英倫翻譯社/ Trsmaster

以其廉價仿冒雷朋太陽眼鏡和iPhone手機出名的拍賣網站「電子海灣」，最近出現一筆獨特的拍賣品：一名禿頭白人老頭。

Steve Sewell, an unemployed 58-year-old British man, unsuccessfully tried to auction himself off on eBay in an attempt to get the attention of employers.

58歲的失業英國男子史帝夫．塞威爾，試圖在eBay上拍賣自己以吸引雇主的注意，但未能成功。

For the low, low price of only 99 pence （$1.50）, eBay bargain hunters could have had their very own human being. But despite the rock-bottom offer, the posting closed on Monday with no bids.

以低到只要99便士（1.5美元）的價錢，在eBay上找便宜的人就能夠擁有屬於自己的人。但儘管這種低到谷底的價錢，這項拍賣週一仍在沒有人出價競標下結束。

Sewell has a diploma in electrical and electronic engineering, is qualified as an IT technician and has worked as a mechanic. Another highlight of his long career： working as a toilet paper tester.

塞威爾擁有電子、電機工程學歷，有資訊技術人員資格，也從事過技工。他漫長職業生涯的另一令人注目之處，就是當過廁所衛生紙試用員。

In the listing, he described himself as having “some wear to moving parts,” as well as being in used condition with “excellent interpersonal skills, infinite patience and an indestructible sense of humour.”

在這項拍賣上，他形容自己「可活動部件有些損耗」，有使用過，擁有「絕佳人際技巧，無限的耐心，以及無敵的幽默感。」

根據一份週三公布、「令人憂心」的調查顯示，有4分之1的澳洲人以為，人類與恐龍曾同時存在，3分之1的澳洲人認為，地球繞太陽公轉只要花1天。

The Auspoll survey of 1,515 adults for the Australian Academy of Sciences showed basic scientific knowledge was declining on key questions, including human influences on evolution and the Earth’s reserves of fresh water.

Auspoll為澳洲科學院調查1515名成年人，發現澳洲人對重要問題的基礎科學知識持續下滑，包括人類對演化的影響，以及地球的淡水存量等。

Only 59 percent of those surveyed knew that it took Earth one year to orbit the sun, a fall of two percentage points from the same survey three years ago -- with 30 percent saying it took just one day.

只有5成9受訪者知道地球繞太陽公轉一周需時1年，比3年前同一調查減少2個百分點，其中還有3成受訪者認為，地球繞太陽轉1圈只要1天。

Some 27 percent said the earliest humans lived at the same time as the dinosaurs, down from 30 percent in the previous survey; while 70 percent said they knew evolution was currently occurring.

約27%受訪者表示，最早出現的人類曾與恐龍存活在同一時期，少於前次調查的3成；7成受訪者知道演化還在進行。

Ten percent said evolution was not occurring, nine percent said they did not believe in evolution and another 12 percent said they were not sure -- a similar result to 2010.

有1成的人表示目前沒有發生演化，9%受訪者不相信演化，另有12%不確定，與2010年的調查結果類似。

在一次罕有的專訪中，美國士兵布拉德利．曼寧的英籍母親敦促兒子別放棄希望，即使他因洩漏數十萬件美國機密檔案而面臨最高達136年的徒刑。

In comments published by the Mail on Sunday, Susan Manning said he should know she considered him her "Superman." "Never give up hope, son," she was quoted as saying. "I know I may never see you again, but I know you will be free one day. I pray it is soon.’’

在英國週日郵報刊出的談話中，蘇珊．曼寧表示，他應該知道她把他看做是她的「超人」。「絕不要放棄希望，兒子，」報導引述她的話說，「我知道我也許再也看不到你，但我知道有一天你將獲釋，我祈禱這一天不久就會到來。」

Susan Manning, a 59-year-old from Wales, had not given an interview in years. She is divorced from her son’s father, Brian, and the Mail said she suffered from unspecified health problems.

59歲、來自威爾斯的蘇珊．曼寧數年來不接受訪問。她與兒子的爸爸布萊恩仳離，而週日郵報指出，她飽受不明健康問題之苦。

Manning’s parents have largely stayed out of the spotlight since transparency group WikiLeaks began publishing the documents leaked to it by the 25-year-old Army private.

自從透明化組織「維基解密」開始公布這位25歲陸軍大兵洩漏給它的文件後，曼寧的父母大多避開聚光燈。

The soldier was convicted last month on a slew of charges, including Espionage Act violations, but was acquitted of the most serious charge, aiding the enemy. （AP）

這名士兵上月在許多指控中被判有罪，包括觸犯「間諜法」，但最嚴重的「資敵」控罪則獲判無罪。（美聯社）

週二公布的一份研究說明睡眠不足與多項疾病的關聯性，根據研究，睡眠短缺可能有害基因表現。

Lack of adequate shut-eye had already been linked to conditions from heart disease and cognitive impairment to obesity. But sleep researcher Derk-Jan Dijk and his fellow researchers have delved into the molecular mechanisms behind the phenomenon, looking at how missed sleep leads to health problems.

缺乏足夠的闔眼已被與多項疾病連結，從心臟病、認知障礙到過胖等。但睡眠研究人員狄克與研究員同僚更深入這種現象背後的分子機制，研究睡眠不足如何導致健康問題。

They found that a week of sleeping six hours or less a night affects the expression of some 711 genes -- including those involved in inflammation, immunity, and stress responses.

他們發現，一週內每天睡眠不超過6小時，影響約711種基因表現，包括與發炎、免疫、壓力反應等有關的基因。

Moreover, compared with test subjects who were allowed to sleep as long as 10 hours a night, those who lacked sleep had irregularities in their genes’ circadian rhythms. （AFP）

此外，相較於一晚得以睡長達10小時的受試者，缺乏睡眠者的基因生理時鐘紊亂。（法新社）

新聞辭典

groggy：形容詞，無力的。例句：I felt a bit groggy for a couple of days after the operation.（我手術後好幾天感到沒力。）

凱利一家人已吃過優閒的週日早餐，但顯然清理得不如自以為的乾淨。據NBC-2報導，一小塊培根油脂還停留在營地烤肉架上，已足以吸引一頭熊的注意。

Two staff members of the camp came to warn the Kelly family that a bear was close by, and that’s when 11-year-old Baden Kelly sprung into action.

兩名營地工作人員過來警告凱利一家人附近有熊，就在此時，11歲的貝登˙凱利已採取行動。

Baden began screaming in order to get the bear’s attention. He was able to distract the bear long enough for most of his family to run into a nearby cabin.

貝登開始尖叫，以便吸引熊的注意。他讓熊轉移注意力的時間，長到足以讓大部分家人跑向附近一棟小木屋。

However, his little sister Moriah, perhaps due to the shock of the situation, didn’t run.

然而，也許是被這情況嚇到了，他的小妹妹茉莉亞沒有跑。

"I said, ’Run, Moriah,’ and she didn’t run, so I got to her and I started running with her, and that’s when the bear started running after us," Baden said. "By the time it got to about 10 feet behind us, my brother [Logan] came running really fast out of his cabin and shouted very loudly."

「我說，『跑啊，茉莉亞』，可是她沒跑，所以我過去跟她一起跑，就在這時那熊開始追我們，」貝登說。「等牠跑到我們後面約10呎時，我弟（羅根）飛快地從小木屋跑出來，然後叫得很大聲。」