新奇! 古巴或用朗姆酒向捷克抵债!

 　　Cuba has come up with an unusual way to repay its multimillion dollar debt to the Czech Republic - bottles of its famous rum, officials in Prague say.

　　据布拉格官方声称，古巴于日前提出了一种不寻常的方式来偿还其向捷克共和国欠下的数亿美元的债务--那就是用该国著名的朗姆酒来偿还。

　　The Czech finance ministry¹ said Havana had raised this possibility during recent negotiations² on the issue.

　　据捷克财政部表示，哈瓦那方面最近在关于这个问题的谈判中提出了这种可能性。

　　Cuba owes the Czech authorities $276m (222m pound), and if the offer is accepted the Czechs would have enough Cuban rum for more than a century.

　　古巴政府欠捷克政府2.76亿美元（2.22亿英镑），如果这项提议最终达成，那么古巴的朗姆酒足够捷克人喝一个多世纪。

　　新奇! 古巴或用朗姆酒向捷克抵债!

　　However, Prague said it preferred to get at least some of the money in cash.

　　不过，布拉格方面表示本方倾向于至少能获得一些现金。

　　Havana's debt dates back from the Cold War era - when Cuba and what was at the time Czechoslovakia were part of the communist bloc³.

　　哈瓦那的债务可以追溯到冷战时期--那时古巴和当时的捷克斯洛伐克都是共产主义集团的一部分。

　　Cuba now does not have much money but it does have lots of rum - hence this unusual proposal, says the BBC's Rob Cameron in Prague.

　　据BBC驻布拉格的记者罗波·卡梅隆表示，古巴目前面临财政紧缺，但确实存有很多朗姆酒，因此才有了这个不寻常的提议。

1 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

2 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

3 bloc   

n.集团；联盟

参考例句：

• A solid bloc of union members support the decision.工会会员团结起来支持该决定。
• There have been growing tensions within the trading bloc.贸易同盟国的关系越来越紧张。