中英對照讀新聞》Lithuania delivers letters 50 years after they were posted 立陶宛投遞50年前交寄的多封信件
立陶宛郵局終於寄出藏在通風管50年的信件。(路透檔案照)
◎孫宇青
A letter written to a 12-year old girl in Lithuania was delivered in December, almost 51 years after it was sent by a pen pal in Poland.
在將近51年後,一封由波蘭筆友寄給12歲立陶宛女孩的信,終於在去年12月投遞成功。
"I thought that someone was pranking me", said Genovefa Klonovska after being handed the letter, which included a handmade colored rose and two paper dolls.
潔諾維法‧克洛諾夫斯卡接過信後說:「我還以為有人在整我。」該信還附上手工製作並上色的玫瑰,以及2尊紙娃娃。
The letter, together with 17 others, fell out of a ventilation hole this summer, dirty and crumbled, as a wall was demolished in a former post office on the outskirts of Vilnius.
夏天時,維爾紐斯郊區一間曾是郵局的地方在拆毀一面牆後,從通風口中掉出這封信及另17封,全都變得骯髒破敗。
Only five recipients were found. In several cases children of deceased recipients were handed a lost letter.
郵局最後僅找到5名收件人。有許多收件人已不在人世,由他們的孩子收下丟失的信件。
"People were emotional. Some felt they saw a part of daily life of their deceased parents," said Deimante Zebrauskaite, head of the customer experience department at Lithuania Post.(Reuters)
立陶宛郵局顧客服務部主任德曼提‧札布勞斯凱特說:「大家都深有感觸,有些人覺得自己瞥見仙逝雙親的一部分日常生活。」(路透)
新聞辭典
prank:動詞或名詞,惡作劇。例句:I am totally fed up with your silly pranks.(我受夠你無聊的惡作劇了。)
crumble:動詞,破壞、弄碎。例句:She crumbled an orange with bare hands.(她赤手捏爆橘子。)
demolish:動詞,毀壞、拆除。例句:Many houses will be demolished for the establishment of a mall.(為了蓋一棟賣場,許多房屋將被拆除。)