欧盟禁止儿童购买圣诞烟花惹争议

　　Stores are being banned from selling Christmas crackers to anyone under 16 because an EU inspired diktat classes them as ‘category 1 fireworks’.
　　由于欧盟鼓励对“第一类烟花”发放强制令，一些商店被禁止向16岁以下的顾客销售圣诞烟花。

　　Check-out staff have even been warned they face a ?5,000 fine – or up to six months’ jail – if found guilty of selling the ‘dangerous explosives’ to an under-age child.

　　一旦发现向未成年孩子销售危险爆炸物，收款人员将面临5000欧元的罚款，或是最多六个月的监禁。

　　Last night, some critics were left asking if crackers are so hazardous, why are we putting them on the dinner table at all.

　　昨晚，一些批评家询问烟花是否这么危险，那为什么人们还要把它们放在桌子上呢。

　　The cracker was invented in 1847 by Tom Smith, a London baker. It subsequently became a particularly British tradition, so any restriction on sales will be felt more keenly here than elsewhere in Europe.

　　1847年，一位名为Tom Smith的伦敦面包师发明了该类烟花。随后它就变成了英国一个特别的传统，所以任何在销售方面的限制在英国都会感觉比在其它欧洲国家更加敏感。

　　News of the ‘ludicrous’ directive found its way in to the Commons yesterday, where the Prime Minister was asked by Tory MP Michael Ellis to ‘put a firework up the health and safety legislation’.

　　昨天，这条“可笑的”指令到达了英国国会下院，英国保守党议员Michael Ellis提议首相将烟花列入健康与安全法里。

　　In reply, David Cameron seemed to promise action, saying: ‘That would give me enormous pleasure and I look forward to doing so.’

　　戴维?卡梅伦似乎表示同意，回复说：“对我来说那将会是一大乐趣，我期待着这么做。”

　　The cracker rules were condemned as ‘particularly daft’, by the British Retail Consortium.

　　英国零销商协会则谴责烟花的规定“特别愚蠢”。