中英對照讀新聞》Beavers Re-emerge in Scotland, Drawing Ire of Farmers 河狸重現蘇格蘭 惹毛農夫

◎張沛元

Four centuries after they were hunted to extinction, mainly for their fur, beavers are back in Scotland, and so is their age-old battle with humans.

在河狸主要因為其毛皮而遭獵捕至絕跡的4個世紀後，牠們重返蘇格蘭，與人類之間的古老戰鬥也隨之再起。

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Gnawing and felling trees, building dams that flood fields or wreck drainage systems and burrowing into river banks — sometimes causing them to collapse — beavers have incurred the wrath of a farming community, which won the right to request permits allowing them to kill the animals legally.

會啃咬與砍伐樹木、築壩導致農田被淹沒或破壞排水系統，以及挖洞深入河床──有時導致河床坍塌──的河狸，已經惹毛一個農業社區，他們已取得申請許可的權利，可以合法殺死河狸。

But the sanctioned killing of an otherwise protected species has enraged conservationists, prompting a legal challenge and igniting a polarizing debate about farming, biodiversity and the future of Scotland’s countryside.

但授權撲殺這種在其他情況下該被保護的物種，已惹火保育人士，引發一場法律挑戰與一場有關務農、生物多樣性與蘇格蘭農村未來的兩極化辯論。

新聞辭典

ire：名詞，憤怒。raise/arouse/draw ire of someone或raise/arouse/draw somebody’s ire，讓某人生氣；不爽。例句：The new employment contract will draw ire of prospective job applicants.（新的聘僱契約會讓潛在求職者很生氣。）

incur：動詞，招致；惹起。

sanction：動詞／名詞，批准；認可；制裁。例句：The United States imposed sanctions on Friday on seven Chinese officials over Beijing’s crackdown on democracy in Hong Kong.（美國週五就北京當局鎮壓香港民主而制裁7名中國官員。）