Tue, May 05, 2009 page14

• Israel deems ‘swine flu’ kosher after all 以色列終究接受「豬流感」名稱

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  Swine flu hasn’t skipped the Jewish state. And despite some attempts, neither has its non-kosher name.

  Deputy health minister Yakov Litzman, a member of an ultra-religious party, said that the name “swine flu” should not be used as it contains the name of the animal banned by Judaism.

  Instead he said the authorities should call the virus sweeping the globe “Mexican flu.”

  

  Pigs being fed at a pig farm in a rural area near Qingdao city in eastern China’s Shandong province, on April 29, 2009. 四月二十九日，中國東部山東省青島市附近一處農村養豬場所飼養的豬。照片：歐新社

  PHOTO: EPA

  That, however, did not sit well with either Mexico’s ambassador to Israel nor the Jewish state’s envoy to Mexico.

  Mexico’s ambassador Frederico Salas and the Israeli envoy to Mexico Yosef Livne both lodged official complaints at the foreign ministry protesting at the new term.

  “The ambassador (Salas) said he was offended when the deputy health minister called it the Mexican flu,” a foreign ministry official told AFP.

  “Israel has no intention of giving the flu any new names. It was nothing more than a slip of the tongue,” the official said.

  Eating of pork is prohibited by Judaism, the religion practised by the majority of Israelis. Islam, adhered to by most of Israel’s Arab minority, likewise bans consumption of pork.

  Israel confirmed that two nationals who recently returned from Mexico had contracted swine flu in the first such cases in the Middle East.

  US officials also said they were reviewing whether to change the name of the outbreak, complaining that a slew of countries were misguidedly banning pork exports from North America.

  “This is not a food-borne crisis. It’s important to not refer to swine flu. It’s important to convey the message that consuming pork will not cause this illness,” Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack told reporters. (AFP)

  以色列這個猶太國家不僅沒逃過豬流感的肆虐，即使經過一番努力，也還是躲不過這個不適當的名稱。

  極端正統猶太教政黨的衛生部副部長雅可夫．李茲曼表示，不該使用「豬流感」這個名稱，因為當中的豬字對猶太教來說是大忌。

  他認為當局應將這波席捲全球的病毒更名為「墨西哥流感」。

  但無論是對墨西哥駐以色列大使或以國駐墨西哥外交使節來說，這個名稱聽起來都不太順耳。

  墨西哥大使弗列德里寇．沙剌斯和以色列駐墨西哥外交官約瑟夫．李文都向以色列外交部提出正式抗議，反對使用這種新名稱。

  外交部某位官員對法新社表示：「墨國大使（沙剌斯）說，衛生部副部長聲稱的墨西哥流感讓他覺得受到冒犯。」

  這位官員說：「以色列無意為這種流感冠上任何新名稱，這只是一時失言罷了。」

  以色列國民多數信奉禁止食用豬肉的猶太教。而以色列境內多數阿拉伯人（少數族裔）信奉的伊斯蘭教也同樣禁止食用豬肉。

  以色列證實，兩名最近從墨西哥返國的以色列國人已感染豬流感，這是中東地區的第一起病例。

  美國官員也表示，他們正在探討是否要替這場爆發的疫情更名，並抱怨許多國家被誤導而禁止進口北美輸出的豬肉。

  美國農業部部長湯姆．威薩克對記者說：「這不是經由食物傳播的危機。重要的是，不要歸咎於豬流感，要告知大眾食用豬肉並不會導致這種疾病。」

  （法新社╱翻譯：袁星塵）

  For your information

  TODAY’S WORDS 今日單字

  1. attempt n. 嘗試 (chang2 shi4) 例: Billy made several attempts to break the record before finally giving up. (比利曾數度嘗試打破紀錄，最後還是宣告放棄。) 2. ban v.t. 禁止 (jin4 zhi3) 例:Dennis was banned from the library for smoking. (丹尼斯因為吸菸被圖書館拒於門外。) 3. majority n. 多數 (duo1 shu4) 例:The majority of doctors agree that exercise is good for your health. (多數醫生贊成運動對健康有益。) 4. slew n. 許多(xu3 duo1) 例: The last night's program sparked a slew of complaints. (昨晚的節目引發許多抱怨。)

  For your information

  SAY WHAT? 說說看

  a slip of the tongue 一時失言╱說錯話 If somebody makes a slip of the tongue, they say something by accident. Examples: “During the interview, Deana said she planned to quit the show by the end of the year, but she later retracted the statement, saying it was just a slip of the tongue,” or “Be careful what you tell the detectives. One slip of the tongue and we’ll end up in jail.” 若某人發生了「a slip of the tongue」，就表示他們不小心說了什麼。 例如：「蒂娜接受採訪時說打算年底退出節目，不過稍後就收回這項聲明，表示那是一時失言」，或是「你要注意你對那些警探說的話，一說錯話，我們都會被抓進監獄」。

  For your information

  OUT LOUD 對話練習

  Camila: I’m thinking about getting a pet. Any suggestions? Leonard: You could get a cat. Camila: I’m allergic to cats, so that’s not a good idea. Leonard: How about a dog? Camila: I’m scared of dogs, so that’s not an option either. Leonard: So why not get a pig? Camila: Yeah, and pigs might fly! There’s no way my mother would allow a pig in the house. 卡蜜拉：我正在考慮養一隻寵物，有什麼建議嗎？ 李奧納：妳可以養貓。 卡蜜拉：我對貓過敏，所以那不是個好主意。 李奧納：那狗呢？ 卡蜜拉：我很怕狗，所以我也不會考慮這個。 李奧納：那不如養隻豬吧？ 卡蜜拉：對啦，而且豬說不定還會飛咧！我媽不可能答應我在屋子裡養一隻豬的。 pigs might fly　不可能的事 This expression is used to comment on something that is highly unlikely. 這個片語是用來形容某事發生的可能性極低。
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