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進入中英對照讀新聞》Why are New York’s squirrels ‘splooting’? 紐約的松鼠為何「splooting」？
美國紐約市公園處貼文提醒民眾，勿擔心松鼠當街伸展四肢趴平。圖為德州休士頓一隻在大熱天趴平的松鼠。（法新社檔案照）
◎張沛元
People strolling through New York City’s parks may be stopped in their tracks this summer by a squirrel sprawled out, face down, limbs outstretched and lying still. Don’t be alarmed, says the city’s Department of Parks and Recreation. They’re just “splooting.”
民眾今夏漫步穿梭於（美國）紐約市的公園時，可能會因為（看到）松鼠懶散癱趴、面朝下、四肢伸展靜止不動而駐足。別緊張，該市公園休憩局說，牠們只是在「splooting」。
A tweet by the parks agency earlier this week went viral online, confusing and delighting people in equal measure, after it advised: “If you see a squirrel lying down like this, don’t worry; it’s just fine...on hot days, squirrels keep cool by splooting (stretching out) on cool surfaces to reduce body heat.”
該局本週稍早一篇在網路上瘋傳的推文，既令人困惑又覺得有趣，因為該文建議：「若你看到松鼠像這樣趴著，別擔心，沒事的…松鼠在大熱天為保持涼爽，會在涼爽表面splooting（伸展四肢）以降低體溫。」
That sparked a rush of queries about what splooting means. But the word, of unknown origin, has been swirling around the internet for some time, popular among pet owners delighted at the sight of their dog or cat stretching out their hind legs in an amusing posture.
該推文引發一股詢問splooting是什麼意思的熱潮。但此起源不明的字在網路上已流傳一段時間，是樂見愛犬或愛貓以逗趣姿勢伸展後肢的寵物飼主間的流行語。
新聞辭典
sprawl out：片語，1)四肢伸展地躺或臥；2) 雜亂無章地四散。例句：Her husband had been sprawled out in front of the television all day long.（她老公一整天都癱在電視機前。）
in equal measure：片語，指兩件事有同等作用或重要性；等量，相同程度。
swirl around：慣用語，1)繞轉；2)在特定群體間流傳。例句：The candidate argued that scandals swirling around her are all baseless.（候選人辯稱，有關她的醜聞全都毫無根據。）
