離開
進入《中英對照讀新聞》Embarrassing Staines? Ali G town mulls name change 讓史坦恩斯難堪？阿里G的故鄉考量改名
◎俞智敏
Staines wants the world to know it’s no blot on the landscape.
史坦恩斯要告訴全世界，這裡可不是破壞景觀的醜陋城市。
Sandwiched between Heathrow Airport, a cluster of reservoirs and a bleak industrial park, some in this London commuter town feel Staines has received some bad press _ and needs a change of name to change its fortunes.
位處於希斯洛機場、連串水庫與冷清的工業園區之間，這個倫敦通勤城市的部份居民認為，史坦恩斯近來受到媒體太多負面報導，因此需要靠改名來改運。
Middle-class Staines might have wallowed in happy obscurity had it not been picked by British comedian Sacha Baron Cohen as the home of Ali G, his tracksuit-wearing wannabe gangsta who specialized in hip-hop-inflected malapropisms.
假如這個城市未被英國喜劇演員拜倫柯恩選為阿里G的家鄉的話，居民多屬中產階級的史坦恩斯市原本可以快樂地享受沒沒無聞的生活。阿里G（拜倫柯恩所扮演的虛構角色之一）整天穿著運動服、以為自己是幫派份子，專門擅長用嘻哈腔亂用成語。
Ali G’s adventures cast the town of 45,000 as an urban wasteland whose main attractions include a traffic circle and the local KFC.
在阿里G的冒險生活中，這座人口4萬5000人的城市被描寫成一塊都市廢墟，最主要的景點包括了一處圓環與當地的肯德基餐廳。
The town initially welcomed Baron Cohen’s fame, but the negative connotations lingered even as the comedian moved on to other projects, including the movies "Borat" and "Bruno." A 2008 Australian tourism campaign cast Staines as the epitome of glum, soggy and industrial Britain.
該市原本對拜倫柯恩走紅表示歡迎，但即使這位喜劇演員早已轉向發展其他計畫，包括「芭樂特」與「G 型教主」等電影，該市在世人心目中所留下的負面印象仍繼續存在。2008年澳洲的一份觀光文宣中，就把史坦恩斯形容為陰鬱、潮濕、工業化的英國縮影。
"Ali G did us a favor and put Staines on the map," said local business leader Alex Tribick. "The trouble is, no one knows where on the map it is."
「阿里G幫了我們一個大忙，讓史坦恩斯出名，」當地商業領袖崔比克說。「問題是，沒人知道史坦恩斯到底在哪兒。」
新聞辭典
a blot on the landscape：blot原指污漬、污點，此句片語則指破壞景觀、有礙觀瞻的事物，如醜陋的建築物等，That monstrosity you call a house is a blot on the landscape. You should have hired a real architect!（那棟被你稱為房子的恐怖東西根本有礙觀瞻。你應該雇用一位真正的建築師！）
wallow in：動詞片語，指沈迷，縱情享樂，如My idea of a holiday is to book myself into a five-star hotel and just wallow in the luxury for a week.（我心目中理想的假期就是住進五星級旅館，盡情享受一週的奢華生活。）
put sth/sb on the map：指讓某人或某事成名，如The mayor has managed to put this sleepy southern city in America on the map.（鎮長成功打響了這個美國平靜南方小鎮的名聲。）
