法国新列车太高无法穿隧道

 　　France’s national rail operator SNCF has sparked ridicule¹ after ordering a multi-million pound fleet of trains that are too tall to fit in Italy’s tunnels.

　　法国国家铁路公司最近闹了大笑话：该公司耗资几百万英镑订购的一批新列车由于太高而无法进入通往意大利的隧道。

　　The spectacular blunder from rail bosses means the cross-Europe trains will have to stop before entering Italy, where passengers will have to board a smaller train.

　　铁路运营商酿成的大错意味着，本应横跨欧洲的列车无法驶入意大利，乘客必须换乘更矮小的列车才能前往意大利。

　　The new trains are several millimetre higher than the maximum height of the tunnels along the Riviera coastline route, according to Nice Matin newspaper.

　　据法国《尼斯晨报》消息，相较于里维埃拉海岸线隧道的限定高度，这批列车的车身高出了几毫米。

　　法国新列车太高无法穿隧道

　　French rail operator SNCF says the trains will be put into service this week - but only as far as the French border.

　　法国国家铁路公司表示，这批列车将于本周投入使用，不过仅限于法国境内。

　　Last year, the national rail operator cost taxpayers² dearly after they bought 2,000 trains that are 1.2in too wide for its platforms. As a result, 1,300 stations were upgraded, with workers chopping off the edges of platforms.

　　去年，法国国家铁路公司购置了2000列火车，结果车身比月台宽了1.2英寸，因此，公司不得不请工人扩建1300个月台，这让纳税人付出了沉重的代价。

1 ridicule   

v.讥讽，挖苦；n.嘲弄

参考例句：

• You mustn't ridicule unfortunate people.你不该嘲笑不幸的人。
• Silly mistakes and queer clothes often arouse ridicule.荒谬的错误和古怪的服装常会引起人们的讪笑。

2 taxpayers   

纳税人，纳税的机构( taxpayer的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Finance for education comes from taxpayers. 教育经费来自纳税人。
• She was declaiming against the waste of the taxpayers' money. 她慷慨陈词猛烈抨击对纳税人金钱的浪费。