《中英對照讀新聞》Singletons rebel against unfair holiday supplement charges單身者反抗不公平的假期附加收費

◎鄭寺音

Single people pay proportionately more than couples for everything from tax to gym membership to homes.

從所得稅到健身房會員費到房租，單身者為每樣東西付的金額比例上都比夫婦多。

The country’s largest consumer organisation,Which?, has called for an end to the practice of charging lone holidaymakers more for a room than a couple, saying it can no longer be justified.

英國最大的消費者組織Which?，呼籲廢除一間房向無伴度假者收的費用多過向夫婦或情侶收費的一半的慣例，表示這種方法無法再被合理化。

Researchers found that single supplements can amount to the entire price paid by a couple for occupying the same accommodation.

研究人員發現，單身者的額外付費，相當於佔據相同住處的夫婦付的全額。

"While other service industries such as retailing have made strides to cater for singles, the holiday industry penalises solo travellers," Which? complained. In an appeal to the travel industry, it said that lone travellers should have to pay no more than 50 per cent of the cost for two people on the same holiday.

Which?抱怨說：「其他服務業，例如零售業，在迎合單身者方面已有大幅進展，度假業者卻處罰單獨旅行者。」

新聞辭典

singleton︰指沒有情人的獨身者，與single people大致相同。

supplement︰名詞，增補、補給品。例句：The money they get from fruit-picking is often a supplement to incomes earned in the town.（他們靠採水果所得的錢，常常是在城裡所掙收入的補貼。）

amount to︰相當於。例句：The bill amounted to $75.（帳單的金額總數為75元。）

來源：自由時報

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