【精英翻譯】的部落格

◎俞智敏

A simple typographical error boosted Spain’s 2014 public debt forecast by 10 billion euros, the government admitted recently.

一個單純的錯字使得西班牙2014年度的公債預測暴增了100億歐元，西國政府最近坦承。

Four days after announcing the national debt figure to the world, the Economy Ministry issued a correction. "It is an erratum," an economy ministry spokeswoman said.

在向全球宣布國債數據4天後，西國經濟部又公布了更正聲明。該部女發言人說，「這是個錯字。」

It turns out that Spain’s public debt in 2014 is expected to be the equivalent of 98.9 percent of total economic output, not the 99.8 percent figure that was originally published.

西國2014年的公債應該相當於整體經濟產出的98.9%，而非原先公布的99.8%。

The error was not due to a problem in mathematical computations, the spokeswoman said. Rather, the person who typed the number just mixed up the last two digits.

據該名發言人指出，這項錯誤並非出自數學計算的問題，而是負責鍵入這個數字的人把最後兩位數弄錯了。

The difference may seem minimal, but when dealing with an economy the size of Spain’s, which is the fourth biggest in the euro zone, it is equivalent to about 10 billion euros.

這個差別看似微小，但由於西班牙的經濟規模是歐元區第四大，因此兩個數字的差距換算後相當於100億歐元。

Even after trimming the excess 10 billion euros from the forecast, economists say Spain’s debt is rising at a worrying speed as it struggles to emerge from a double-dip recession triggered when a property bubble imploded in 2008.

即使把多餘的100億歐元自預測中刪除後，經濟學家表示西國債務仍以令人憂心的速度快速增長。西國正努力走出因為2008年房地產泡沫破滅所引發的二次經濟衰退。

Spain’s public debt soared from 68.5 percent of total economic output in 2011 to 85.9 percent at the end of 2012 and 92.2 percent mid-way through this year.

西國2011年時的公債相當於整體經濟產出的68.5%，至2012年底增至85.9%，今年中則已升至92.2%。

新聞辭典

typo：名詞，非正式用語，指打字或印刷文件中（因為拼錯字所造成）的錯誤，如I spotted three typos on the menu.（我在菜單上找到三個錯字。）

trim：動詞，指削減、縮減，如Congress had to decide which current defense programs should be trimmed.（國會必須決定裁減哪一項現行的國防計畫。）

double-dip：名詞，指經濟走出衰退、開始成長後又再次進入新的衰退期、經濟二度衰退，如Higher food and energy prices could increase the risk of a double-dip recession.（食物與能源價格上漲可能增加經濟陷入二度衰退的風險。）

本文引用至 自由時報電子報 http://www.libertytimes.com.tw/