本文选自《北外网院》的博客，点击查看博客原文

　　You might have heard ironic uses of the Chinese phrases "getting soy sauce,""doingpush-ups," and "playing hidden cat," but the latest catchphrase tocatch fire among China's Internet users just sounds wrong from theget-go: "Temporary rape."

　　你或许已经听过“打酱油”、“做俯卧撑”、“躲猫猫”这些中文词的讽刺用法，不过在中国网民中引发轩然大波的最新流行语从一开始听起来就有问题：“临时性强奸”。

　　The back story behind this term: In June, two men, then-employed as civilianpolice assistants in the city of Hu zhou, Zhejiang province,sexually assaulted a young woman after having dinner and drinkswith her. They were subsequently arrested, charged with rape, andtried by a local court, which last week sentenced each of the mento a three-year prison term. In explaining the relatively lightsentences imposed, the court said the defendants had committed a"temporary crime on a whim" and had turned themselves in to policeshortly afterwards, according to Zhejiang Online, agovernment-backed provincial news portal。

　　这个词背后的故事是这样的：今年6月，浙江湖州两名男子在与一名女子吃饭喝酒后对其实施强奸，当时二人还是协警。二人随后被捕并被控以强奸罪，该案由一家地方法院审理。法院上周判两人各入狱三年。据政府支持的省级新闻网站浙江在线的报道，法院对量刑相对较轻的解释是，两被告属临时性的即意犯罪，且事后主动自首。

　　CriticalChinese Internet users soon delved into the meaning of "temporary"as used by the court. It "stands for informal and short-termbehavior," wrote one online commenter. "So is there a differencebetween formal and informal, long-term and short-term when it comesto the crime of rape? ...What does it mean to describe a crime astemporary, fixed or permanent?"

　　富有批判精神的中国互联网用户很快就研究起法院使用的“临时性”这个说法的意思。一名网络评论人士写道，“‘临时’既是非正式的和短时间的行为，难道强奸犯罪还有‘非正式’和时间的长短之分？……犯罪还有临时、固定、长期之分？”

　　Within a fewdays, "temporary rape" has become one of the most debated topics onthe Internet. On Tianya, one of China's largest Web forums, onediscussion of the case has drawn nearly 8,000 participants andgarnered close to a million page views。

　　没过几天，“临时性强奸”就成了网上最热门的争议话题之一。在中国最大的网络论坛之一天涯上，对此事的讨论已吸引近8,000人参与，浏览量接近100万次。

　　Chinese mediaalso weighed in with sharply worded commentaries. "The variousonline catchphrases all convey the same anxiety about justice. Alack of trust in the judicial system always emerges through someindividual cases that go beyond common sense," said an article inthe Guangzhou-based Yangcheng Evening News。

　　中文媒体也提出了言辞尖锐的评论。广州《羊城晚报》的一篇文章说，在这些网络流行语的背后，潜伏着的是网民对公正的一致焦虑。对司法的不信任总是透过一些超越常识的个案集中宣泄出来。

　　So far, themajority of the online posts and media opinions have taken anegative tone toward the court's reasoning. People are also adding"temporary" to other words to highlight the twisted logic involved.Examples include "temporary bribery taking," "temporary murder" and"temporary divorce, no asset separation."

　　迄今为止，网上的绝大多数贴子和媒体评论都对法院的推论持否定态度。人们还纷纷在其他词前面加上“临时性”一语，以突出其中的牵强逻辑。诸如“临时性受贿”、“临时性杀人”、“临时性离婚，谢绝分财产”等等。

　　In othercases, such as "playing hidden cat"--which emerged in connectionwith the death of a 24-year-old prisoner from a severe braininjury--the public attention generated through the widespread useof a single phrase has prompted authorities to conduct follow-upinvestigations and eventually punish those foundresponsible。

　　在与“躲猫猫”等其他一些网络流行语相关的事件中，这些词的广泛应用吸引了公众的注意，由此促使有关当局进行了后续调查，最终惩处了相关责任人。“躲猫猫”一词的出现与一名24岁犯人因严重脑部损伤而死有关。

　　On Tuesday, Xinhua reportedthat a higher court in Huzhou has requested review of the rapecase。

　　新华社周二报道称，湖州市中级法院已要求就这起强奸案展开复查。