離開
進入《中英對照讀新聞》"Monster rabbit" targets vegetable patch 「巨兔」瞄準菜園
◎ 俞智敏
It sounds like a job for Wallace and Gromit. A "monster" rabbit has apparently been rampaging through vegetable patches in a small village in northern England, ripping up leeks, munching turnips and infuriating local gardeners.
這聽起來像是華力士與阿高該去處理的問題。一隻「巨大」的兔子顯然一直在英格蘭北部一座小村子裡的多處菜園恣意妄為，連根挖起韭蔥，津津有味地大啃蕪菁，氣得當地的園丁直跳腳。
In an uncanny resemblance to the plot of the hit animated film "Wallace & Gromit in the Curse of the Were-Rabbit," angry horticulturists in Felton, near Newcastle, have now mounted an armed guard to protect their prized cabbages and parsnips.
紐卡索市附近費頓村憤怒的園藝愛好者現在已經展開武裝守衛，以保護他們十分珍惜的包心菜和蕪菁，整件事跟熱門動畫電影「酷狗寶貝之魔兔詛咒」簡直是不可思議地雷同。
"They call it the monster. It's very big -- it's nearly the size of a dog," said Joan Smith, whose son Jeff owns one of the plots under attack.
「他們叫牠怪獸。牠的體型很大─幾乎跟狗差不多，」瓊安．史密斯說，她兒子傑夫的土地也是遭到攻擊的菜園之一。
In the "Wallace" film, which topped both the U.S. and UK box office charts and in March won an Oscar for best animated feature film, the plasticine heroes battle a mutant rabbit bent on destroying their home town's annual Giant Vegetable Contest.
在英美兩地都曾拿下票房冠軍、更在今年3月贏得奧斯卡最佳動畫獎的「酷狗寶貝」一片中，兩位黏土製的英雄與一隻執意要破壞其家鄉年度巨大蔬菜比賽的變種兔英勇奮戰。
Those who say they have witnessed Felton's black and brown monster describe it as a cross between a rabbit and a hare with one ear bigger than the other.
自稱看過費頓村這隻黑棕兩色巨兔的目擊者表示，它應該是兔子和野兔的混種兔，而且一邊耳朵比另一邊更大。
新聞辭典
rampage：暴跳、橫衝直撞。如 The captured tiger was on the rampage for several days.（被捕獲的老虎幾天來一直暴躁不安。）又如︰The armed robbers rampaged through the financial district.（武裝搶匪在金融區內橫衝直撞為非作歹。）
uncanny：奇怪的、怪異的；神奇的、不可思議的。如︰An uncanny light seemed to be coming from the castle.（有一道詭異的光似乎是從古堡內散發出來。）
horticulturist：指園藝家、愛好園藝者，園藝為 horticulture。
bent on：片語，指下定決心， 如She seems bent on becoming a musician.（她似乎下定決心要成為音樂家。）
