bottle of bubbly signed by Thatcher fetched £45,000 柴契爾簽名香檳賣得4萬5000英鎊

bottle of bubbly signed by Thatcher fetched £45,000
柴契爾簽名香檳賣得4萬5000英鎊
2014-07-14◎ 管淑平

A bottle of champagne signed by Margaret Thatcher was auctioned off for £45,000 at the Conservative party’s secretive summer fundraising party on Wednesday night, where businessmen, financiers and lobbyists rubbed shoulders with cabinet ministers.

一瓶有瑪格麗特．柴契爾簽名的香檳，週三晚間在保守黨神秘的夏季募款派對上，以4萬5000英鎊的價錢拍賣出去；在這場派對上，商人、金融家和說客與內閣首長接觸往來。

Andrew Lansley, the Conservative leader of the House of Commons, laughed on Thursday as he was taunted over the luxury auction prize by his Labour shadow, Angela Eagle, who said the Tories were living in a "parallel universe".

保守黨因為這項奢豪拍賣價錢，遭工黨國會領袖安傑拉．伊格嘲諷活在「平行世界」。對此，保守黨下議院領袖蘭斯利週四一笑置之。

Lansley said the bottle was "not bought for drinking purposes" but because it was signed by the former prime minister.

蘭斯利說，這瓶酒「不是買來喝的」，而是因為它有前首相柴契爾的簽名。

Downing Street has refused to release the guest list for this year’s bash at the private Hurlingham members’ club in Fulham, west London, but the gleaming Rolls-Royces and Jaguars streaming through the gates gave a hint of the wealthy passengers heading inside.

首相府拒絕公布今年這場在倫敦西區富勒姆赫林漢私人會員俱樂部舉行的盛會的賓客名單，但大門川流而過的一輛輛勞斯萊斯、積架等豪華名車，透露車內載著富有的多金乘客進入會場。

Cameron is facing calls to be more transparent about those invited to the party following revelations by the Guardian and the Bureau of Investigative Journalism that the 2013 event attracted bankers, businesspeople and lobbyists jointly worth more than £11bn.

衛報和新聞調查局披露2013年募款派對吸引銀行家、商賈和說客，合計募得逾110億英鎊後，（首相）卡麥隆面臨要求這場派對邀請對象必須更透明的呼聲。

Campaigners for political transparency said the event was "a straight-up case of cash-for-access".

促進政治透明度運動人士說，這場活動「真的是用錢買通門路的例子」。

新聞辭典

fetch：動詞，售得（金額）。例句：His crops fetched more money than he had expected.（他的作物賣得比他原本預期還多的錢。）

taunt：動詞，嘲笑，辱罵。例句：Stephanie was taunted for being sloppy.（史蒂芬妮被譏笑不愛乾淨。）

straight up：副詞（俚語），真正地、確實地、坦白地（用於加強語氣）。例句：He has won this week’s $5 million jackpot, straight up!（他中了本週開出的500萬美元頭彩，真的！）