英倫翻譯社/ Trsmaster

Myanmar’s tallest man -- "Big Zaw" -- has returned from Singapore where doctors said he underwent successful brain surgery to remove a tumour responsible for his excessive growth.

緬甸最高的男人「大藻」從新加坡回家了，那裡的醫生說他經歷成功的腦部手術，移除一個讓他不斷長高的腫瘤。

Win Zaw Oo, who stands seven feet eight inches tall （233 centimetres） arrived in Yangon on Thursday from the city-state.

身高7呎8吋（233公分）的溫藻烏，週四從這個城市國家返抵仰光。

Media reports about "Big Zaw", who is believed to be the tallest man in the former junta-ruled nation, stirred global interest leading to offers to pay for the $55,000 surgery.

媒體有關「大藻」的報導，據信他是（緬甸）這個前軍事統治國家身高最高的男人，引起全世界注意，從而讓贊助者願意負擔這項5萬5000美元的手術。

Win Zaw Oo, who has spent much of his life barefoot because his family was unable to afford special shoes, is significantly taller than the 168cm average Myanmar man.

溫藻烏身高明顯高於平均身高168公分的緬甸男性，他大多數時候光著腳，因為家裡買不起特製的鞋子。

His case has cast light on the limitations of Myanmar’s threadbare healthcare system, which was neglected during decades of army rule.

他的案例凸顯緬甸陳腐醫療體系的限制，這套系統在軍事統治下被忽略了數十年。

From Chinese bloggers to European central bankers, the world is watching the US government shutdown with a mixture of bewilderment and growing nervousness that any debt default could hit struggling economies.

從中國部落客到歐洲各國央行總裁，全球正以結合了困惑與日益俱增的緊張心情，密切注意美國政府關門事件發展，擔心美國債務違約可能重創經濟陷入困境的其他國家。

In emerging superpower China, a one-party state where legislative deadlock holds little fear for the Communist rulers, the official Xinhua news agency said the situation had once again brought to the fore "the ugly side of partisan politics in Washington".

在新興超級強權中國，共黨統治者所掌控的一黨專制政府根本無需擔心立法程序面臨僵局，官方新華社報導說，這個情況再度凸顯出「華府黨派政治的醜陋面。」

"Though its immediate impact looks limited, the damage will multiply if the drama drags on for days or even weeks, arousing concerns over its spillover effect," it said in a commentary, referring to the US economy.

「儘管其立即性的影響似乎有限，假如這齣戲碼拖延數日或數週，引發外界擔憂其連帶效應，傷害就將擴大數倍，」新華社在一篇提及美國經濟的評論中表示。

While US visa and passport operations are unaffected, the crisis in Washington has forced hundreds of thousands of federal workers to stay at home, closed museums and national parks and put much scientific research on hold.

儘管美國簽證和護照服務不受影響，華府危機卻迫使數十萬名聯邦政府員工留在家中，博物館和國家公園關門，大部份的科學研究也得暫停。

One US researcher who travelled 30 hours to Perth in Australia for a science conference found himself barred from presenting his work on Parkinson’s disease. "It’s actually a federal offence if I do go ahead and give the talk or even continue attending the conference," Michael Lazarou told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

一位美國學者搭機飛了30小時來到澳洲伯斯參加一場科學會議，才發現無法上台發表他對帕金森氏症的研究內容。「假如我上台發表演說，或甚至只是繼續參加會議，事實上都算構成聯邦罪行，」拉札魯對澳洲廣播公司說。

Shortly after President Obama started his second term, a loose-knit coalition of conservative activists led by former Attorney General Edwin Meese III gathered in the capital to plot strategy.

總統歐巴馬展開他的第二任期後不久，由前司法部長愛德恩．梅瑟三世率領一個組織鬆散的保守派運動人士聯盟，在首都聚會出謀劃策。

Their push to repeal Mr. Obama’s health care law was going nowhere, and they desperately needed a new plan.

他們推動推翻歐巴馬醫療健保法的行動苦無進展，亟需一套新方案。

Out of that session, held one morning in a location the members insist on keeping secret, came a little-noticed “blueprint to defunding Obamacare,” signed by Mr. Meese and leaders of more than three dozen conservative groups.

那場某個早晨在一個與會成員堅持保密的地點舉行的聚會，提出一個不太受到注意的「抽掉歐巴馬健保資金藍圖」，由梅瑟和30多個保守派團體領袖簽署。

It articulated a take-no-prisoners legislative strategy that had long percolated in conservative circles： that Republicans could derail the health care overhaul if conservative lawmakers were willing to push fellow Republicans — including their cautious leaders — into cutting off financing for the entire federal government.

