◎張沛元

A ritzy high rise is a fashionable address for some recent New York City arrivals : A batch of tiny chicks.

一幢高級大樓日前成為一群紐約訪客的時髦下榻地址：一窩小雞。

The superintendent of the building near United Nations headquarters said he uses a makeshift basement pen as a temporary home for mail-order critters that are destined for his upstate farm.

這幢位於聯合國總部附近的大樓管理員說，他把該大樓的地下室權充臨時雞舍，以收容為了他紐約州北部農場所郵購的一窩小雞。

"I’m raising chickens because I plan to retire," the 62-year-old super, John Hyranyaz, told the New York Post for a story in Tuesday’s editions.

「我養雞是因為我打算退休，」62歲的管理員，約翰．海瑞耶茲在紐約郵報週二刊出的一篇報導中如是說。

Hyranyaz denied raising animals at the building. Instead, he said the little critters stay at his apartment only for a day or so before he transports them to his farm in Binghamton.

海瑞耶茲否認把動物養在該大樓裡，反而改稱他只把那窩小雞養在他的公寓裡1天左右，就把牠們送到他在賓漢頓的農場。

The building at 100 United Nations Plaza is home to many diplomats, and some of its two-bedroom condos are advertised at up to $1.8 million.

這幢位於聯合國廣場100號的大樓，是許多外交官的官邸，該大樓的某些兩人房公寓的廣告價達180萬美元。

The Health Department told the newspaper it was not illegal to keep chickens in the city.

衛生部告訴紐約郵報，在該市養雞並不違法。

新聞辭典

for a while：副詞，暫時，同awhile。例句：Why don’t sit down and stay for a while? She won’t be ready in any time soon.（你何不坐下待一會兒？她一時半刻還沒法準備好。）

high rise：名詞，高樓；形容詞，高樓的。例句：A jumper landed in trouble Wednesday when he parachuted from a downtown Sydney high-rise office building into the path of a police car.（一名跳傘客週三降落到麻煩裡，當他從雪梨市區一棟辦公高樓跳下，落到一輛警車的路徑上。）