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Is he 4real? 他是「真的」嗎?

New Zealand authorities have blocked a couple's bid to officially name their new son "4real,'' saying numerals are not allowed.

Pat and Sheena Wheaton said they decided to name their new baby "4real'' shortly after glimpsing him for the first time as a fetus during an ultrasound examination and being struck by the reality of his impending arrival.

"For most of us, when we try to figure out what our names mean, we have to look it up in a babies book and ... there's no direct link between the meaning and the name,'' Pat Wheaton told TV One. "With this name, everyone knows what it means.''

But when the parents filed the name with New Zealand's Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages, they were told names beginning with a number were against the rules.

The government office has opened negotiations with the parents about the name under a policy that says all unusual names must be given case-by-case consideration.

"The name has not at this stage been rejected,'' Registrar-General Brian Clarke said in a statement. "We are currently in discussions with the parents ... to clarify the situation.'' Clarke said the rules are designed to prevent names that are "likely to cause offense to a reasonable person.'' Satan and Adolf Hitler were proposed names that have been declined, he said.

If no compromise has been reached by July 9, the baby will be registered as "Real,'' officials say.

New Zealand law requires all children born in the South Pacific nation to be registered with the Births, Deaths and Marriages registry within two months of birth.

紐西蘭一對夫妻打算將甫出生的兒子命名為「4real」，但紐西蘭當局有意見，認為依法名字不應出現數字。

佩特．威頓與席娜．威頓夫婦說他們第一次做超音波檢查瞥見胎兒時，對新生命即將到來感到震撼，馬上就決定將他命名為「4real」。

「人們想了解自己名字的意義時，大多會翻翻嬰兒書‥‥‥卻找不到名字與涵義的直接關聯，」佩特．威頓告訴TV One 說︰「但人人都明白這個名字的涵義。」

這對父母到紐西蘭「出生、死亡和婚姻登記署」登記這個名字時，被告知名字依規定不可用數字起頭。

現行政策規定，任何不尋常的名字都必須依個案來考量，所以登記署已與這對家長溝通。

「這個名字在現階段尚未被駁回，」登記署署長布萊恩．克拉克在聲明中表示︰「我們正與這對家長討論‥‥‥好釐清狀況。」

克拉克說，這些規定都是為了避免「可能引起一般人反感」的名字。他說，撒旦和阿道夫．希特勒都是登記時遭回絕的名字。

官員們說︰「假如七月九日前未取得妥協，寶寶的名字就會登記為『Real』。」

紐西蘭法律規定，所有出生的寶寶，都得在出生兩個月內向「出生、死亡和婚姻登記署」登記身分。

（美聯社/翻譯︰賴美君）

TODAY'S WORDS 今日單字 1. glimpse v.t. 瞥見 (pie1 jian4) 例: He thought he glimpsed a smile at the corners of her mouth. (他認為自己瞥見了她嘴角的一抹微笑。) 2. impending adj. 即將來到的 (ji2 jiang1 lai2 dao4 de5) 例: The public was advised to avoid unnecessary travel due to the impending typhoon. (由於颱風將至，大眾被建議應避免不必要的外出。) 3. clarify v.t. 釐清 (li2 qing1)，澄清 (cheng2 qing1) 例: The police held a press conference to clarify the situation. (警方召開記者會釐清案情。) 4. decline v.i. /v.t. 拒絕 (ju4 jue2) 例: He declined to attend the graduation ceremony. (他拒絕參加畢業典禮。)

SAY WHAT? 說說看 4real　千真萬確 The expression 4real has two roots. The first is in the expression for real. This is a slang expression which means in reality, actually or genuinely. For example: "The government's proposal of building a highway through the national park is for real!" With the advent of Short Message Service (SMS) on cell phones, people began to use special abbreviations of words to save space and time. For example: "See you later" became "C u l8r". Numbers such as 2, 4 and 8 are often used as phonetic shorthand. 「4real」有兩個由來，第一個是俚語「for real」，表示現實、真實或真正的。例如︰「政府在國家公園興建公路的計畫千真萬確」！ 隨著手機行動簡訊的出現，人們開始用縮寫來節省空間與時間。例如，「see you later」就變成了「C u l8r」。數字2、4和8因為發音的緣故，經常應用於簡略的表達方式。

OUT LOUD 對話練習 Sam: Did you hear about that couple trying to name their kid "4real" in New Zealand? Ben: I know! How silly is that? Sam: Just imagine how much the other kids will rib him when he goes to school! Ben: Indeed. It's strange how some parents just don't seem to think this kind of thing through. Sam: Well, hopefully they'll come up with a better plan. 山姆︰你聽說了紐西蘭那對打算把孩子命名為「4real」的家長嗎？ 班︰我聽說了！那多蠢啊！ 山姆︰想想他上學時，其他孩子會怎麼嘲笑他！ 班︰沒錯。很奇怪，有些父母似乎不太思考這種事情。 山姆︰嗯，希望他們可以想到更好的點子。 rib　嘲笑、戲弄 Rib is another way to say make fun of or tease. For example: "Don't be upset, we were just ribbing you!" 「rib」是嘲笑或戲弄的另一種說法。例如︰「別生氣，我們只是跟你鬧著玩的！」

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