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《中英對照讀新聞》Honey, will you marry... Oh. Never mind...親愛的，妳願意嫁… 喔，別放心上…

◎ 魏國金

It is the one moment every man wants to get right--and which London floor-fitter Lefkos Hajji could hardly have got more wrong.

這是每個男人都想把事情做對的一刻，然而倫敦鋪地板工人哈吉卻錯得無以復加。

The luckless 28 year-old’s dreams of giving his sweetheart, Leanne, 26, the ultimate proposal have literally vanished into thin air.

這名28歲的倒楣男盼望給他26歲甜心黎恩小姐一個最完美的求婚的夢想，實際上可說消逝在空氣中。

Hajji had concealed a $12,000 engagement ring inside a helium balloon. The idea was that she would pop the balloon as he popped the question.

哈吉將一枚價值1萬2000美元的訂婚戒指藏在一個氦氣球內。這個點子是，當他冷不防的求婚時，她會將氣球弄破。

But as he left the shop, a gust of wind pulled the balloon from his hand and he watched the ring--and quite possibly the affections of his girlfriend--sailing away over the rooftops.

然而，他離開商店後，一陣強風把氣球從他手中颳走，他看著戒指—很可能還有女友的濃情密意—飄過屋頂，揚長而去。

"I couldn’t believe it," he told The Sun newspaper. "I just watched as it went further and further into the air. I felt like such a plonker. It cost a fortune and I knew my girlfriend would kill me."

「我無法置信，」他告訴太陽報說。「我眼睜睜看著它越飄越遠。我覺得像個蠢蛋。買這枚戒指花了一大筆錢，我知道我的女友會宰了我。」

Hajji spent two hours in his car trying to chase and find the balloon, without success.

哈吉開了2小時的車，追尋氣球，不過無功而返。

"I thought I would give Leanne a pin so I could literally pop the question," he said. "But I had to tell her the story--she went absolutely mad. Now she is refusing to speak to me until I get her a new ring."

「我原本打算給黎恩一根針，我才可以真正的提出求婚，」他說。「然而我必須告訴她實情—她完全抓狂。現在她拒絕和我說話，除非我給她一枚新戒指。」

新聞辭典

thin air︰無影無蹤、子虛烏有。例句︰Good ideas don’t come out of thin air.（好點子不會憑空產生。） vanish into thin air（煙消雲散、化為泡影）。

pop︰突然提出問題，使啪的一聲爆裂。哈吉靈感的巧妙處在於pop這個字，他冷不防的提出求婚，女友則將氣球刺破，取出婚戒。例句︰They popped a question at him.（他們出其不意地向他提了個問題。）

來源：自由時報

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