◎羅彥傑

A Brazilian judge awarded $2,600 in damages to a man who sued a store for not replacing his faulty television set, ruling that it was an "essential good" needed to watch soccer and a popular reality TV show.

一名巴西法官判決一名男子獲得2600美元損害賠償，這名男子控告店家未更換其瑕疵電視機，法官在裁決中指出，電視機是看足球與受歡迎真人實境秀電視節目不可或缺的「必需品」。

The customer took Casas Bahia, Brazil’s largest furniture and home appliances retail chain, to court for "moral damages" inflicted by not being able to watch television.

這名顧客將巴西最大傢俱與家用電器零售連鎖店「巴伊亞屋」告上法院，要為自己沒法看電視受到的痛苦爭取「道德賠償」。

"In modern life, you cannot deny that a television set, present in almost all homes, is considered an essential good," ruled the judge from Campos, a town north of Rio de Janeiro.

「在現代生活中，你不能否認，幾乎家家戶戶都存在的電視機，被公認是一個必需品，」里約熱內盧以北的坎波斯鎮法官裁決說。

"Without it, how can the owner watch the beautiful women on ’Big Brother,’ the national news broadcast or a football game," the judge quipped.

「沒有了它，這名擁有者如何觀賞『老大哥』裡頭的美女們，全國新聞轉播或者足球比賽，」這名法官妙語說道。

Brazilians are passionate soccer fans and are currently following the ninth season of the local version of the popular reality TV show "Big Brother."

巴西人是熱情如火的足球迷，目前正收看當地版高人氣真人實境秀「老大哥」第九季節目。

新聞辭典

award：動詞，授予、判給。例句：The judge awarded the plaintiff damages of 1000 dollars. （這名法官判給原告損害賠償金1000元。）

take ~ to court：片語，對某人提出告訴。例句：She threatened to take him to court if he still refused to pay the rent.（她揚言如果他仍拒絕繳租金，就要提出告訴。）

quip：動詞，說俏皮話、挖苦話，亦可當名詞用。例句："Good luck with your job interview," quipped his wife.（他的妻子語帶挖苦地說，「祝你求職面試順利」。）

自由時報-980210

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