What does a Scotsman wear under his kilt? For centuries, philosophers have wrestled with this question. Last week the truth was unveiled, courtesy of[1] Lance Corporal Lee Wotherspoon of the Scottish Black Watch Regiment[2]. The trained sniper was surprised by a sudden spring breeze on April 24 during the daily lowering of the flag at Hong King's Cenotaph, or war memorial. A photographer captured the historic moment, and Wotherspoon's best side graced the front pages of the territory's cheekier[3] newspapers. The regiment, which arrived in Hong Kong in February and is the last British unit to serve there before the July 1 transfer of sovereignty to China, has no firm rules regarding under-kilt attire. By tradition, however, members have been subject to periodic checks to make sure they were appropriately underdressed. Today's officers reportedly still face a fine of a bottle of port if they are found to be wearing anything beneath their kilts at mess functions. One Black Watch officer, convinced that Wotherspoon had gotten a bum deal[4] from the local papers, accused them of being obsessed with "taking a photograph up the jocks' kilts." Still, not all men of the regiment claim to abide by its customs. Sergeant Major Alan McEwen told the south China Morning Post most decisively, "I certainly always wear underwear." But McEwen doesn't perform the requisite inspections on his men, so he could neither confirm nor deny that any of them-besides, of course, Wotherspoon-prefers a draft to drawers[5]. "As for the other lads, I wouldn't want to go into percentages because I wouldn't know," said McEwen. "It's a matter of preference." Wotherspoon himself was unavailable for comment, so it remained uncertain whether he was enjoying all the exposure.

　　苏格兰男子在短裙下面究竟穿什么呢？多少世纪以来，许多爱思考的人为此颇费脑筋。上个星期，承蒙苏格兰黑衣卫士团一等兵李·沃瑟斯宠的帮助，真相终于大白了。4月24日，这名训练有素的狙击兵在香港战争纪念碑前降旗时突遭一阵春风的“袭击”。一位摄影师捕捉到了这历史的瞬间；于是，沃瑟斯宠这俊美的一面便登上了港区一些厚脸皮报纸的头版。该卫士团2月抵港，是7月1日主权交回中国前英军在港的最后服役部队。关于裙下如何着装，卫士团一直没有严格的规定。不过传统上，卫士团成员定期被检查以确保他们裙下穿着得体。据报道，即使是现在，军官如被发现裙子下面穿得一塌糊涂，仍要被罚一瓶葡萄酒。黑衣卫士团的一名军官证实说，沃瑟斯庞已收到多份登有他屁股照片的地方报纸。这位军官还指责这些报纸过分热衷于“拍摄苏格兰小伙子的裙下风光”。然而，卫士团的士兵并非都遵循卫士团的传统习惯。准尉副官艾伦·麦克尤恩很肯定地对《南华早报》说：“我当然总是穿内裤的。”但他没有对部下履行必要的检查，因此他不能确认也不能否认他们（当然除了沃瑟斯庞之外）之中还有没有人喜欢凉爽而不穿内裤。“至于其他人，因为我不知道，我也不能说出这个比例有多少，”麦克尤恩说，“这是个爱好问题。”由于没有听到沃瑟斯庞本人对此事的看法，因此他是否喜欢关于此事的曝光不得而知。