河内的交通高峰期。越南是众所周知的“摩托车国度”。
 

Vietnam is considering a ban on small-chested people driving motorbikes - a proposal that has provoked widespread disbelief, all the more in this nation of slightly built people.
越南正在考虑一项限制平胸者驾驶摩托车的禁令--该提议遭到这个国家几乎所有身材苗条者的广泛质疑。

The ministry of health recently recommended that people whose chests measure less than 28 inches (72cm) would be prohibited, as would those who are too short or too thin.
卫生部门最近建议，应对那些胸围少于20英寸（72cm），以及过于矮小，或是过于瘦弱的人发出禁令。

The proposal is part of an exhaustive list of new criteria the ministry has come up with to ensure that Vietnam's drivers are in good health. As news of the plan hit the media this week, Vietnamese expressed incredulity.
该部门最近提出一系列新标准，以保证越南的司机处于良好身体状况，而这项提议正是其中一部分。本周，整个计划被媒体公诸于众，越南人对此嗤之以鼻。

"It's ridiculous," said Tran Thi Phuong, 38, a Hanoi insurance agent. "It's absurd."
“太可笑了”，河内三十八岁的保险经纪人Tran Thi Phuong表示。“真是荒谬”。

"The new proposals are very funny, but many Vietnamese people could become the victim of this joke," said Le Quang Minh, 31, a Hanoi stockbroker. "Many Vietnamese women have small chests. I have many friends who won't meet these criteria."
“新提议非常滑稽，不过很多越南人可能成为这个笑话的受害者”，河内三十一岁的股票经济Le Quang Minh表示。“许多越南女人胸部很平。我有很多朋友，她们够不上这个标准”。

It was unclear how the ministry established its size guidelines, and an official there declined to comment.
目前还不清楚该标准从何而来，一名官员拒绝对此发表评论。

The average Vietnamese man is 1.64m (5ft 4in) tall and weighs 55kg (121lb). The average Vietnamese woman is 1.55m tall and weighs 47kg.
越南男子平均身高为1.64米（五尺四寸），体重为55千克（121磅）。越南女子平均身高为1.55米，体重为47千克。

Statistics on average chest size were unavailable.
目前无法得到平均胸围的统计数据。

The draft, which must be approved by the central government to become law, would also prohibit people from driving motorbikes if they suffer from array of health conditions like enlarged livers or sinusitis. The rules would cover the vast majority of Vietnam's 20m motorbikes. It would not apply to car or truck drivers.
该草案必须得到中央政府认可之后才可正式立法，除了上述限制，它还禁止身体状况不佳者驾驶摩托车，比如肝肿大或鼻窦炎患者。该法将覆盖越南2000万摩托车主中大多数，但不适用于汽车和卡车司机。

Motorbikes account for more than 90% of the vehicles on Vietnam's roads, and many workers in the nation of 85 million need them to do their jobs.
在越南道路上行驶的车辆中，摩托车占据其中百分之九十以上，这个八千五百万人口的国家中许多工人需要依靠这种交通工具从事他们的工作。

When Nguyen Van Tai, a motorbike taxi driver, heard about the proposal, he immediately had his chest measured. Much to his relief, Tai beat the chest limit by 7cm.
Nguyen Van Tai是一名摩的司机，当听到这个提议时，他立即测量了自己的胸围。令他感到宽慰的是，测量结果比标准多出七厘米。

"A lot of people in my home village are small," said Tai, 46. "Many in my generation were poor and suffered from malnutrition, and now the ministry of health wants to stop us from driving to work."
“在我家乡的村庄，许多人达不到这个尺寸”，四十六岁的Tai先生表示。“我们这代人中的许多曾经受穷，并营养不良，而现在卫生部又想不准我们以驾驶为生”。

Vietnamese bloggers have been poking fun at the plan, envisioning traffic police with tape measures eagerly pulling over female drivers to measure their chests.
许多越南博客讥笑这一计划，他们设想手执皮尺的交通警察拦下女性驾驶者，急切测量对方胸部的场景。

"From now on, padded bras will be bestsellers," said Bo Cu Hung, a popular Ho Chi Minh City blogger.
“从现在开始，带内垫的胸衣将成为流行”，胡志明市广受喜爱的博客主人Bo Cu Hung认为。

Newspapers were inundated with letters today from concerned readers who worried that they wouldn't measure up.
今天，各家报社已被那些担心自己尺寸不达标的读者信件所淹没。

"I'm not heavy enough. What am I going to do?" Le Thu Huong asked in a letter to the Tuoi Tre newspaper. "And what about people whose chests are small? Most of them are too poor to afford breast implants!"
“我没有足够的体重，我该怎么办？”Thu Huong在写给《青年日报》的一封信中问道。“还有那些胸部小的人们怎么办？他们中的大多数很穷，负担不起隆胸的费用！”