《中英對照讀新聞》Gigantic brown bear brought down by hunter on Hokkaido farm 超大棕熊在北海道農地遭獵人獵殺

◎張沛元

A massive brown bear that was shot dead while it ravaged a cornfield weighed in as one of the largest of the mammals ever killed in Japan.

一頭因蹂躪一座玉米田而遭射殺身亡的巨大棕熊，其重量在日本歷來被射殺的棕熊當中名列前茅。

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The bear was killed Sept. 26 by a hunter dispatched at the request of the farmer who owned the cornfield. The animal is believed to have been feasting on the corn to stock up on nutrition before it went into hibernation.

這頭棕熊是在9月26日被應玉米田主要求而來的一名獵人射殺身亡。這頭棕熊據信已在玉米田大快朵頤多時，以便在冬眠前補充營養。

When the bear’s body was hoisted on a crane, the creature was found to weigh about 400 kilograms and measure roughly 2.5 meters in length.

當起重機把棕熊的屍體吊起來，發現這頭棕熊重約400公斤，身長約2.5公尺。

"The animal is one of the top 10 largest bears we’ve ever found," said an official with the nonprofit organization Minami-Shiretoko Higuma Joho Center （Minami-Shiretoko brown bear information center）. "It must have weighed at least 300 kg even in the summer when food is scarce."

「這頭棕熊是我們歷來所捕獲的棕熊的前十大之一」，非盈利機構「南知床棕熊情報中心」的一名工作人員說，「即使在食物稀少的夏天，牠也至少有300公斤重。」

Hokkaido is home to a number of large brown bears, with one captured in the town of Erimo in 2007 weighing 520 kg.

北海道本就是許多大型棕熊的棲息地，2007年時在襟裳町捕獲一頭棕熊就重達520公斤。

新聞辭典

bring down：慣用語，殺害。

at the request of：慣用語，應……的要求。例句：At the request of the police officer, the driver pulled his truck over to the side of the road.（貨車司機應員警要求靠邊停車。）

feast （up） on something：慣用語，大吃大喝。例句：We feasted on the cake she made.（我們大啖她做的蛋糕。）