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Grinch sends back presents, damaged 「鬼靈精」歸還毀損的禮物
Tuesday, Dec 25, 2007,Page 14
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Patrick Page, right, star of Dr. Seuss' How The Grinch Stole Christmas! greets youngsters at the St. James Theater in New York, Friday, Nov. 23, 2007.
十一月二十三日，主演蘇斯博士作品《How The Grinch Stole Christmas!》的派翠克．佩吉（右），在紐約聖詹姆士劇院向小孩打招呼。照片：美聯社
PHOTO: AP
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The Grinch who stole Christmas may have had a change of heart, unexpectedly returning Christmas goods stolen from the house of a New Zealand family, police have said.
But there was "not really a happy ending" to the saga, according to Senior Constable John Chambers, with most of the stolen goods - which had been bought as Christmas gifts - likely to be thrown out because they had been badly damaged.
Stereo and DVD equipment, antiques and kitchen appliances were taken during a burglary late on Dec. 15 at a property at Bannockburn, near the town of Cromwell on South Island.
Most of the NZ$20,000 (NT$492,000) worth of goods were returned several hours later, wrapped in a sheet and left on the roadside outside the house.
The burglars returned again on the Monday to drop off two remote controls, which they left in the mailbox.
Trouble was, Chambers said, "90 percent of the goods are damaged," with a NZ$5,000 (NT$123,000) LCD screen only fit for the local rubbish dump, along with most of the other returned items.
Chambers said apart from the thieves having "a change of heart," it was possible they were living "fairly close" to the scene of the burglary.
People there may have "read the riot act to them and told them to get the stuff out of their house and return it quick smart," he said. "It's a shame they didn't take more care of the equipment."
At the time of the burglary, the homeowner's 16-year-old son was the only person in the house, but had slept through it, Chambers said.
The teenager had left the front door unlocked and lights on as his father was due to arrive home early on the following morning. The family has insurance.(AP)
偷耶誕禮物的鬼靈精可能改變心意了，警方表示，紐西蘭一間民宅被偷的耶誕物品出乎意料地物歸原主。
高階警官約翰．錢伯斯表示，但這個故事並不是以「快樂的結局」結尾，因為大部份遭竊物品─買來當作耶誕禮物─都受到嚴重破壞，所以它們很可能都會被丟棄。
本月十五日，夜賊光顧南島克倫威爾鎮附近班諾本的一棟民宅，偷走音響和影碟播放設備、古董和廚房用品。
幾小時後，大部份失竊物品被包在一塊床單裡，棄置在遭竊民宅屋外的街邊。這些失竊物品市值兩萬紐幣（新台幣四十九萬兩千元）。
隔週一，竊賊又把兩支遙控器丟回失主的信箱裡。
錢伯斯表示，麻煩的是「有九成物品都遭受破壞」，其中原本市值五千紐幣（新台幣十二萬三千元）的液晶螢幕只能丟到當地垃圾場，其他大部份歸還物品的下場也差不多。
錢伯斯說，除了竊賊「回心轉意」之外，他們很可能就住在失竊地點附近。
當地可能有人「對偷兒提出警告，叫他們趕緊將東西弄出房子，歸還原處。」他說：「只可惜他們沒有好好保護這些物品。」
錢伯斯說，竊案發生時失主家裡只有屋主十六歲的兒子一個人在家，但他在熟睡中並未發現。
這名年輕人當天沒有鎖前門，還留了一盞燈給凌晨會返家的父親。還好他們有保險。（美聯社／翻譯：袁星塵）
| TODAY'S WORDS 今日單字 |
| 1. change of heart v. phr.
改變心意 (gai3 bian4 xin1 yi4)
例: Sarah had a change of heart and decided to go home for Christmas after all.
(莎拉最後還是改變心意，決定回家過耶誕節。)
2. appliance n.
用具 (yong4 ju4)
例: I had the apartment fitted out with all the latest electrical appliances.
(我家裡擺滿了各式最新的電子產品。)
3. quick smart idiom
趕緊 (gan2 jin3)
例: I suggest you return that overdue DVD quick smart.
(我建議你趕緊歸還逾期未還的影音光碟。)
4. insurance n.
