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進入《中英對照讀新聞》Man Receives Patent to Build ‘the Ultimate Snowman’ 男子獲得堆「終極雪人」的專利
◎陳成良
There is no shortage of bizarre patents, such as the wheeled flower pot and the crustless peanut butter and jelly sandwich.
這世界不乏稀奇古怪的專利，比如帶輪子的花盆、不帶麵包皮的花生醬以及果凍三明治。
Ignacio Marc Asperas of Melville, N.Y., is now the official holder of another patent that should qualify for that list. Entitled“Apparatus for Facilitating the Construction of a Snow Man/Woman”, the 25-page patent document is a perfect how-to guide for making snowmen -- it even offers a brief history of snowman, which Asperas called “unknown.”
家住紐約梅爾維爾的伊格納西奧‧馬克‧阿斯佩拉斯，如今正式擁有的另一項專利，應該也有資格加入那個名單裡。該專利名為「實施建造男／女雪人的裝置」，長達25頁的專利文件中提供了一套完美的堆雪人指南；甚至還提供了雪人簡史——按阿斯佩拉斯的說法，叫做「不詳」。
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office granted Asperas the patent earlier this September, reports Geek.com, which he originally applied for back in 2006.
據科技網站Geek.com報導，今年9月稍早，美國專利商標局授予阿斯佩拉斯此項專利，而他最初申請此項專利是在2006年。
Asperas said, this is no joke. From constructing a spherically shaped body to forming an adhesion surface, he outlined every obstacle faced when on a quest to build the “Ultimate Snowman.”
阿斯佩拉斯說，這不是開玩笑。從如何建造一個球體狀的身體，到如何形成黏合面，他就尋求打造「終極雪人」，概述了所有可能遇到的障礙。
So this winter, when you find yourself breaking your back like Asperas once did, just follow his steps. But be careful, Gawker jokes, just think of the potential lawsuits on the horizon.
所以，這個冬天如果你跟阿斯佩拉斯一樣，堆雪人時不小心閃到了腰，那就按他的步驟來。但要小心喔！Gawker網站開玩笑說，想想可能即將引發的官司吧！
新聞辭典
on a quest to：片語，尋找或追求某人事物。例句：This man is on a quest to find out the meaning of life.（這個人想要找出人生的意義。）
on the horizon：片語，指某事可能即將發生，例句：There is no new drug on the horizon that will make this disease easier to treat.（還看不到能夠更容易治療這種疾病的新藥物可能即將上市。）
