US capital’s arbor ardor unabated despite outage outrage 儘管發生大停電，美國首都對樹木的熱情絲毫不減

◎俞智敏
 Power utilities and regulators alike blame downed trees as the main culprit for recent power outages across the U.S. capital region, but the area’s love affair with a green canopy shows no signs of abating.

雖然電力公司和主管機關都把美國首都地區最近發生的大停電主因歸咎於路樹倒塌，但當地居民對綠蔭的熱愛卻未出現絲毫減退跡象。

 Washington has a long history of tree lovers. It includes former presidents such as George Washington, despite the legendary story about him chopping down a cherry tree, and Thomas Jefferson, who ordered poplars planted on Pennsylvania Avenue between the Capitol Building and the White House. Arboreal fervor went into overdrive in the 1870s when Alexander "Boss" Shepherd, who served as Washington’s leader, ordered the planting of 60,000 trees.

 華府愛樹人的歷史非常悠久。這些愛樹人包括了傳說中曾砍倒櫻桃樹的華盛頓，以及下令在國會山莊與白宮間的賓州大道上種植白楊木的傑佛遜等多位前總統。華府對樹木的熱情更在1870年代達到最高潮，當時的華府市長謝波德下令在市區遍植6萬株樹木。

 These days even as extreme storms in both summer and winter knock down trees contributing to power outages that last several days, residents say keeping large trees is a price worth paying.

 近年來雖然夏季和冬季發生的強大暴風雨經常吹倒路樹，導致電力中斷長達數日，但華府居民仍表示，為了保存大樹，這是值得付出的代價。

 Trees are certainly not the only cause of power outages and they are not the only reason why it takes the region so long to get power restored.

 樹木絕非造成停電的唯一原因，更不是當地電力恢復進度緩慢的唯一理由。

 Regulators will study the causes of this outage. But Paula Carmody, who represents consumers as the People’s Counsel for Maryland, said utilities have long tried to make trees take the fall for the power woes. "The utility companies try to blame the victim and that just doesn’t work." （Reuters）

 主管機關將研究此次大停電的可能原因。但根據代表消費者權益的馬里蘭州人民顧問卡莫蒂女士表示，電力公司過去就一直試圖把停電問題推到路樹身上。「電力公司試圖怪罪受害者，這根本行不通。」（路透）

 新聞辭典 love affair：名詞，指對某事抱有極高的熱忱，例句：Her love affair with ballet began when she was ten.（她自10歲起就深深愛上芭蕾。） go into overdrive：overdrive指汽車的加速檔，本文中指開始加倍努力、認真工作，或以激動的方式開始做某事，例句：With her exams only two weeks away, she’s gone into overdrive and is studying ten hours a day.（距離考試只有2週時間，她開始加倍認真，每天讀書10小時。） take the fall（for sb/sth）：片語，指替人承擔責任，為某事負責，例句：The team’s general manager takes the fall when the team loses but gets a lot of credit when they do well.（當球隊輸球時，經理必須負起責任，但當球隊贏球時，經理也會獲得許多讚賞。）

Made in Israel? Not a simple question 以色列製造？問題沒這麼簡單

For decades, Israel has marketed an array of cosmetics and food products manufactured in the occupied West Bank as "Made in Israel," blurring their true origins in Jewish settlements opposed by virtually the entire international community. 數十年來，以色列一直把在以色列佔領下約旦河西岸所製造的各種化妝品與食物標示為「以色列製造」來行銷，刻意模糊了這些商品的真正來源是猶太屯墾區，而幾乎整個國際社會都反對屯墾區存在。 Now that practice is being challenged with demands that products made in the settlements be labeled accordingly. 現在這種作法正遭到挑戰，以色列被要求應將這些在屯墾區所製造的商品如實標示。 Recent criticism, coming most prominently from South Africa, is putting Israel in a bind over the muddle it has created in the West Bank：Despite 45 years of control and a massive and costly effort to settle it with Jews, Israel has never annexed the territory – and the Palestinians claim it for a future state. 近來的批評聲浪，其中最主要來自南非，讓以色列陷入它自己在約旦河西岸所製造的窘境中：儘管以色列控制西岸長達45年，並投下鉅資推動猶太人大規模前往西岸屯墾，以色列從未正式併吞這塊土地，而巴勒斯坦人則要求在此建立未來的國家。 Several weeks ago, South Africa issued a notice saying it wants to require merchants "not to incorrectly label products that originate from the Occupied Palestinian Territory as products of Israel." It said consumers should not be "misled" that the products originated in Israel. 數週前，南非發布一項公告表示將要求商人「不要誤把源自被佔領巴勒斯坦領土的產品標示為以色列產品。」南非政府表示，消費者不該被「誤導」認為這些產品來自以色列。 The notice did not specify what the label should say, saying "the burden for proving where the products originate will lie with traders." 公告中並未詳述標示上該如何說明，只說「證明產品來源的責任將由商人自行承擔。」 South Africa is not a major market for Israel. Nonetheless, the voice of the South African government could be a symbolic boost to the Palestinians, given the country’s history of overcoming apartheid and its leading role in the developing world.（AP） 南非並非以色列的重要市場。然而南非政府的聲音對巴勒斯坦人卻可能是一種象徵性的鼓勵，因為南非過去曾克服了種族隔離政策，並在開發中世界扮演著重要角色。（美聯社） 新聞辭典 settlement：名詞，指殖民、定居，或殖民地、新拓居地等，如Many Native Americans were killed during the settlement of the American West by Europeans in the nineteenth century.（歐洲人於十九世紀前往美國西部拓荒期間，有許多美洲原住民遭到殺害。） in a bind：片語，指陷入困境或尷尬處境，如Borrowing money may put you in a real bind.（借錢可能讓你陷入困境。） lie with：動詞片語，指由某人或某事決定、負責，如Responsibility for the disaster must ultimately lie with the government.（這場災難的責任最終必須由政府來擔負。）