離開
進入《中英對照讀新聞》26 cents short, middle schooler watches cafeteria worker throw his lunch in the garbage 差26美分，中學生眼睜睜看著自助餐廳員工把他的午餐丟進垃圾桶
◎張沛元
Jimmie Keys is irate. The Kent, Washington father says that a cafeteria worker at Middle Creek Middle School threw his son’s lunch in the garbage because the boy was 26 cents short of being able to pay for it. As KOMO 4 News reports, a Kent School District spokesperson has confirmed the incident happened and is apologizing on behalf of the district.
吉米．基斯很火大。這位（美國）華盛頓州肯特市的老爸說，中溪中學自助餐廳的一名員工，把他兒子的午餐丟進垃圾桶，只因為這孩子還差26美分才能付帳。KOMO 4新聞台報導，肯特學區的一名發言人證實確有此事，並代表學區致歉。
As KOMO notes, many Kent School District students pay for their lunches through a meal account. Mr. Keys’s son had only 14 cents left in his account when he took his lunch to a cashier. Instead of letting the child eat his lunch and forgiving the 26 cents, however, the employee threw his food in the garbage.
KOMO指出，不少肯特學區的學生透過餐點帳戶支付午餐費。基斯先生的兒子拿著午餐去結帳時，帳戶裡只剩下14美分。然而，與其讓孩子吃午餐、不足的26美分就算了，這名員工把他（男學生）的午餐丟進垃圾桶。
Kent School District spokesperson Chris Loftis told KOMO that the father’s allegations are true. He said that the cafeteria worker did not intend to be mean, and was following what they thought was proper procedure, but in the end, "We forgot the humanity of it."
肯特學區發言人克里斯．羅夫提斯告訴KOMO，這位家長的指控屬實。他說，該自助餐廳員工並非刻意態度惡劣，而是遵照學區原本認為適當的程序行事，但到頭來，「我們忘了人性。」
新聞辭典
short of something：慣用語，不夠，不足，匱乏。例句：I’m short of cash. Could you charge me on my credit card?（我現金不夠。可以用信用卡付帳嗎？）
on behalf of somebody：慣用語，代表某人。例句：A widow is suing on behalf of her children after her husband was killed in a car crash.（一名因車禍喪夫的寡婦，代表她的孩子提出告訴。）
in the end：慣用語，結果，最後，到頭來。
