拓展“新业务”——英国抓娃娃机可以抓厕纸和洗手液了

Lost out in the toilet paper stampede? An amusement arcade is giving customers the chance to win it

The coronavirus outbreak has sparked panic buying of toilet paper and cleaning products in countries across the world, but one UK businessman is determined to spread some happiness among the anxiety and confusion.

由于新冠肺炎疫情，全球多国出现恐慌性抢购厕纸和清洁产品的现象，而一位英国商人决心在焦虑不安的情绪中传播一些快乐。

Rob Braddick, 48, who owns Braddick's Holiday Park in Westward Ho!, Devon, in the southwest of England, has filled the toy grabber machines in his amusement arcade with two of the country's most sought-after sanitary products.

48岁的罗布·布拉迪克是英格兰西南部德文郡韦斯特沃德霍镇布拉迪克假日公园的老板。他将名下游乐场内抓娃娃机的奖品都换成了英国最抢手的两种卫生产品。

Arcade customers could previously try their hand at grabbing "Frozen 2" or "Peter Rabbit" toys from the machines, but no more.

之前，抓娃娃机内的奖品是电影《冰雪奇缘2》和动画片《彼得兔》的玩偶。但是，现在不是了。

"They got evicted this morning," Braddick said of the toys, replacing them with toilet roll and hand sanitizer.

布拉迪克谈到这些玩偶时说：“它们今天早上被赶出来了。”他把玩偶换成厕纸和洗手液。

Visitors can now pay 50p for three goes on the toilet roll grabber, or 1 a go for Carex, which Braddick described as the "Rolls-Royce of hand sanitizers."

游客现在花费50便士（约合人民币4.48元），就可以获得3次抓卫生纸的机会；或者也可以选择花费1英镑（约合人民币8.97元），获得一次赢得Carex洗手液的机会，布拉迪克称之为“洗手液中的劳斯莱斯”。

He told CNN that the decision was born of a desire to cheer people up in uncertain times.

布拉迪克告诉美国有线新闻网说，他希望在这一不确定的时期借此鼓舞人心，因此更换了抓娃娃机的奖品。

"It's a bit of light relief with everything that's going on," he said. "Hopefully it will raise a smile, which I think everybody needs."

他说：“在目前的疫情中，这能给人们带来一丝轻松。希望这能让人们展露笑容，我认为大家都需要微笑。”

Around the world, travel plans have been severely disrupted, and tens of millions of people remain in quarantine as part of global efforts to combat coronavirus.

全球各地民众的旅行计划被严重打乱，为了抗击新冠肺炎，数千万人仍处于隔离状态。

Supermarkets have seen shortages of toilet paper and hand sanitizer as anxious consumers stockpile the products.

不少焦虑的消费者开始囤积厕纸和洗手液，一些英国超市内厕纸和洗手液出现缺货。

Braddick said the family business, which has been running since 1932, has received more than a dozen calls from potential customers who say they don't want to travel abroad for their holidays and would rather stay in the UK.

布拉迪克说，这个公园是他们的家族企业，从1932年就开始经营。目前，他们已经接到十几个潜在客户的电话，均表示不想出国度假，宁愿呆在英国。

As for his own coronavirus precautions, Braddick said staff have been told to wash their hands every half hour, which is particularly important for those handling money in the arcade.

谈到自己的新冠肺炎预防措施时，布拉迪克说，已告知员工每半个小时洗一次手，这对游乐场里负责收款的员工来说尤为重要。

Vocabulary:

sought-after - adj.受欢迎的，很吃香的

evict - vt. 驱逐；逐出