2025/07/09 05:30
◎管淑平
The vast number of sheep in New Zealand relative to the country’s scant human population has long been the subject of jokes aimed at New Zealanders abroad.
紐西蘭相對於該國稀少人口的龐大羊群數量，長期以來一直是外國調侃紐西蘭人的笑柄。
It’s true: The country is one of a handful in the world that’s still home to more sheep than people. But humans are catching up, according to new figures released Tuesday.
這是事實：該國是全球少數幾個，羊依然比人還多的國家之一。但根據週二發表的最新數據，人類正迎頭趕上。
With a population of 23.6 million sheep and 5.3 million people, there are about 4.5 sheep for each New Zealander, government statistics agency data showed.
紐西蘭有2360萬隻羊和530萬人，大概每1個紐西蘭人對比4.5隻羊，政府統計機構的數據顯示。
That’s down from 22 sheep per person in 1982, when farming sheep for meat and wool was New Zealand’s biggest earner.
這個數字已從1982年的人均22隻羊下降，當時牧羊出售羊肉和羊毛，是紐西蘭最大的收入來源。
Now, years of falling wool prices prompted by a global shift to synthetic fibers have led farmers to change what they do with their land, the sector’s biggest lobby group said. (AP)
如今，全球轉向使用合成纖維，導致羊毛價格下跌多年，促使農民改變其土地用途，該產業的最大遊說團體說。（美聯社）
新聞辭典
scant：形容詞，稀少的。例句：We have scant resources to deal with the crisis.（我們幾乎沒有資源可因應這場危機。）
prompt：動詞，驅使。例句：Rising costs prompted the company to raise prices of its products.（成本上升促使該公司提高其產品售價。）
英倫翻譯轉自 https://features.ltn.com.tw/english/article/paper/1715359
