離開
進入《中英對照讀新聞》’666’ road sign thefts bedeviling roadways 各地公路飽受「666」路牌失竊之苦
◎張沛元
Is the Garden State Parkway the highway to hell? Or is the New Jersey Turnpike the road to damnation?
花園州公園大道是通往地獄的高速公路嗎？抑或新澤西州收費高速公路是邁向詛咒毀滅之路？
Someone keeps stealing the metal signs at mile marker 66.6 along the heavily traveled toll roads, and the New Jersey Turnpike Authority is having a devil of a time keeping up with the thefts.
這些車流量甚大的收費公路沿線的66.6英里鐵製標示牌不斷遭人偷竊，讓新澤西州公路局因為裝設新標示牌的速度趕不上竊案而傷透腦筋。
It’s been happening all over the country, particularly on roads with names like Route 666. Officials aren’t sure if the thefts are being committed by religious zealots upset about the number’s association in the Bible with the devil, or by college students who think a ’666’ sign would look cool in their dorm room.
這類竊案全美國各地都有，但在類似以666為名的這種公路特別嚴重。官員不確定這些竊案是否為宗教狂熱份子，因為不滿666此一在聖經中被視為與魔鬼有關的數字而犯案，還是認為666標誌掛在宿舍房間裡很酷的大學生幹的。
Joe Orlando, a spokesman for the Authority, said officials have no idea who is taking the signs. "Maybe it’s just some kids with a Devil-may-care attitude," Orlando said.
新澤西州公路局發言人喬．奧蘭多說，官方不知道是誰拿走了這些路牌。「也許只是某些膽大妄為的小鬼。」奧蘭多說。
新聞辭典
bedevil：動詞，使痛苦；虐待。devil-may-care，片語，不在意的；不顧一切，不要命的。a devil of a，口語，非常糟糕，麻煩，異常的。例句：I had a devil of a time talking him into attending the meeting.（我費了好大一番勁說服他出席那場會議。）
The Garden State：花園州，美國新澤西州（New Jersey）的別名。美國50州皆有別名，例如，紐約州別名The Empire State（帝國州）；佛羅里達州別名The Sunshine State（陽光州），德州別名the Lone Star State（孤星州），加州別名The Golden State（黃金州）。
turnpike：名詞，收費高速公路（美國），即toll road。toll，名詞，過路費；通行費；電話費。toll-free number，免付費電話號碼。
