近日， “2007年度最令人困惑的话语”名单出炉，美国总统布什获封“语无伦次”奖。

　　此次评选活动由英国“简明英语运动”组织发起。今年拔得年度评选头筹的是前英格兰足球队主教练史蒂夫•麦克拉伦。他评价足球明星维恩•鲁尼时经典话语——“他经验不足，但若从他过去的经历来看，他还是有经验的”——至今让人忍俊不禁。

　　“屈居”亚军的是美国总统布什。作为此项评选活动的“常胜将军”，布什本次获奖的话语是“我所能告诉你们的是，当州长打来电话时，我会接听”。这是他视察加州火灾灾区时留下的经典笑料。为此，有人评价布什说：“他每天都会‘语无伦次’，根本用不着给他评奖。”

　　“简明英语运动”组织的“语无伦次”评选活动始于1979年，拗口的用语、冗长的废话、含混不明的句子以及无用的官话都在该组织评选范围内。（沈珺） 

George Bush Among Recipients Of Baffling And Nonsensical Statement Awards

"The truism that heralds the fixture of liberty isn't necessarily the place you want to arrive at without forethought."

O.K., we know that doesn't make any sense. But after you read what's coming next, that meaningless sentence may well sound like a sage bit of advice. A group in Britain that specializes in highlighting needless bureaucratese has come up with its list of the most baffling pronouncements of 2007.

The winner of the Plain English Campaign's "Foot In Mouth" award for the year is an English soccer manager named Steve McClaren, who came up with this meaningless drivel when addressing star player Wayne Rooney. "He is inexperienced but he's experienced in terms of what he's been through."

Second on the list is a man you'd expect to be a regular contestant - and he is. George W. Bush earned the runner-up status for his baffling statement, "All I can tell you is that when the governor calls, I answer his phone."

Bush is a shoo-in for the prize every year, but those behind the campaign say he's just too well qualified to win all the time. "We thought it was a bit obvious to honour Bush as he comes up with them every day," observes spokesman Ben Beer.

The contest began in 1979 and was spawned by a woman who didn't learn to read until she was 14. But after coming across endless examples of bafflegab and meaningless phrases, she wasn't sure that was a good idea.