《中英對照讀新聞》Penguins rescued from New Orleans go home 從紐奧良被救出來的企鵝重返家園

Penguins and otters rescued from hurricane-ravaged New Orleans last year were sent home from their refuge at the Monterey Bay Aquarium in California.

去年自飽受颶風蹂躪的紐奧良被救出來的企鵝與海獺，已從位在加州蒙特利灣水族館裡的避難所被送回原來的家。

The aquatic refugees were given a police escort, lights flashing but no upsetting sirens, to a FedEx Air Cargo terminal at Oakland International Airport for an operation dubbed "Katrina Airlift II."

在這趟被戲稱為「卡崔娜空運二號任務」的過程中，這些水族難民在有警燈閃爍、但無惱人警笛聲的警方護送行動下，來到奧克蘭國際機場的聯邦快遞空中貨運航站。

"The penguins were kind of excited and wanted to get out a bit," said Officer Mike Wright of the California Highway Patrol. "The otters were rolling in ice cubes, eating shrimp and having a good old time."

「企鵝們有些興奮，想出去走走，」加州公路巡警麥克．萊特警官說。「海獺們則是在冰塊中翻滾，吃蝦子，玩得很高興。」

The first airlift took place in September, when 19 penguins and two sea otters were whisked to California after Hurricane Katrina left them facing death in their ruined habitat at the Audubon Aquarium of the Americas in New Orleans.

第一趟空運任務是在去年9月，當時卡崔娜颶風摧毀了牠們位在紐奧良的奧杜邦美洲水族館的棲息地，使得牠們面臨死亡威脅後，19隻企鵝與2隻海獺就被迅速運送到加州。

新聞辭典

refuge：名詞，避難；避難所。動詞，給予庇護。請注意與 refugee（難民）的差別。例句：Those battered women will stay in a special refuge for a period of time.（那些受虐婦女會在一所特殊庇護所待上一段時間。）

aquatic：形容詞，水生的；水中的。名詞，水中植物或動物。aquarium，名詞，水族館；蓄魚的池或槽。

escort：名詞，護衛隊；護送；（女士出席宴會或舞會的）男伴。例句：John is my escort tonight.（約翰是我今晚派對的男伴。）

kind of／a bit：都是「有點」的意思。例句：I felt kind of sorry for him when he said he didn't pass the test.（當他說他沒通過考試時，我為他感到有點遺憾。）