Weird, wild and wonderful events of 2006
A selection of zany(1) events from the year just ending:
- In a new twist on the influx(2) of Polish workers to Britain, an ad appeared in newspapers serving Muslim communities in the east European nation asking for Polish halal(3) butchers to work in Britain.
- An 82-year-old Australian cartoonist who was expert at doing high-speed sketches of sports participants was able to do a quick drawing of a man who robbed his home. Police used it to arrest the burglar(4).
- The authorities in a Czech town on the border with Austria ordered an Austrian hotel to trim its roof, which was protruding(5) a few centimetres (inches) across the boundary.
- Ziggy Stardust, an indiscreet(6) parrot in England, blew the cover on its mistress's love affair by repeating her amorous(7) exchanges in front of her companion. The latter, named Chris, realised something was up when the bird started squawking(8) "Gary, I love you."
- A woman's handbag containing jewellery and cash worth some 110,000 US dollars was returned intact(9) to its owner in Melbourne, Australia, after she absent-mindedly(10) left it hanging on a shopping trolley(11). The extremely honest finder wished to remain anonymous.
- A Frenchman who had braved(12) lawsuits to deep freeze his dead parents' bodies gave up when his freezer system broke down. He had hoped to one day bring them back to life thanks to medical progress.
- A talentless street musician in the Dutch town of Leiden got local people so upset by his awful saxophone playing that they got police to confiscate(13) his instrument.
- New Yorkers were gripped by the story of a cat called Molly which got stuck between the double walls of an old building in Greenwich Village. It took 40 firefighters and two weeks of work to get her out, safe and sound(14).
年度荒诞趣闻盘点节选：
- 随着越来越多的波兰人进入英国工作，欧洲东部穆斯林社区报纸上出现招聘波兰清真肉屠宰师去英国工作的广告。
- 一位82岁的擅长快速素描的澳大利亚漫画家经常为赛场上的运动员作画。他画下了夜间入室抢劫的罪犯嘴脸，警察凭借素描抓到了罪犯。
- 捷克小镇政府要求边界另一边的奥地利旅馆重新修正屋顶，因为它超越出边界几厘米（英寸）。
- 英国一只名叫Ziggy Stardust的多嘴鹦鹉重复女主人对情人说的情话，败露了偷情事件。当男主人Chris听到鹦鹉说：“Gary，我爱你”的时候便明白了。
- 一位澳大利亚墨尔本妇女将手提包遗忘在购物车中。包中的现金和首饰共值11万美元，最终居然完璧归赵。这位拾金不昧的好人还希望能保持匿名。
- 一位法国男子将死去的父母深度冷藏，由于冷藏机坏了而败露，受到法律制裁。他说希望有一天医疗发展能让父母复活。
- 荷兰莱顿小镇上有一位没有天分的街头音乐家，每天演奏刺耳的萨克斯。当地居民不堪忍受，让警察没收了他的乐器。
- 全纽约的目光都被一只名叫Molly的猫所吸引。它被卡在格林威治一座老建筑的双层墙中。最终动用了四十名消防队员，用时两周才将它安全解救出来。
中国国际广播电台 译
1. zany：滑稽的
2. influx：流入
3. halal：清真肉，按伊斯兰教规规定的方式屠宰的肉
4. burglar：夜贼
5. protrude：突出
6. indiscreet：轻率的
7. amorous：多情的，恋爱的
8. squawk：鸟类咯咯地叫
9. intact：完整无缺的
10. absent-mindedly：不小心地
11. shopping trolley：购物手推车
12. brave：勇敢地面对
13. confiscate：没收
14. sound：健康的，彻底的
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真是怪事天天有