-year-old girl to suffocate after she tried to suck the helium out of it.

美國奧勒岡州的消防官員說，1名8歲女童企圖吸生日氣球裡的氦氣，結果窒息而死。

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According to KATU, at about 9pm the girl had gone to bed, and when the parents checked on her about 20 minutes later, she wasn’t breathing.

據KATU新聞網站報導，該名女童晚間約9點上床睡覺，當其雙親在20分鐘後查看她時，發現她已無呼吸。

The girl’s grandmother Pat McGloghlon was at the home when it happened and said the girl’s father found her.

事發當時女童的祖母派特．麥葛隆在場，指稱女童的父親發現她不太對勁。

"My son went in to check on her and all he saw was a foot sticking out of her bed. Then he took the covers off and found the balloon on her head," McGloghlon told KATU. "He put her on the floor and cut the balloon off her head. He started CPR and we called 911."

「我兒子去看她，只看到一隻腳從她的床伸出來。他掀開床罩，發現氣球蓋在她臉上，」麥葛隆告訴KATU。「他把她放到地板上，割破氣球將其從她臉上移開，然後開始做心肺復甦術，並打電話報警。」

Investigators said there had been a birthday party at the home earlier, and when the girl went to bed she tried to suck the helium out of it and ended up suffocating.

調查人員說，這家人當天稍早曾舉行生日派對，當女孩上床睡覺時，她想把氣球裡的氦氣吸出來，反而窒息而死。

McGloghlon said she hopes her granddaughter’s tragic story will help save other children’s lives.

麥葛隆說，她希望她孫女的悲劇，能幫助其他孩子保住性命。

新聞辭典

go to bed：慣用語，上床睡覺。例句：I want to go to bed, but there is too much work to do.（我好想睡覺，但還有好多工作要做。）

check on someone or something：慣用語，查看。例句：She checked on the chicken in the oven to see if it was ready to eat.（她查看烤箱裡的雞，看看是否已經可以吃了。）

stick out (from someone or something)：伸出來。