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US prison finds a new way to deter would-be escapees: a bear 警衛熊巡邏要命勿逃

Tuesday, May 13, 2008,Page 16

Forest Service Interpreter Larry Rickards watches a black bear walk past the Mendenhall Glacier Visitor Center in Juneau, Alaska, US, on Sept. 6, 2007.
去年九月六日，美國阿拉斯加首府朱諾的林業局解說員賴瑞．瑞克茲望著一頭黑熊走過曼德荷冰河遊客中心。
照片：美聯社
PHOTO: AP

The way the warden sees it, the 180-kilogram black bear living in the middle of the sprawling Louisiana State Penitentiary is an extra layer of security.

“I love that bear being right where it is,” Warden Burl Cain said. “I tell you what, none of our inmates are going to try to get out after dark and wander around when they might run into a big old bear. It’s like having another guard at no cost to the taxpayer.”

The bear was first seen by an inmate crossing a road in the prison earlier this month. It was taking a stroll near the center of the maximum security prison. Most of the 73-square-kilometer prison is run as a farm, but about 14km2 is piney woods.

Prison workers measured the bear’s footprints, which were 15cm in diameter.

“The wildlife people told us they think it’s a big female they’ve been tracking for a while,” Cain said.

Maria Davidson, manager of the Large Carnivore Program for the Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries, marvels that a bear was spotted in an area of high activity such as the center of the prison.

“Bears are actually very shy, their tendency is to run and hide,” Davidson said.

As for acting as an unpaid prison guard, Davidson doubts that the bear would provide much of a deterrent to a fleeing prisoner.

“We’ve never had a predatory attack by a black bear in Louisiana, to our knowledge, on pets or livestock,” she said. “As for a bear coming out and rushing an inmate, I don’t see that happening.”

The prison is isolated and has plenty of other kinds of dangerous wildlife, including alligators, rattlesnakes and wild pigs, said Gary Young, head of the executive management office at the prison. The last recorded escape was nearly three years ago, and the inmate was quickly recaptured before leaving the grounds.(AP)

佔地遼闊的路易斯安那州州立監獄內住了一隻黑熊，監獄的典獄長認為，這隻一百八十公斤重的黑熊讓監獄又多了一道安全防護。

「我很高興這隻熊生活在這裡，」典獄長柏爾．凱恩說：「因為天黑後沒有一個囚犯會想到外面晃，不然可能會碰上大黑熊；這就像不花納稅人半毛錢，就多請了一個警衛一樣。」

一名囚犯本月初過馬路時首先目睹這頭熊，當時牠正在這所高度警戒的監獄中央附近溜達。這所佔地七十三平方公里的監獄大部分做為農場之用，但其中十四平方公里是一片松樹林。

監獄員工測量了這隻熊的腳印，結果牠的腳長十五公分。

凱恩說：「野生動物組織的人跟我們說，他們已經觀察牠一陣子了，牠應該是一隻大母熊。」

路易斯安那州的野生動物暨漁業部下有一個大型肉食動物計畫，其負責人瑪莉雅．戴維森對熊會出現在像監獄這類人類活動頻繁的區域感到相當訝異。

戴維森說：「熊其實很膽小，牠們通常會跑去躲起來。」

至於作為一隻未支薪的「警衛熊」，戴維森懷疑這頭熊能對遏阻囚犯逃獄發揮多大作用。

「據我們所知，路易斯安那州還沒有發生過黑熊掠食攻擊寵物或家畜的事件，」她說：「而我也不認為熊會跑出來攻擊囚犯。」

這所監獄的行政管理部門主任蓋瑞‧楊表示，我們地處偏僻，監獄轄區內還有其他許多危險的野生猛獸，例如短吻鱷魚、響尾蛇和野豬。上一次發生逃獄事件是將近三年前，結果這名囚犯還沒逃出監獄就立刻被逮到了。

（美聯社／翻譯：袁星塵）

TODAY’S WORDS 今日單字

1. sprawling adj.

向外不規則擴展的 (xiang4 wai4 bu4 gui1 ze2 kuo4 zhan3 de5)

例: Mandy's father has a sprawling lawn.

(曼蒂她爸有一塊很大的草坪。)

2. tendency n.

傾向 (qing1 xiang4)

例: The tendency at that institution is to resist all change.

(這個組織有拒絕一切改變的特性。)

3. deterrent n.

威嚇的 (wei1 he4 de5)

例: The police checks are a deterrent to drunk driving.

(警方臨檢是為了遏阻酒後駕車。)

4. isolated adj.

偏僻的 (pian1 pi4 de5)

例: Lynne works at an isolated warehouse.

(琳恩在一個偏僻的倉庫工作。)

SAY WHAT? 說說看

I don’t see that happening 那不（太）可能

I don’t see that happening is a way of saying that you think something isn’t likely or won’t happen. For example, “Lance wants a pay raise to match the recent rise in cost of living, but I don’t see that happening.”

Another phrase with a similar meaning is I wouldn’t bet on it, which means that you think the odds of something happening are very small. For example, “Horace thinks he’ll make the debate team, but I wouldn’t bet on it.”

「I don’t see that happening」的意思就是你認為某事不可能，或根本不會發生。例如：「藍斯希望可以加薪來跟上最近上漲的生活消費，但依我看他是在做夢」。另一個意思接近的片語是「I wouldn’t bet on it」，意指你認為某事發生的機會微乎其微。例如：「賀瑞斯認為他可以加入辯論隊，但是我覺得機會渺茫」。

OUT LOUD 對話練習

Mike: What are you doing tonight?

Andrew: I’m going to watch Prison Break.

Mike: That’s awesome. I watched season three last week. I think it might be the best TV show ever.

Andrew: It sure is exciting. I wouldn’t give up my copy of season one for all the tea in China.

Mike: I wonder how long it would take to drink all that tea.

麥克：你今晚要做什麼啊？

安德魯：我打算來看《越獄風雲》。

麥克：那超好看的，我上星期看了第三季，我覺得那是我看過最好看的電視影集了！

安德魯：那真的很刺激，無論如何我都不會讓出我第一季的片子。

麥克：不知道喝完那些茶要花多久時間。

wouldn’t...for all the tea in China　無論如何都不會…

If someone wouldn’t do something for all the tea in China, then he or she wouldn’t do it no matter what they were offered. For example, “I wouldn’t eat at that restaurant again for all the tea in China.”

如果說某人「wouldn’t...for all the tea in China」，就表示無論代價為何，他或她都不會做那件事，例如：「無論如何我都不會再踏進那間�?@步」。

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