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進入《中英對照讀新聞》Cat Has Been Rejected By More Than 30,000 Adopters 貓咪不被逾3萬名收養人青睞
24歲的老貓堤莉。（圖擷取自Caters News）
◎魏國金
So much has changed since 1995, but for one stray cat who arrived at a shelter that year, not much has changed at all.
自1995年以來，世事改變許多，但對一隻那年進入收容所的流浪貓而言，一切沒有太多變化。
She’s now 24 years old, but Tilly was only 3 when she and her babies were admitted into West Midlands Animal Welfare (WMAW), a rescue and sanctuary for cats in England.
堤莉現在24歲了，但當她與她的寶寶被送進英格蘭一個貓咪救援暨收容所「西米德蘭茲動物福利中心」（WMAW）時，年僅3歲。
"When Tilly was found, she had given birth to kittens in a coal bunker in somebody’s garden. She had probably been abandoned," Joyce Clark, owner of WMAW said.
「堤莉被發現時，牠在某戶人家的花園煤倉內產下小貓。牠或許遭到棄養，」WMAW的負責人克拉克說。
Over the years, cats have come and gone at WMAW, but Tilly has stayed.
經過多年，WMAW裡的貓來來去去，但堤莉仍在。
"Tilly’s personality could be a bit difficult, so I can see why she didn’t get re-homed, but she is so good with the other cats in the shelter and has looked after a few of them herself," Clark continued. She’s even helped comfort blind and paralyzed cats who’ve come to the sanctuary to live out the rest of their lives.
「堤莉的個性可能有點龜毛，所以我能瞭解為何牠無法被領養，但牠對收容所的其他貓咪非常好，還曾照顧當中的一些貓，」克拉克繼續說。牠甚至幫忙安慰來收容中心度餘生的失明及癱瘓的貓。
"At 24 years old now, she’s definitely Britain’s oldest rescue cat," Clark asserted. That age may also give her another title: the most rejected cat in Britain. Clark explains: Over the years, she has been passed over by more than 30,000 people looking for a cat — they want a cat that will come over for a cuddle and she didn’t fit the bill.
「活到現在24歲這把歲數，牠肯定是英國最老的獲救貓，」克拉克斷言說。那樣的年紀，或許也讓牠贏得另一個頭銜：英國最受拒絕的貓。克拉克解釋：多年來，牠已被3萬多名物色貓咪的領養人士忽略—他們希望有一隻會來討抱的貓咪，然而牠無法達到這項要求。
新聞辭典
live out：片語，活過（某一段時間）。例句：After retiring, he lived out his life in Taitung.（退休後，他在台東度晚年。）
pass over：片語，不注意、忽略、不加考慮。例句：We shall pass over your former faults.（我們將原諒你以前的過錯。）
fit the bill：口語，滿足要求、達到標準。例句：This meal really fits the bill.（這頓飯確實令人滿意。）
