《中英對照讀新聞》Robotic falcons help to fight pigeons 機械鷹協助解決鴿害

◎俞智敏

You could say it’s a bird of a different feather. Liverpool, plagued by pigeons that pollute the city center with their droppings, is introducing a mechanical falcon which squawks and flaps its wings in hopes of scaring the pesky birds away.

你或許可稱之為鳥中異類。市中心長期遭鴿糞污染的利物浦市，最近引進一種能夠發出嘎嘎叫聲，還能拍動翅膀的機械鷹，希望能把麻煩的鴿群嚇跑。

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The fat pigeons, who feast on junk food, are an embarrassment to a city chosen to be next year’s European Capital of Culture.

這些體形肥胖的鴿子成天大啖垃圾食物，讓已獲選為明年度歐洲文化首都的利物浦當局大感尷尬。

The city council is buying 10 Robops, short for robotic bird of prey, at a cost about $4,000 each. But cleaning teams spend many hours each day scraping droppings from streets and buildings at a cost of about $320,000 a year, the council said.

市議會打算購進10隻Robops（機械猛禽的縮寫），每隻機械鳥要價高達4000美元。但市議會指出，清潔隊每天都得花好幾小時清除街道與建築物上的鴿糞，一年成本相當於32萬美元。

"The key is that we move （the Robops） around, so the pigeons don’t get used to them," council spokeswoman Sarah Langworthy said. "It keeps （the pigeons） on their toes."

「重點在於我們會經常移動（機械老鷹），鴿子才不會習慣它們的存在，」市議會女發言人藍沃西表示。「這樣一來（鴿群）就會疲於奔命。」

新聞辭典

squawk：文中指鳥類的嘎嘎叫聲，但也可指大聲抱怨或抗議，如 His proposal has raised squawks of protest in Congress.（他的提議在國會引發激烈抗議。）

feast on：盡情享受或欣賞，如 We feasted on smoked salmon and champagne.（我們盡情享用煙燻鮭魚和香檳。）或 He feasted on the beautiful scene.（他飽覽美景。）

bird of prey：（如鷹、隼等）食肉鳥、猛禽，複數為birds of prey。

keep sb on their toes：強迫某人全神貫注、專注於某事，如 Their boss kept them all on their toes.（他們的老闆讓他們片刻也無法鬆懈。）