英國慈善義工獲“世界最好工作”

A bungee jumping, ostrich-riding British charity worker was named Wednesday the winner of what's been dubbed the "Best Job in the World" -- a 150,000 Australian dollar ($111,000) contract to serve as the caretaker of a tropical Australian island.

Ben Southall, 34, beat out nearly 35,000 applicants from around the world for the dream assignment to swim, explore and relax on Hamilton Island in the Great Barrier Reef for six months while writing a blog to promote the area.

He was selected for the gig by officials from the tourism department of Queensland state.

Southall and 15 other finalists spent the past four days on the Queensland island for an extended interview process, which required applicants to snorkel through crystalline waters, gorge themselves at a beach-side barbecue and relax at a spa. The finalists also had to demonstrate their blogging abilities, take swimming tests and sit through in-person interviews.

In his application video, Southall expressed a love for adventure, and featured photographs of himself riding an ostrich, running a marathon, trekking through Africa and kissing a giraffe.

The job is part of a AU$1.7 million tourism campaign to publicize the charms of northeastern Queensland, and officials say it has already generated more than AU$100 million worth of publicity for the region.

Southall will live for free in an airy, three-bedroom oceanfront villa with a private pool and sweeping views of the surrounding islands.

The job begins July 1.

“世界上最好工作”最終人選於本週三揭曉，獲得該職位的是來自英國的一名愛好蹦極和騎過駝鳥的慈善義工。他將獲籤一份薪酬達15萬澳元（合11.1萬美元）的合同，成爲澳大利亞一個熱帶島嶼的護島人。

現年34歲的本•索思豪爾擊敗了全球近3.5萬名應聘者，贏得了這份夢想中的工作，他所要做的就是在大堡礁漢密爾頓島游泳、探索和放鬆六個月，同時寫寫博客宣傳該地區。

索思豪爾是由昆士蘭州旅遊局的官員們最終遴選出的。

在過去四天中，索思豪爾和另外15名決賽選手在昆士蘭的這個島嶼上接受了一個密集面試，面試內容包括在清澈的海水裏潛水，在海邊大啖烤肉，以及做spa放鬆等。選手們還要展示他們寫博客的能力、接受游泳測試以及與考官面談等。

在應聘視頻中，索思豪爾表達了自己對冒險運動的熱愛，還展示了自己騎鴕鳥、跑馬拉松、徒步穿越非洲以及親吻長頸鹿的照片。

該工作是宣傳昆士蘭東北部島嶼魅力旅遊推廣活動的一部分，總耗資170萬澳元。有關官員稱此次招聘爲該地區創造的宣傳價值已超過1億澳元。

索思豪爾將免費住在一棟通風的三居室的海濱別墅內，別墅配有一個私人游泳池，而且還能在此欣賞到周圍海島的無限風光。

他將於7月1日正式上崗。