◎鄭寺音

A charity in the Saudi capital Riyadh has come up with a novel incentive to encourage young men to quit smoking-an all-expenses-paid wedding. Hundreds of men have expressed interest in the anti-smoking drive.

沙烏地阿拉伯首都利雅德的一個慈善團體，提出一種新奇的方法鼓勵年輕人戒菸：所有開銷都付清的婚禮。數百名男性已表示有興趣參加這個戒菸活動。

Banners in Riyadh are advertising the campaign slogan： "Kicking the habit is on you, and marriage is on us." The charity Purity says participants will complete a seven-day course to quit smoking. The name of the grand prize winner will be decided in a draw on 6 August. Twenty runners-up will get free furniture.

利雅德的旗幟上，都是此一活動的廣告標語：「戒菸靠你自己，結婚靠我們。」慈善團體「純潔」表示，參與者都將完成7天的戒菸課程。首獎贏家將於8月6日抽籤決定。20名亞軍可獲免費家具。

In much of the Arab world, the groom alone bears the cost of a wedding. The high expense for a wedding means that Arab men often put off marriage until they have saved enough money to take a bride.

在阿拉伯世界大部分地區，新郎必須獨力承擔結婚開銷。由於婚禮花費高昂，阿拉伯男子常常延後婚姻，等到存夠錢才能迎娶新娘。

Some in Saudi Arabia have criticised the campaign, suggesting it might devalue what they consider a holy union, while others called the concept sexist. But a spokesman for the charity said the aim was to create a smoke-free family.

一些沙烏地阿拉伯人批評這項活動，認為此舉可能降低他們視之為神聖結合的價值，也有人認為這個概念有性別歧視。不過該慈善團體的發言人說，活動目的是要創造無菸家庭。

It is estimated about a quarter of Saudi Arabia’s 27.6 million residents smoke.

據估計，沙烏地阿拉伯2760萬人口中，有4分之1吸菸。

新聞辭典

novel ：形容詞，新奇的。例句：Keeping a sheep in the garden is a novel way of keeping the grass short!（在花園裡養羊，是讓草長不長的新奇方法！）

kick the habit：片語，戒除惡習。例句：She used to be a heavy smoker but she kicked the habit last year.（她以前是老菸槍，不過去年戒了。）

put off ：片語，延後。例句：The meeting has been put off for a week.（會議已經延後一週了。）

自由時報-980709

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