◎羅彥傑

a russian region best known as the birthplace of vladimir lenin has found a novel way to fight the nation’s birthrate crisis：it has declared sept. 12 the day of conception and is giving couples time off from work to procreate.

因為是弗拉基米爾．列寧的誕生地，而廣為人知的俄羅斯一處地區，已找到一個新奇的方法來對抗該國的出生率危機：宣佈9月12日為懷孕日，讓夫妻放假來做人。

the hope is for a big brood of babies exactly nine months later on russia’s national day. couples who "give birth to a patriot" during the june 12 festivities win money, cars, refrigerators and other prizes.

懷孕日後的九個月，正好是俄羅斯的國慶日，期望當天會有許多的小嬰兒誕生。凡是在6月12日國慶佳節期間「生產報國」的夫妻檔，可贏得金錢、汽車、冰箱與其他獎品。

ulyanovsk, a region on the volga river about 900 kilometers east of moscow, has held similar contests since 2005. since then, the number of competitors, and the number of babies born to them, has been on the rise.

烏梁諾夫斯克位於莫斯科以東約900公里的窩瓦河河畔，自2005年起就舉辦過類似比賽。此後，參賽者的人數，以及他們生下的嬰兒數目，一直有增無減。

under the federal program, women who give birth to a second child are to receive certificates worth 250,000 rubles, which can be used to pay for education or to improve the family’s living conditions.

根據聯邦計畫，生第2胎的婦女可得到價值25萬盧布的憑證，能用來支付教育費或改善家庭生計。

新聞辭典

give birth to：片語，生產。例句：the cat gave birth to five kittens.（這隻貓生了5隻小貓。）

to procreate：動詞，生殖、生育。例句：animals have the power to procreate their species.（動物有傳宗接代的能力。）

on the rise：片語，（價格等）在上漲、在增加。例句：industrial demand for fuel is on the rise.（工業對燃料的需求持續增加。）