保險 (bao2 xian3)
例: It's lucky that you had insurance! Air ambulances are really expensive.
(好險你有保險！醫療救護專機收費很貴的。) |
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| SAY WHAT? 說說看 |
| read the riot act 嚴正警告
The expression read the riot act originates from 18th century England. The king, George I, was worried that uprisings could lead to an invasion by the supporters of the deposed house of the Stuarts. A law was passed that said that a group of 12 people or more must disperse within the hour if ordered to do so by a magistrate. A special proclamation, laid out in the Riot Act, had to be read out to give the order.
Nowadays the expression means that someone expresses disapproval and demands that certain behavior by an individual or a group ceases.
「read the riot act」起源於十八世紀的英國，英王喬治一世擔心前斯圖亞特王室的擁護者會造反入侵，因此頒布了一項法律，規定十二人以上的團體，在地方長官下令後，必須在一小時內解散。在暴亂取締法中有一段特別的宣告，必須朗讀出來後才能下令執行。
現在，這個說法用來表示某人表達反對立場，並要
求個人或團體應終止特定的行為。
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| OUT LOUD 對話練習 |
| The Grinch who stole Christmas may have had a change of heart, unexpectedly returning Christmas goods stolen from the house of a New Zealand family, police have said.
But there was "not really a happy ending" to the saga, according to Senior Constable John Chambers, with most of the stolen goods - which had been bought as Christmas gifts - likely to be thrown out because they had been badly damaged.
Stereo and DVD equipment, antiques and kitchen appliances were taken during a burglary late on Dec. 15 at a property at Bannockburn, near the town of Cromwell on South Island.
Most of the NZ$20,000 (NT$492,000) worth of goods were returned several hours later, wrapped in a sheet and left on the roadside outside the house.
The burglars returned again on the Monday to drop off two remote controls, which they left in the mailbox.
Trouble was, Chambers said, "90 percent of the goods are damaged," with a NZ$5,000 (NT$123,000) LCD screen only fit for the local rubbish dump, along with most of the other returned items.
Chambers said apart from the thieves having "a change of heart," it was possible they were living "fairly close" to the scene of the burglary.
People there may have "read the riot act to them and told them to get the stuff out of their house and return it quick smart," he said. "It's a shame they didn't take more care of the equipment."
At the time of the burglary, the homeowner's 16-year-old son was the only person in the house, but had slept through it, Chambers said.
The teenager had left the front door unlocked and lights on as his father was due to arrive home early on the following morning. The family has insurance.(AP)
偷耶誕禮物的鬼靈精可能改變心意了，警方表示，紐西蘭一間民宅被偷的耶誕物品出乎意料地物歸原主。
高階警官約翰．錢伯斯表示，但這個故事並不是以「快樂的結局」結尾，因為大部份遭竊物品─買來當作耶誕禮物─都受到嚴重破壞，所以它們很可能都會被丟棄。
本月十五日，夜賊光顧南島克倫威爾鎮附近班諾本的一棟民宅，偷走音響和影碟播放設備、古董和廚房用品。
幾小時後，大部份失竊物品被包在一塊床單裡，棄置在遭竊民宅屋外的街邊。這些失竊物品市值兩萬紐幣（新台幣四十九萬兩千元）。
隔週一，竊賊又把兩支遙控器丟回失主的信箱裡。
錢伯斯表示，麻煩的是「有九成物品都遭受破壞」，其中原本市值五千紐幣（新台幣十二萬三千元）的液晶螢幕只能丟到當地垃圾場，其他大部份歸還物品的下場也差不多。
錢伯斯說，除了竊賊「回心轉意」之外，他們很可能就住在失竊地點附近。
當地可能有人「對偷兒提出警告，叫他們趕緊將東西弄出房子，歸還原處。」他說：「只可惜他們沒有好好保護這些物品。」
錢伯斯說，竊案發生時失主家裡只有屋主十六歲的兒子一個人在家，但他在熟睡中並未發現。
這名年輕人當天沒有鎖前門，還留了一盞燈給凌晨會返家的父親。還好他們有保險。（美聯社／翻譯：袁星塵）
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