離開
進入《中英對照讀新聞》Good year for deaths drives profit rise for British funeral firm 好死年帶動英國葬儀公司獲利增長
◎周虹汶
A sharp increase in the number of deaths in Britain in 2015 compared with the previous year helped funeral services firm Dignity post a 16-percent profit increase, the firm said on Wednesday.
葬儀公司「尊嚴」週三說，和前幾年相比，英國2015年顯著成長的死亡人數幫該公司獲利增加16%。
Dignity said the 7-percent year-on-year rise in the number of deaths in England, Scotland and Wales represented a rate of change not seen for over 60 years.
「尊嚴」說，英格蘭、蘇格蘭、威爾斯死亡人數和上一年同期相比成長7%，顯示出過去60年來未見的變化速度。
"This has been an extraordinary year, with the number of deaths changing in percentage terms by a greater amount than any year since 1952," the firm said. "As a result, the group’s funeral and cremation volumes were much higher than originally expected."
該公司說：「這是不尋常的一年，死亡人數按百分比的變化比起1952年以來的任何一年都要大得多。」「因此，本集團的出殯與火葬數量比原本預期高出許多。」
A spokeswoman said the firm did not know the reason for the increase. She added that the broader trend was that the rate of deaths had been dropping since the 1970s and was forecast to start rising again in the 2020s.
一位發言人說，該公司不知道增加原因。她補充說，大趨勢本是死亡率從1970年代以來持續下降，原預估至2020年代才再回升。
Dignity said its underlying operating profit for 2015 was 98.7 million pounds, up 16 percent on the 2014 figure.（Reuters）
「尊嚴」說，其2015年標的營業獲利是9870萬英鎊，較2014年數值增加16%。（路透）
新聞辭典
drive：名詞，指駕車、車道、驅動器；動詞，指開車、推動、驅使。例句：The farmer drove the ox hard.（那名農夫使勁趕牛。）
year-on-year：形容詞，指與上一年同期相比的。The newborns in 2006 showed a marginal year-on-year decrease.（2006年出生的新生兒比前一年同期略微減少。）
represent：動詞，指表現、象徵。例句：In my homeland, all kinds of cuisines are represented.（在我家鄉，有各式烹調風格。）
