《中英對照讀新聞》If you take a leek, beware拿走青蒜的人要當心

◎陳宜君

Belgian police warned thieves who made off with leeks from a vegetable farm: don't eat them -- they could be toxic.

比利時警方警告從一處菜園偷走青蒜的竊賊：別吃它們–它們可能有毒。

The robbers stole 440 pounds of leeks, a main ingredient of Vichyssoise soup, but police warned that the vegetables should have stayed in the ground another six weeks to be safe after treatment with toxic pesticides.

這些搶匪偷走440磅的青蒜–維琪冷湯的主要材料之一，不過警方警告，這些蔬菜被噴灑了有毒的殺蟲劑，應該繼續在土裡栽種6星期才能安全食用。

Police told consumers to beware of leeks with a strange smell which could indicate they were from the stolen batch from the farm. “You gotta watch out for those leeks that reek.”

警方告訴消費者當心有怪味道的青蒜，這可能顯示它們是來自這批從該座菜園失竊的青蒜。「要提防發出惡臭的青蒜。」

新聞辭典

leek：名詞，指蔥、青蒜等蔥類植物。eat （或swallow）the leek意味忍氣吞聲、忍辱負重。not worth a leek則是雞毛蒜皮或毫無價值之意。

make off with …：片語，偷走…。例句：The gunmen killed two guards and made off with $850,000. （持槍歹毒殺了2名守衛，偷走85萬美元。）

ingredient：名詞，成分、配料。例句：Imagination and hard work are the ingredients of success. （想像力與勤奮是成功的要素。）

Vichyssoise：名詞，維琪冷湯。這是一種道地的法國美食，以生產於地中海地區的青蒜、馬鈴薯、奶油和高湯等原料烹煮而成的濃湯，通常是冷食，但亦有人喜歡趁熱食用。

batch：名詞，一次生產的量、一批、一群。A batch of bread是指同一爐烘焙出來的麵包，a new batch of students則是新來的一批學生。The prisoners were released in batches of 10是說囚犯以每次10人的方式分批釋放。

watch out for：片語，密切注意、留神。例句：Watch out for the dog!. （小心那條狗！）

reek：可當動、名詞。名詞是指濃烈氣味、惡臭或濃煙。動詞則有發出惡臭、充滿、沾染、冒煙等意思。例句：The castle reeks of mystery. （這座城堡充滿神秘氣氛）His hands reeks with blood. （他的雙手沾染了鮮血。）