《中英對照讀新聞》It's not "Snakes on a Plane," but Dutch catch poisonous snake sent by airmail 這不是電影「飛機上有蛇」，但荷蘭查獲利用空運寄送毒蛇

◎張沛元

The plot of the upcoming Hollywood film "Snakes on a Plane" might not be as improbable as it seems.

即將上檔的好萊塢電影「飛機上有蛇」的劇情，也許並不是那麼不可能發生。

Dutch customs detected a live poisonous snake that was sent by airmail on a flight from Hong Kong to a collector in the Netherlands, the Finance Ministry said.

荷蘭財政部表示，荷蘭海關查獲利用來自香港的班機空運、寄給1名在荷蘭的收藏家的1條活生生的毒蛇。

Inspectors thought the snake was a gag rubber gift when they first scanned the package, which was labeled "toy goods." But then they scanned it again and saw it move, ministry spokesman Kees Nanninga said.

（財政）部發言人基斯．納寧加說，查驗人員起初掃描這個貼有「玩具商品」標籤的包裹時，以為那條蛇只是個惡作劇的塑膠禮物。但他們再度掃描時，卻看到蛇動了。

The snake is a Fea's Viper, found in the forests of southeast Asia. It is rare but not on endangered lists, and known as highly poisonous but not usually aggressive toward humans.

這條蛇是可在東南亞森林中發現的白頭蝰。這種蛇很罕見，但並未名列瀕臨絕種名單；據悉這種蛇毒性很強，但通常不會攻擊人類。

Nanninga said he did not know whether the snake could have posed a threat to passengers, as in the film. Starring Samuel L. Jackson, the movie is due to be released in August and has generated a huge buzz on the Internet.

納寧加說，他不知道這種蛇是否會如電影情節般對旅客構成威脅。這部由山繆傑克森主演的電影，預定8月上映，並且已經在網路上引發熱烈討論。

新聞辭典

as...as：跟…一樣。例句：She is not as pretty as her younger sister.（她不像她妹妹那樣漂亮。）

live：形容詞，有生命的；現場直播的。例句：I don't like those live TV shows.（我不喜歡那些現場直播的電視節目。）

gag︰在此作惡作劇或開玩笑解釋。

endangered：形容詞，快要絕種的。例句：Black-faced Spoonbills are critically endangered birds.（黑面琵鷺是面臨嚴重絕種危機的鳥類。）