《中英對照讀新聞》Officials investigating mummified remains advertised on eBay官員調查在eBay刊廣告求售木乃伊案

◎ 魏國金

Authorities confiscated mummified human remains from a woman who was auctioning them on eBay, after a browser on the Internet auction site called police.

當局在一位瀏覽eBay拍賣網站的網友報警後，沒收一名女子在網站上拍賣的人體木乃伊。

Lynn Barrett, 45, told police she obtained the remains from a friend who said he found them in a Detroit school he helped demolish nearly 30 years ago. Barrett said she was selling the remains for a friend, and contacted an attorney before advertising on eBay.

45歲的琳恩．巴瑞特向警方供稱，她從一位朋友處獲得這具木乃伊，這名朋友說，他是約30年前協助拆除底特律一所學校時發現了它。巴瑞特說，她是為一名友人出售屍骸，在eBay刊登廣告前還曾詢問律師。

’’It’s an anatomical, medical-use skeleton,’’ she said. ’’I would never have put it on （eBay） if I thought it was anything other than an anatomical, medical thing.’’

「這是解剖、醫學用的遺骸，」她說。「如果我認為這不是解剖、醫學用的東西，就不會在eBay上拍賣。」

A spokeswoman for eBay said Barrett’s posting was removed from the auction site because it violated a policy against selling human remains.

eBay一名女發言人說，巴瑞特的廣告因違反不得販售人體屍骸的政策，已從網站上被撤下。

The mummy attracted at least one bid before being removed. There was a bid on it for $500 from ’Satan’s Child.’

在廣告撤下前，這具木乃伊至少吸引一次出價。一個叫「撒旦之子」的買家出價500美元。

新聞辭典

mummify︰動詞，將屍體乾燥化如木乃伊。mummified remains，像木乃伊的乾屍。

attorney：指律師或法律上的代理人。例句︰He later became a prminent attorney.（他後來成了一名傑出的律師。）

attorney general：首席檢察官、檢察總長，大寫則為美國的司法部長。