中英對照讀新聞》At her first prom, a 97-year-old Rhode Island woman wins prom queen在她的第一場畢業舞會，97歲羅德島州婦女被加冕為舞會女王

錯過高中畢業舞會的近百歲阿祖海倫．丹尼斯（左）與孫女茱莉．哈登（中）以及曾孫艾文（右）一同參加曾孫艾文的畢業舞會。（圖擷取自網路）

◎張沛元

In 1939, Helen Danis longed to join her friends at their high school senior prom in West Warwick, R.I., but it was the end of the Great Depression and her family didn’t have money for a new dress or shoes, or even a lipstick.

1939 年，（美國）羅德島州西瓦維克的海倫．丹尼斯渴望跟朋友一起去參加他們學校的高三生畢業舞會，但時值經濟大蕭條末期，她家裡沒錢（幫她）買新洋裝或鞋子，甚至連口紅都買不起。

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Eighty years later, Danis, 97, finally got the chance to make up for that missed night when her granddaughter, Julie Huddon, 48, presented her with a sparkling crown and a proposition earlier this spring： Let’s go to the prom.

80年後，當她的孫女、48歲的茱莉．哈登今春給她一個閃亮亮的王冠與提議「我們去畢業舞會吧」，97歲的丹尼斯終於有機會彌補錯過畢業舞會的那一晚。

At 97 and 48, they were both a few years beyond the average age of promgoers. But Huddon’s 19-year-old son, Evan, who attends the school, would be there. And the Pilgrim High School principal thought it would be a hoot and agreed.

97歲與48歲的這對祖孫與高中畢業舞會出席者的平均年齡有一段差距，但哈登的19歲的兒子、就讀於那所高中的艾文，會去參加舞會。朝聖者高中校長覺得這很有趣，並予以同意。

So on May 24, Huddon arranged for a driver to pick up her and her grandmother, her son and two of his friends, and drive them all to the senior prom. Her son, who has spina bifida, enjoys dancing in his power wheelchair.

因此在（今年）5月24日，哈登安排一名司機來接她與祖母、兒子以及兒子的2個朋友，送他們所有人去參加高三畢業舞會。她的罹患脊柱裂的兒子坐在電動輪椅上跳得很高興。

"To attend the prom with my great-grandson and my granddaughter made the night even more special," Danis said.

「跟我曾孫與孫女一起參加畢業舞會，讓這個夜晚更顯特殊，」丹尼斯說。

新聞辭典

hoot：名詞，貓頭鷹叫聲、汽車喇叭聲、（輕蔑的）叫囂、奚落。動詞指大聲叫囂、鳴響、貓頭鷹叫。hoot在俚語中，指可笑、有趣。

long：動詞，渴望。例句：The old man longs for rejuvenation.（那個老頭渴望回春。）

make up for：慣用語，補償，彌補。例句：Nothing can make up for the loss of the company.（無論多少錢都無法補償公司的損失。）

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