◎陳成良
Sri Lanka on Tuesday began interviews for the post of hangman a year after two positions fell vacant, with at least 480 convicts on death row.
斯里蘭卡週二開始進行劊子手的求職面試。該兩個職位懸缺已1年，而監獄至少關押著480名死刑犯。
But it was not quite clear how the two successful candidates would fill their days - the death penalty has not been used in Sri Lanka, a predominantly Buddhist country, since 1976.
不過，尚不十分清楚兩名成功的求職者將如何履行職責，因為自1976年以來，佛教盛行的斯里蘭卡沒有執行過死刑。
"About 176 applicants are there and interviews are going on today and tomorrow," Gamini Kulatunga, commissioner operations at the Prisons Department, told the reporters. "Only males will be eligible for the post."
「大約有176名求職者，面試將在今明兩天進行」，斯里蘭卡獄政部專員加米尼．庫拉頓加說，「只有男性有資格申請該職位。」
The two posts fell vacant after one hangman was promoted and the other retired.
自一名劊子手獲升職，另一名退休後，兩個劊子手職位一直空缺。
At least 480 people convicted of murder and drugs offences could potentially be executed, Kulatunga said.
至少480人因謀殺和販毒罪行被定罪，可能被處決，庫拉頓加說。
There has been an alarming rise in child abuse, rapes, murders, and drug trafficking since the 25-year war against Tamil Tiger separatists ended in May 2009, prompting some lawyers and politicians to push for the death penalty to be reintroduced.（Reuters）
2009年5月，斯里蘭卡政府與「塔米爾之虎」組織分離份子長達25年的內戰結束之後，虐待兒童、性侵、謀殺和毒品走私等犯罪案件大幅上升，促使一些律師和政治家推動重新恢復死刑。（路透）
新聞辭典
convict：名詞，（服刑的）囚犯。例句：The convicts complained bitterly about prison conditions. （囚犯們對監獄內的狀況表達強烈不滿。）convict亦可做動詞，指（經審訊）判定有罪。
death row：名詞，（監獄的）死囚牢房。例句：This convicted killer has been on death row for 15 years. （這名被判決死刑的殺人犯住在死囚牢房已經15年了。）
eligible：形容詞，有資格的，合格的。例句：She is eligible for a university scholarship.（她有資格拿到大學獎學金。）
文章出處：自由時報電子報中英對照新聞
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