The Russian parliament has voted against a plan to send the celebrated US singer, actress and children’s book author Madonna to the International Space Station (ISS) in 2008.
Alexei Mitrofanov, a member of parliament, had said the trip would be “a great event to organize in the same year as elections in the United States and Russia.”
He said the star, who gave a concert in Moscow on Sept. 12, had “expressed a desire to go into space and board the ISS.”
Mitrofanov introduced the idea at a meeting of parliament, asking for a vote on whether Russia’s space agency should look into the feasibility of a Madonna space flight.
Forty-two legislators supported the idea but 252 voted against it, so the plan was not passed.
Madonna has been making waves in Russia lately. Some 50,000 fans attended Madonna’s first-ever concert in Moscow on on Sept. 12, but not everyone was happy to see her. There were angry protests from Russian Orthodox Christians, who accused her of being “under the influence of the devil.”
The star’s hits include Like a Prayer and Like a Virgin, and her latest tour is called Confessions. The Church accused her of “exploiting Christian symbols” when she sang from a cross at one point during the show.
Police said 10 protesters were arrested near the stadium where the sell-out concert took place.(AFP)
俄羅斯國會投票決議，反對在二○○八年將身兼演員與童書作家的知名美國歌手瑪丹娜送上國際太空站的計畫。
俄羅斯國會議員阿列克謝．米特羅凡諾夫曾說，這趟太空行可說是「規劃中與美國與俄羅斯大選同年的重要事件」。
他表示，九月十二日在莫斯科舉行演唱會的瑪丹娜已「表達到太空登上國際太空站的渴望。」
米特羅凡諾夫在俄羅斯國會會議上提出這個點子，要求投票表決俄羅斯航太局是否該研究瑪丹娜太空之旅的可行性。
四十二位國會議員投票支持，但有兩百五十二位反對，所以計畫未通過。
瑪丹娜近日在俄羅斯風波不斷。約有五萬名歌迷參加她九月十二日首度在莫斯科舉行的演唱會，不過並非所有人都樂於見到她。指控她「受魔鬼影響」的俄羅斯東正教徒就群起激憤抗議。
瑪丹娜的熱門金曲包括「Like a Prayer 」與「 Like a Virgin」，最新巡迴演唱之旅則稱為「懺悔」。她曾在表演時站在十字架上唱歌，遭教會指控她「濫用基督教象徵」。
1. celebrated adj.
知名的 (zhi1 ming2 de5)
例: The celebrated writer has had 10 books on the best-seller list.
(那位知名作家已有十本書登上暢銷排行榜。)
2. board v.t.
登上 (deng1 shang4)，搭乘 (da1 cheng2)
例: You should board the plane half an hour before it takes off.
(你應該在飛機起飛前半小時登機。)
3. feasibility n.
可行性 (ke3 xing2 xing4)
例: I think your plan is a really good idea in theory, I、m just not sure about its feasibility.
(我認為你的計畫就理論上來說相當不錯，但我不確定它是否可行。)
4. exploit v.t.
剝削 (bo1 xue4)，探索 (tan4 suo3)
例: Large corporations have been exploiting the tiny island for its natural resources.
(數家大型企業一直剝奪那座小島的自然資源。)
警方表示，在這場門票售罄的演唱會體育館附近，已有十位民眾遭到逮捕。
（法新社/翻譯︰賴美君）
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