一年一度的維也納歌劇節即將拉開帷幕，奧地利富商理查德· 隆納因再次榮邀妙齡“名媛舞伴”成為媒體焦點。74歲高齡的理查德近日宣布，今年他將攜“話題女王”、希爾頓酒店女繼承人帕里斯·希爾頓出席歌劇節，并聲稱他可以彌補舞伴希爾頓跳華爾茲時的缺陷。據悉，在過去幾年里，理查德· 隆納一直是維也納歌劇節一大亮點，NBA球星“大蟲”羅德曼前妻卡門·伊蕾卓、著名波霸女星帕梅拉·安德森、前辣妹組合成員Geri Halliwell都曾做過他的舞伴。

Celebrity heiress Paris Hilton will be the star guest at Austria's top society event this year.

Celebrity heiress Paris Hilton will be the star guest at Austria's top society event this year -- the Vienna Opera Ball, entrepreneur Richard Lugner said on Wednesday.

Lugner, who since 1992 has made it a personal quest to adorn his private box at the ball with renownedshowbizfigures, said he was confident his ability as a dancer would offset Hilton's potential lack of experience in dancing the waltz.

"She will dance with me," Lugner, 74, told a news conference. "If a man is a good leader on the dance floor, a woman is capable of everything."

Lugner made his fortune in the construction industry and is asociety luminaryin Vienna where his nickname is "mortar".

Baywatch star Pamela Anderson, acting legend Sophia Loren, former Spice Girl Geri Halliwell and the Duchess of York, Sarah Ferguson, have accompanied Lugner over the past years to the highlight of Austria's ball season staged in the neo-romantic splendour of one of the world's most famous opera houses.

Hilton will bring along some friends and her parents but it remains to be seen whether her new friend, pop star Britney Spears, will also join the ball on Feb. 15, since the two women had beenat oddslately, said Lugner.

（Agencies）

Vocabulary:

showbiz：演藝界

society luminary：社會名人

at odds：爭執

（英語點津陳蓓編輯）