《中英對照讀新聞》Man beats peacock he says was vampire 男子對他認為是吸血鬼的孔雀痛下毒手
◎ 魏國金
A peacock that roamed into a fast-food restaurant parking lot was attacked by man who vilified the bird as a vampire, New York’s animal-control authorities said.
紐約的動物管理當局指出，一隻闖進速食店停車場的孔雀遭一名男子攻擊，此人詆毀這隻鳥禽是吸血鬼。
Beaten so fiercely that most of his tail feathers fell out, the bird was euthanized, said Richard Gentles, a spokesman for the city’s Center for Animal Care and Control. "It’s just unbelievable that someone would do something to a poor, defenseless animal and do it in such a cruel fashion," he said.
紐約市的動物照顧與管理中心發言人詹托斯表示，孔雀遭到如此激烈痛毆，以致牠大部分的尾羽皆掉落，因而被施以安樂死。「令人難以置信，有人會對一隻可憐、無防衛力的動物動手動腳，而且是用這麼殘酷的方式，」他說。
The peacock, a male several years old, wandered into a Staten Island Burger King parking lot and perched on a car hood. Charmed employees had been feeding him bread when the man appeared.
這隻已有好幾歲的公孔雀漫步進入史坦頓島一家漢堡王的停車場，並跳上一輛車的引擎蓋。當行兇男子出現時，著迷的員工正在餵牠吃麵包。
He seized the iridescent bird by the neck, hurled it to the ground and started kicking and stomping the creature, said worker Felicia Finnegan, 19. "He was going crazy," she said. Asked what he was doing, she said, the attacker explained, " ’I’m killing a vampire!’ "
19歲員工費芬妮甘指出，他一把抓住這隻色彩斑斕的鳥的脖子，往地上一丟，然後開始踢、踩這隻鳥。「他瘋了，」她說。問他在幹什麼，她說，這名攻擊者解釋，「我在殺一個吸血鬼！」
Employees called police, but the man ran when he saw them.
員工們報警，但男子看到警察，一溜煙逃跑。
新聞辭典
vilify︰動詞，詆毀、中傷、污衊。to vilify the government，詆毀政府；to vilify sb’s character，污衊某人人格。
euthanize︰動詞，施以安樂死。 euthanasia，安樂死、安樂死術。
hood︰汽車引擎蓋。汽車其他組件︰windshield，擋風玻璃、windshield wiper，雨刷、 bumper，保險桿。
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