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Being Saddam Hussein in Iraq can be both boon and bother 和海珊同名同姓有利有弊

When an Iraqi lieutenant ordered him off the bus, Saddam Hussein thought his number was up. Limbs quaking, he obediently trailed after the soldier — who then stood sharply to attention and saluted him.

“He chanted songs to the glory of the former president. Then, happy with his joke, he told me to get back in the bus, to my great relief,” said the Iraqi photographer with the same name as the dictator who was executed in December 2006.

The man with the infamous namesake is based in Fallujah, the town which symbolized the anti-American uprising after 2003, and he hasn’t always had an easy life. But he insists the name has done him more good than harm despite the other Saddam’s evil reputation.

He was born in 1979, the year that Saddam Hussein came to power. With his father absent, his mother and aunts failed to agree on a first name for the eldest of seven boys and it was the doctor who suggested calling him Saddam when he learned that the family name is Hussein.

Although he looks nothing like the former dictator, the name brought certain advantages to the youngster. “In exams, the teachers gave me 10 extra marks because of my name,” he admitted, adding that it also helped with girls.

When Saddam was overthrown in April 2003, the younger man’s mother begged him to change his name but he refused. “It has served me well,” he said.

(AFP)

一位伊拉克陸軍中尉命令坐在巴士上的薩達姆．海珊下車，他以為他死期將近。他雙腿顫抖，順從地跟在這位士官後頭──然後這位中尉突然立正站好向他敬禮。

這位和二ＯＯ六年十二月被處決的獨裁者海珊同名同姓的伊拉克攝影師說：「他高唱頌讚這位伊拉克前總統的歌曲，接著，對自己開這個玩笑感到洋洋得意的他叫我回到車上，這才令我大大鬆了一口氣。」

這位和惡名昭彰的海珊同名同姓的攝影師住在法魯加鎮，這個小鎮二ＯＯ三年後成為反美暴動的象徵，此後他的好日子不再。但他堅稱，雖然海珊惡名在外，但這個名字對他來說還是利多於弊。

他出生於一九七九年，同年海珊上任掌權。身為七兄弟老大的他，父親不在身邊，母親和阿姨們又對該取什麼名字意見不同，結果是醫生聽說他們家姓海珊，才建議她們叫他薩達姆。

雖然他長得和那位前獨裁者一點也不像，但這個名字還是為這個年輕人帶來某種程度的好處。他承認：「考試時，老師會因為我的名字多送我十分。」此外，這個名字也讓他在女孩間吃得開。

當海珊政權在二ＯＯ三年四月被推翻時，這位年輕人的母親懇求他改名，但他拒絕了。他說：「這個名字對我助益很大。」

（法新社／翻譯：袁星塵）

TODAY’S WORDS 今日單字 1. infamous adj. 惡名昭彰的 (e4 ming2 zhao1 zhang1 de5) 例: Richard was infamous for leaving before the bill had been settled. (理查因為每次都趕在結帳前先走，所以風評很差。) 2. reputation n. 名聲 (ming2 sheng1) 例: Don't be put off by their reputation — snakes makes wonderful pets. (不要因為牠們的名聲而卻步—蛇是很好的寵物。) 3. dictator n. 獨裁者 (du2 cai2 zhe3) 例: My ex-boss was a dictator who forced us all to work overtime. (我上一個老闆是個獨裁者，他強迫我們每個人都要加班。) 4. beg v.i./v.t. 懇求 (ken3 qiu2)，乞討 (qi2 tao3) 例: My cousin was reduced to begging for food after he lost his job. (我表哥失業後就淪落到去要飯。)

SAY WHAT? 說說看 number is up 死期將近 If somebody’s number is up, or their days are numbered, they are expected to die soon. In the article, young Saddam thought he was going to be killed by the soldier. For example: “I was hiking in Tibet last year, when a snowstorm began. I couldn’t see the path anymore. I really thought my number was up,” or “If you don’t tidy your bedroom, your days will be numbered,” said dad jokingly. 「number is up」或「their days are numbered」用來形容人死期將近。文章中，小薩達姆以為他會被那名士官殺掉。 例如：「去年我到西藏旅行時，碰上一場暴風雪。當時完全看不到路，我還真以為自己會死在那裡呢」，或是「老爸開玩笑地說：『如果你不把臥房整理乾淨，你就死定了』」。

OUT LOUD 對話練習 Theo: Something weird happened to me at school today. Logan: Oh yeah? What happened? Theo: Well, a new student joined our class and he has exactly the same name as me! Logan: The same surname too? Theo: Yeah. It’s really confusing for the teacher. Logan: Right. He’ll need to be on top of his game to avoid making mistakes. 泰歐：今天我在學校發生了件怪事。 羅根：哦，是嗎？發生了什麼事？ 泰歐：唔，我們班來了個轉學生，他的名字跟我一模一樣耶！ 羅根：連姓氏都一樣？ 泰歐：對，這很容易讓老師混淆。 羅根：沒錯，他得保持最佳狀態，以免出錯。 on top of your game　處於巔峰狀態 When you’re on top of your game, you’re performing to the best of your abilities. For example: “Dale gave a wonderful speech this afternoon. He’s really on top of his game right now.” 當你「on top of your game」時，表示你充分發揮能力。例如：「戴爾今天下午的演講棒極了，他現在正處於巔峰狀態」。

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