【在生活中學習語言】《中英對照讀新聞》Girl stung by scorpion in watermelon女童遭西瓜裡的蠍螫中
◎羅彥傑

One young shopper at a Wal-Mart in West Virginia had to watch out for more than falling prices.

西維吉尼亞州威名百貨的一名年幼購物者，必須注意的東西不只是大減價而已。

A 12-year-old girl picking up a seedless watermelon from a bin was stung by a tan, inch-long scorpion that had apparently stowed away in a shipment from Mexico.

一名12歲女童從一個箱子裡撿起一粒無籽西瓜，結果被一隻古銅色、一英寸長的蠍子螫中，這隻蠍子顯然是跟著墨西哥的一批貨物偷渡進來。

Megan Templeton, of Barboursville, was taken to the hospital as a precaution but later released. Her father, William Templeton, said the pain was a little worse than a bee sting.

巴柏斯維鎮的梅根．坦柏頓被送進醫院以防萬一，但後來就出院。她的父親威廉．坦柏頓說，這種疼痛只比蜜蜂叮咬更嚴重一點點。

He initially didn’t believe his daughter when she said she had been stung by a scorpion, but then he saw the critter scurry underneath a box. It was captured by Wal-Mart employees.

他一開始不相信女兒所說的被蠍子螫了一下，但後來他看見箱子底下真的有蠍子跑來跑去。威名百貨公司員工把牠給抓住了。

Most of the nearly 2,000 kinds of scorpions are not dangerous to humans.

將近2,000種蠍子中，大多數不會對人類構成危險。

Richard Coyle, senior director of international affairs for Wal-Mart, said store employees believe the problem was with a single shipment of watermelons.

威名百貨公司國際事務部資深主任理查．柯伊爾說，賣場員工相信問題僅在那一批裝載西瓜的貨物上。

新聞辭典

sting：動詞，刺、螫、叮。例句：A bee stung him on the neck.（一隻蜜蜂叮了他的脖子。）

stow away：片語，收藏，或偷乘（船、火車或飛機）。例句：He stowed away on a French ship bound for France.（他偷乘一艘法國籍船隻前往法國。）

scurry：動詞，急忙地走動、亂竄。例句：We heard mice scurrying about in the kitchen.（我們聽見老鼠在廚房裡亂竄。）

自由時報-970603
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