這份藍圖清楚明確地訂出一套毫不妥協的立法策略，而這招早已在保守派圈內流傳，就是若保守派議員願意力促同黨議員，包括他們謹慎小心的領袖，切斷整個聯邦政府的資金，共和黨就能破壞醫療健保改革。

To many Americans, the shutdown came out of nowhere. But interviews with a wide array of conservatives show that the confrontation that precipitated the crisis was the outgrowth of a long-running effort to undo the law, the Affordable Care Act, since its passage in 2010 — waged by a galaxy of conservative groups with more money, organized tactics and interconnections than is commonly known.

對許多美國人來說，這次政府關門發生得莫名其妙。但訪談多名保守派人士後顯示，導致這場危機的對峙，是自從「（病人保護暨）可負擔照護法」在2010年通過後，保守派團體長期努力推翻此法的結果，他們有更充沛資金、更多組織戰術，以及比一般所知更緊密的相互聯繫。

Like many in food-loving France, Jerome and Marylin are serious about what goes on their plates -- tired of factory-farmed goods and pricey organic foods.

就像許多熱愛飲食的法國人，傑羅姆與瑪莉蓮很講究他們的盤中物——厭倦了工廠量產的產品與昂貴的有機食物。

They bought an old farm deep in the countryside of northeastern France and launched a new life as small-scale farmers in May 2012.

他們買下一個位於法國東北部農村深處的老農莊，從2012年5月起展開小型農夫的新生活。

Since then, they have reclaimed a progressively larger share of the food they and their two sons eat, producing it themselves instead of buying it at the store.

從那時開始，他們逐步擴大供應他們自己及兩個兒子所吃的食物，靠自己製作而非從店裡買。

Jerome said his goal is to "return to a reasonable approach" to food by cutting down the family’s intake of pesticides.

傑羅姆說他的目標是藉由降低家庭的殺蟲劑攝取量，「回歸理性的飲食方法」。

"I don’t trust today’s agriculture anymore," he added. "I want to actually do something, because just talking about it won’t change the system."

「我不再信任現今的農業」他說。「我想要切實地做些事情，因為清談改變不了體制。」

A boat carrying at least 70 Muslim Rohingya capsized and sank Sunday off the western coast of Myanmar. Only eight survivors have been found.

一艘搭載至少70名羅興亞穆斯林的船隻，週日在緬甸西岸外海翻覆沉沒。只發現8名生還者。

The boat was in the Bay of Bengal and headed for Bangladesh when it went down early Sunday, said Abdul Melik, who works for a humanitarian organization in the region.

這艘船週日稍早滅頂時位於孟加拉灣，朝著孟加拉前進，任職該區一個人道組織的麥利克說。

The incident comes after the United Nations warned that an annual and often deadly exodus of desperate people from Myanmar’s Rakhine state appears to have begun. The exodus usually kicks off in November, when seas begin to calm following the annual monsoon. As many as 1,500 people have fled in the last week.

這起事故發生在聯合國警告緬甸若開邦的絕望民眾，顯然已展開往往釀成死亡的年度逃亡潮之後。這類逃亡潮常於11月、年度雨季後海象開始平穩時拉開序幕。上週有多達1500人出逃。

In Sunday’s incident, Melik said the wooden boat, which was carrying at least 70 Rohingya from Ohn Taw Gyi village, left at around 3 a.m. and broke apart about four hours later. Women, children and babies were among those on board.

在週日的這起事故中，麥利克指出，這艘至少搭載70名來自翁道基村的羅興亞人的木船，約於凌晨3點離開，約4小時後船隻解體。船上有婦女、兒童與嬰兒。

Myanmar, a predominantly Buddhist nation of 60 million, has been gripped by sectarian violence in the last 18 months, leaving more than 240 people dead and causing 250,000 to flee from their homes. Most of the victims have been Rohingya, a long persecuted Muslim minority in the country, with Buddhist mobs chasing them down with machetes, iron chains and bamboo clubs.

緬甸，一個6000萬人口中主要為佛教徒的國家，過去18個月來一直籠罩在宗派暴力之中，造成逾240人死亡，25萬人逃離家園。大多數受害者是長期在這個國家中被壓迫的穆斯林少數族群羅興亞人，佛教暴民持開山刀、鐵鏈與竹棍追打他們。