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When Peggielene Bartels went to bed on a summer night in 2008, she was an ordinary secretary living in a modest condo just outside Washington D.C. |
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佩姬蓮•巴托斯在二００八年的一個夏日夜晚上床睡覺的時候，還是個住在華盛頓特區外圍一間樸素公寓的平凡秘書而已。 |
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But when a persistent ringing phone woke her up in the dead of the August night, the 55-year-old found out she was much more than simply a secretary. |
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不過，在八月那晚的夜深人靜之時，響個不停的電話鈴聲把五十五歲的巴托斯吵醒，她發現自己遠遠不僅是個秘書。 |
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At the other end of the line was Bartels's cousin, from Otuam, a small fishing village on the coast of Ghana. |
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Excited and humble, he congratulated her on being the new king of Otuam. |
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電話彼端是巴托斯住在迦納海岸一座小漁村奧圖阿姆的堂親。他又興奮又謙恭地恭喜她成為奧圖阿姆的新國王（該村領袖頭銜）。 |
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The previous king of Otuam, who was Bartels's uncle, had just died. |
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The village elders had decided to anoint her as their new ruler. |
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奧圖阿姆的前任國王是巴托斯的伯父，不久前剛去世。結果，村莊長老決定推舉她為他們的新任統治者。 |
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After the initial shock, Bartels decided to accept the kingship. |
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Over the course of a few days, she went from being plain old Peggielene Bartels, who had worked for nearly three decades at the Ghanaian Embassy in the United States, to become King Peggy -- the first female king of Otuam, reigning over approximately 7,000 people. |
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在一開始的震驚之後，巴托斯決定接下國王的職位。短短幾天裡，她從平凡無奇的佩姬蓮•巴托斯，在美國的迦納大使館內工作將近三十年，搖身一變成了佩姬國王，奧圖阿姆的首位女王，統治約七千人。 |
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After inheriting the throne, Bartels has been living two very different lives in two different continents. |
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Although she still works at the Ghanaian Embassy, Bartels uses her holiday every year to spend a month in Otuam. |
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繼承王位之後，巴托斯在兩個不同大陸上過著非常不一樣的生活。她雖仍在迦納大使館工作，卻每年都利用她的休假在奧圖阿姆待一個月。 |
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In Washington, her secretarial duties include typing letters, answering phone calls and booking appointments. |
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In her little apartment her life is far removed from the luxuries of her royal roots. |
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在華盛頓，她擔任秘書的工作包括繕打信件、接電話與訂定約會。在她那間小小的公寓裡，她的生活和她那奢華的王室出身相去甚遠。 |
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Back in Ghana, she stands out as a gold crown-wearing, scepter-holding king who lives in a refurbished palace. |
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Otuam residents usually address her as "Nana" meaning "grandmother," and bow when they see her. |
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在迦納，她是位於眾人之上的國王，頭戴金冠、手持權杖，住在一座整修過的王宮裡。奧圖阿姆的居民通常稱她為「奶奶」，意指「祖母」，而且見到她的時候也會向她行禮。 |
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"When I am back home, they see me as their king and they want to pamper me," she says. |
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「我回到家鄉的時候，他們就把我視為他們的國王，而且他們都想好好寵我，」她說。 |
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