Sapporo Snow Festival to scale down sculptures due to COVID-19

Sapporo Snow Festival to scale down sculptures due to COVID-19

札幌雪祭因武漢肺炎將縮小雕像規模

【摘要2020.7.17.自由】◎張沛元

Visitors eager to attend the annual Sapporo Snow Festival next year will not be able to see the iconic, towering snow sculptures that often rise higher than 10 meters.

渴望在明年參加一年一度的札幌雪祭的訪客，將無法看到動輒高逾10公尺、具有代表性的高大冰雕。

Organizers announced June 16 that both the festival and the sculptures will be scaled down due to concerns about the coronavirus pandemic.

主辦單位6月16日宣布，祭典規模與冰雕尺寸都將因新冠病毒全球大流行而縮小。

They came to that decision because it proved difficult to obtain the cooperation from companies that would serve as sponsors for the huge sculptures.

主辦方之所以做出這個決定，在於事實證明難以找到贊助巨大冰雕的協力廠商。

Also, travel restrictions due to the health crisis have made it impossible for them to arrange overseas study tours that are necessary to produce such large ice sculptures.

再者，肇因於健康危機的旅遊限制，導致主辦方根本不可能安排製作大型冰雕所需的海外研修之旅。

Had they delayed making the tough call, organizers said it would have placed a heavy burden on those involved with the festival.

主辦單位說，倘若延後做出此一困難決定，將讓雪祭參與者背負沉重負擔。

新聞辭典

scale down：慣用語，縮減，縮小。例句：The Republican National Committee executive committee unanimously approved a plan on Wednesday night to significantly scale down the convention proceedings that will take place in Charlotte later this summer, a party spokesman told CNN.（美國共和黨一名發言人告訴有線電視新聞網，共和黨全國委員會的執行委員會週三晚間無異議通過一項計畫，大幅縮減今夏稍後在北卡羅萊納州夏洛特舉行的全國黨代表大會的議程。）

towering：形容詞，高聳的、傑出的、卓越的。

tough call：慣用語，困難的決定，艱難的抉擇。例句：Peel Football and Netball League officially called off netball for 2020 last week, in a decision director Deb Clancy described as a "tough call to make."（皮爾足球與籃網球聯盟上週正式取消2020年的籃網球賽事，此決定被該聯盟主任黛比．克蘭西形容是「艱難的抉擇」。）

Inspecting the Office Computer

檢查辦公室電腦

【摘要2020.7.17.蘋果】

R: Roger　　M: Mira
Roger enters the office and greets Mira at her desk.
R: Hi, Mira. Sorry to bug you, but we need to inspect your computer.
M: Really? Is something wrong?
R: It’s probably a false alarm, but the IT department noticed some odd
online activity from this floor. It might be from your computer.
M: Oh, no. I hope my computer wasn’t infected with a virus from
something I downloaded.

羅傑走進辦公室，然後到米拉的座位跟她寒暄。
羅　傑：嗨，米拉。不好意思打擾一下，我們需要檢查妳的電腦。
米　拉：哦？怎麼了嗎？
羅　傑：這可能是虛驚一場，不過資訊部門發現在這樓層有一些網路異常活動。
來源可能是妳的電腦。
米　拉：不會吧。希望我的電腦沒有因為我下載東西而中毒。

生活必備字詞

bug vt.打擾，煩擾（= bother）
false alarm n.虛驚，假警報
be infected with...　　感染..