中英對照讀新聞》Snake flips switch, stops traffic at Virginia intersection蛇抽動開關，維吉尼亞十字路口交通中斷

◎周虹汶

A large snake brought traffic to a stop at an intersection in Prince William County, Virginia.

一條大蛇在維吉尼亞州威廉王子郡的一個十字路口導致交通中斷。

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The snake was in an electrical panel at the intersection of Prince William Parkway and Sudley Manor Drive and caused a power outage on Monday, the Prince William County Police Department said in a statement. A police officer and an animal control officer worked together to remove the snake from the panel and release it unharmed in the area, authorities said.

威廉王子郡警察局在一份聲明中說，這條蛇在威廉王子公園大道和薩德利莊園大道交叉口的配電箱裡，並導致週一停電。當局說，一名警官和一名動物管制官合作把這條蛇從面板上移走，並讓牠在該地區平安獲釋。

The snake was so large that it flipped a breaker switch that shut off the signal, but it didn’t damage anything inside the box, officials told news outlets. It’s believed that the snake had been living in the box for a while due to molten skin found inside. （AP）

官員告訴新聞媒體，這條蛇太大，以致觸發了一個關閉信號的斷路器開關，但牠未損壞箱裡任何東西。據信這條蛇已經在箱裡住了一段時間，因為裡頭發現了蛇的蛻皮。（美聯社）

新聞辭典

flip： 動詞，指為作出決定而擲硬幣、輕彈、突然拉動、使激動；名詞，指輕彈、輕擊、輕拋、突然的動作、跳水或體操時的空翻；形容詞，指無禮的、魯莽的、油腔滑調的。例句：Let’s flip a coin.（我們擲硬幣決定吧。）

outage：名詞，指油或酒類儲運損耗、機器等的運行中斷、水電等的中斷供應。例句：This area had a scheduled ten-hour water outage for construction.（因地區為施工依預定停水10小時之久。）

shut off：片語動詞，指關機、關閉、停止供應、封閉隔離。例句：A row of tall trees shuts off the view of the street in front.（一排高大的樹擋住了前面的街景。）