《中英對照讀新聞》'Ice-pick that killed Trotsky' found in Mexico 刺死托洛茨基的冰錐在墨西哥被發現

◎ 俞智敏

One of the most notorious murder weapons in modern history, the ice-pick that killed Leon Trotsky, appears to have been found, 65 years after it was apparently stolen from the Mexican police.

現代歷史上最惡名昭彰的凶器之一，也就是刺死托洛茨基的冰錐，似乎已被找到，這把冰錐六十五年前顯然是從墨西哥警方手中被人偷走。

The daughter of a former secret service agent claims she has the steel mountaineering instrument, which is stained with the blood of the Russian revolutionary.

一名前秘勤局幹員之女聲稱她手上握有這把鋼製的登山工具，上面還沾有這名俄羅斯革命領袖的血跡。

Exiled by Joseph Stalin, Trotsky lived a relatively settled life in a leafy suburb of Mexico City until his death in 1940.

在遭到史達林放逐後，托洛茨基就在墨西哥市一處充滿綠樹的郊區過著相對安定的生活，直到一九四○年去世為止。

Trotsky was always fearful of assassination attempts organised by Stalin. He was finally caught off guard by Ramon Mercader, who on August 20 1940 got access to him on the pretext of needing help.

托洛茨基一直害怕史達林會籌畫暗殺行動，後來他終於對麥卡達失去戒心，麥卡達是在一九四○年八月二十日藉口需要幫助而接近托洛茨基。

新聞辭典

murder weapon：凶器。

secret service：專門負責秘密蒐集情報的政府機關。美國秘勤局（USSS）則專指負責保護總統安全的單位。

mountaineering：名詞，指專業的登山活動，在文中作形容詞用。mountaineer則指登山運動家或高山地區住民。

revolutionary：在文中作名詞，指參與或支持革命者（複數為revolutionaries）。作形容詞則可指與革命有關的，如a revolutionary pamphlet（鼓吹革命的傳單），或發生重大變革的、革命性的，如a revolutionary discovery（革命性的大發現）。

exiled：動詞，指被迫（或因不得已而主動）離開祖國，流亡海外，亦可作名詞，如 sent him into exile（逼他流亡在外）。self-exiled（形容詞）、self-exile（名詞）則指自我放逐。

settled：固定的、不變的、根深柢固的、定居的、解決了的；如a settled conviction（確信）；a settled weather（穩定的天氣）；settled account（付清的帳）。

caught off guard：（某人）一時沒留意、疏忽，也可用off one's guard。on guard指警戒著、當班，on one's guardagainst指提防某人或某事。