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Does Brown deserve a wax figure? Public to decide 布朗該塑蠟像？ 民眾投票決定

Brown leaves 10 Downing Street in London, on April 23, 2008. 上個月二十三日，布朗步出倫敦唐寧街十號。 照片：法新社 PHOTO: AFP

Embattled British Prime Minister Gordon Brown faces more potential poll humiliation — as Madame Tussauds waxwork museum opened a vote on whether they should bother making a model of him.

The London tourist attraction said Brown’s office had failed to respond to requests for a sitting, so they were now asking whether they thought he should be represented alongside other world leaders.

And — given the battering his governing Labour Party took in recent local elections — maybe he would not be in power long enough to make it worth the effort, general manager Edward Fuller said.

Madame Tussauds chiefs originally stalled on making a waxwork of Brown when he took over from Tony Blair last June, as he was not elected into office.

But when visitors asked where the British premier was, they decided to ask Downing Street for a sitting.

“Since then we have had no response and, reflecting the climate after the government’s performance in the recent local elections, our guests have become decidedly split about whether we should feature Mr Brown at all,” he said.

He added: “There are those who think the UK prime minister should be here, regardless of whether they have been voted in to office.

“However an increasing number are telling us that Mr Brown should not be included unless the British public elects him. Well, we’re giving them the chance to do that.”

Brown’s ruling Labour party suffered its worst poll defeat in 40 years in local elections earlier this month, even losing control of City Hall in London.

The public has until tomorrow to register opinions either at the museum or online as to whether Brown should be immortalized in wax.(AFP)

飽受攻擊的英國首相高登．布朗可能要面對更多民調羞辱──因為杜莎夫人蠟像館開放民眾投票，以決定館方是否需要費心為布朗打造蠟像。

倫敦著名觀光景點杜莎夫人蠟像館表示，布朗辦公室並未回應館方為布朗量身的要求，所以館方現在要讓民調決定布朗是否應該與世界其他領袖一起陳列。

此外，蠟像館總經理愛德華．福勒說，布朗領導的工黨最近在地方選舉受到重挫，也許還來不及替他塑像，他就下台了。

杜莎夫人館方原本想延遲製作布朗的蠟像，因為去年六月他接下湯尼．布萊爾的首相職務時，並非經由民選上任。

但陸續有參觀民眾詢問英國首相的蠟像何在，館方才決定向唐寧街提出為布朗量身的要求。

他說：「之後，我們並未收到回應，而且考量到最近地方選舉失利後的氣氛，參觀民眾對於我們是否該為布朗先生製作蠟像意見分歧。」

他補充說道：「有些人認為館內一定要陳列英國首相的蠟像，無論他是否為民選產生。」

「然而，有愈來愈多人向我們說，除非布朗先生經過民選入閣，否則就不應該納入館藏。嗯，我們就是在給他們那麼做的機會。」

本月初，布朗帶領的執政工黨在地方選舉中遭遇了四十年來最大的挫敗，甚至連倫敦市長的寶座都拱手讓人。

民眾可以在蠟像館或網路上，就是否該替布朗留下一個永恆的蠟像發表看法，民調活動至明天截止。

（法新社／翻譯：袁星塵）

TODAY’S WORDS 今日單字 1. embattled adj. 飽受攻擊的 (bao3 shou4 gong1 ji2 de5) 例: The embattled candidate decided to pull out. (那位飽受攻擊的候選人決定退選。) 2. humiliation n. 羞辱 (xiu1 ru4) 例: The humiliation was too much for Rodney to take. (這種羞辱令洛尼難以承受。) 3. battering n. 重創 (zhong4 chuang4) 例: We took a battering in last week's typhoon. (上星期的颱風使我們受到重創。) 4. immortalize v.t. 使不朽 (shi3 bu4 xiu3) 例: How is it that they plan to immortalize her? (他們打算怎麼讓她名垂千古？)

SAY WHAT? 說說看 worth the effort 努力沒有白費 If something is worth the effort, then what you gain from it is worth the time, money or work that you put in to it. For example, “Daphne said it was really tough to finish the marathon in the summer heat, but it was worth the effort.” Another common phrase with the word effort is spare no effort. When faced with a challenge that you feel you must complete, you might spare no effort to accomplish the task. For example, “The rescuers spared no effort to bring the trapped miners to safety.” 如果說某事「worth the effort」，表示你從中得到的東西讓你覺得，為此投入的時間、金錢和力氣沒有白費。例如：「黛芬妮說在夏日高溫下跑完這場馬拉松真的很辛苦，但一切都是值得的」。 另一個有「effort」這個字的常用片語是「spare no effort」。當你面對一個自覺必須完成的挑戰時，你必 須「spare no effort（不遺餘力）」地完成這 項任務。例如：「搜救人員竭盡全力救出受困 礦工」。

OUT LOUD 對話練習 Lex: What is it you wanted to tell me? Jane: I wanted to tell you about Chip. He spent all night waxing lyrical about what a great painter he is. Lex: Don’t take any notice. He thinks he’s all that, but really he’s inconsequential. Jane: You can say that again. I saw some of his paintings. They look like he just got sick all over the canvas. Lex: He’s an aspiring artist. What do you expect? 萊克斯：你要告訴我什麼？ 珍：我要跟你談談奇普，他一整個晚上滔滔不絕地說自己是多棒的畫家。 萊克斯：別理他，他自以為了不起，但其實他只是個無名小卒。 珍：我同意，我看過他一些畫作，看起來就像是在畫布上亂吐了一通。 萊克斯：人家可是個有抱負的藝術家，不然你以為呢？ wax lyrical　滔滔不絕地 To wax lyrical is to talk in a very excited manner about something. For example, “I don’t get house music, but Skip waxes lyrical about it.” 「wax lyrical」就是用一種很興奮的口氣討論某事，例如：「我不喜歡浩室音樂，但是史奇普卻滔滔不絕地談論它」。

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