Thousands of Icelanders lined up at McDonald’s restaurants to order their last Big Macs before the U.S. fast-food chain abandons the crisis-hit island due to soaring costs.
數千名冰島人在麥當勞餐廳前大排長龍，目的是要搶購最後的大麥克漢堡，因為這家美國連鎖速食店因不堪成本暴增，已被迫棄守遭金融危機襲擊的冰島。
The world’s largest fast-food company said earlier that all three of its restaurants in Iceland would shut down October 31. The outlets have been packed since the announcement, with lines at one restaurant backing up out the door and onto the street.
這家全球最大速食公司先前表示，冰島的三間麥當勞餐廳會在10月31日關閉。自從這項消息宣布後，麥當勞餐廳就擠滿了顧客，其中一間餐廳的排隊人龍更一直排到門外的街道上。
Iceland has been reeling from the effects of the financial crisis since October 2008, when its banks collapsed in the space of a week under the weight of billions of dollars in debt.
冰島自2008年10月以來，一直飽受金融危機效應所苦，當時冰島的銀行因無法承擔數十億美元的債務，在一週內紛紛倒閉。
The fall of the banks sapped confidence in Iceland’s economy and sent its currency, the crown, into freefall. McDonald’s said the crown’s weakness was part of the reason for its withdrawal, along with the high cost of importing food from abroad.
銀行倒閉使市場對冰島的經濟失去信心，連帶造成冰島克朗的幣值大貶。麥當勞表示克朗貶值是該公司撤出冰島的原因之一，其他原因則包括從國外進口食物的成本過高。
In a nearby stationary store, Thora Sigurdardottir, a 35-year old nursing assistant, said she had no intention of going for a final McDonald’s meal. "Good riddance," she said.
在鄰近的文具店裡，35歲的護佐席古達多提則說，她並不想吃最後的麥當麥餐。「走了最好，」她說。
新聞辭典
reel：動詞，指使旋轉、搖晃或眩暈、震驚得無法行動，如We were reeling with the news that we had won all that money.（聽到贏了那麼多錢，我們簡直嚇暈了。）
freefall／free fall：名詞，指物體未受阻礙的自由落下，非正式用法中又可引申為迅速且持續地貶值或喪失氣力，如Only massive changes in government policies will prevent the peso going into free fall.（唯有政府推行重大改革，才能防止披索大幅貶值。）
good riddance （to bad rubbish）：riddance為名詞，指擺脫、清除、解除，good riddance 則指很高興總算擺脫了某人或某事，如We’ve got rid of the old computer system, and good riddance to bad rubbish is what I say.（我們終於擺脫了舊電腦系統，真是謝天謝地。）
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