字神帝國英語天地

康康精選GRE&GMAT會考的主題，堅持每天精讀一定會進步的哦!
今日主題：Rural thefts-- On the lamb 農場裡的失竊案--與羊有關

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http://xia2.kekenet.com/Sound/2015/…/ecow1106_5927821BXX.mp3

只有音檔怎夠，聽不懂地方，不用怕，
康康幫你準備好中英文稿了：

中英文稿：
Rural thefts-- On the lamb
農場裡的失竊案--與羊有關

The revival of an old crime
舊罪新犯

CRIME has been falling in Britain since the mid -1990 s, with very few exceptions, Police fret about rising online fraud and phishing scams perpetuated by sophisticated global criminal networks, And then there's sheep rustling.
自上世紀九十年代中期起，英國的犯罪率不斷下降，只有極少數個案。但警方擔心，全球的精密犯罪網絡影響下帶來的的網絡詐騙和網絡釣魚犯罪數量會上升。然後就有了順手牽羊。

Between 2010 and 2011 the cost of thefts of farm animals shot up by 170%, according to NFU Mutual, which insures three - quarters of Britain's farmers, They were up again last year, by a more modest 4%, when about 69,000 sheep were stolen, The rise continues, says the insurer, Over the past three years￡413,530 ($676,000) worth of livestock, mostly sheep, has been stolen in Cumbria, In November police in the north Pennines held a kind of reverse identification parade, asking farmers if any sheep recovered from thieves had been pilfered from their fields,
全國農場主聯合會保障了全國四分之三的農場主，根據這個聯合會的數據，2010年至2011年間，農場畜牧的被竊成本飆升170%。去年，將近6萬9千頭 羊被順走，被竊成本再次上升了4%。保險公司說，被竊成本還將繼續上升。在過去的3年間，坎布里亞郡有將近價值413，530英鎊（約合67.6萬美元） 的牲畜被偷走，而且大部分都是羊。十一月，奔寧山北部的警察舉辦了一個類似反向識別的遊行，問農場主是否有羊從他們的農場被偷走。

August is a particularly bad time for thefts, says Steve Marsh of Dorset Police, Lambs are fat and ready for slaughter. Thieves rarely have land on which to graze large herds so they need animals ready to eat, Most are slaughtered quickly, he reckons, either in makeshift abattoirs or in slaughterhouses willing to overlook the animals' lack of paperwork, The meat is then sold illegally, Unlike other easily nickable items, such as DVD players, the price of lamb has risen, making it an appetising option, In the legal market, prices have gone up from￡6.77 a kilo in 2009 to￡7.86, according to Kantar Worldpanel, a research firm,
多賽特郡警察局的馬什說，八月份是偷竊案極其猖獗的月份。羊羔們都長得肥肥壯壯等著被宰。小偷們沒有地方飼養大群牲畜，所以他們需要直接就可以吃的牲口。 大部分被偷的牲畜很快就會被宰殺，馬什認為，要么是臨時屠宰場，要么是非法屠宰廠會接受沒有相關證件的牲畜。然後肉也會被非法的賣掉。不像其他容易被偷的 東西，比如DVD播放器，羊肉價格上漲了，使偷羊成為了一個極有誘惑力的選項。根據消費者指數研究所的數據，在合法的農貿市場，羊肉價格從2009年的 6.77英鎊漲到了7.86英鎊。

The nature of modern farming makes livestock rustling fairly easy, Sheep are often grazed in isolated fields far from the farmstead, or on common land where they are vulnerable to raiders, Farmers can no longer keep constant watch over their flocks, At least 160 sheep were stolen in the village of Wool in Dorset in early November, Police say they were nabbed between 8 am on one Saturday and 2.30 pm on the following Monday ; they can narrow down the time no further,
現代化放牧的特性使得偷竊牲畜相當容易。羊群常常在遠離農場的一小片單獨地域吃草，或聚在易被小偷得手公共草地。農場主已不再頻繁看管他們的牧群。11月 初，多賽特郡羊毛村至少有160頭羊失竊。警方說，盜賊在一周六上午8點到下週一下午兩點半之間得手的；而且不能再進一步的準確界定時間範圍了。

Meanwhile other rural thefts decline, Thieves used to winch tractors onto lorries before taking them to sell in eastern Europe, says Tim Price of NFU Mutual, But security on tractors has improved, Until recently the same key could be used to start vehicles on different farms, Manufacturers have fixed this and also added engine immobilisers, Insurance claims are declining, Stealing scrap metal is harder, too : dealers must now verify sellers' identities and are no longer allowed to pay them in cash, Sheep rustling looms larger as a result,
同時，其他的農村失竊數量下降了。全國農場主聯合會的普萊斯說，盜賊們過去會用絞車將拖拉機拉上卡車，然後賣往東歐地區，但是拖拉機的安全係數有所提高， 失竊率也降低了，直到最近同一把鑰匙可以開兩個不同農場的機動車。生產商已經解決了這個問題，並且還加上了發動機防盜系統。保險申訴變少了。偷金屬廢料也 變得更困難：現在經銷商必須要賣家的身份驗證，而且不再允許用現金支付。這樣順手牽羊事件就凸現出來了。

The thieves know what they are doing, says Rory Stewart, MP for Penrith and the Border, an area with a rich history of sheep theft (Wat Scott of Harden, a legendary Renaissance rustler, is said to have roared at a haystack : “ By my soul, had ye but four feet ye shouldna stand long there”). They understand how to handle the animals and probably use quad bikes to round them up and shepherd them into lorries, They target sheep because unlike cattle, which have electronic ID tags and passports, sheep simply have ear tags which are easy to remove, The shear audacity.
邊界線附近彭里斯郡在歷史上就常常出現羊失竊的事件，下院議員斯圖爾特說，小偷知道自己在幹什麼， 他們知道對付牲口的方法：用四輪車把他們將羊群集合起來，然後再趕進卡車，他們總偷羊，是因為羊不像牛一樣有電子身份標籤和護照，羊隻有簡單的耳簽，而且 還很容易去掉。所以偷羊賊們膽子愈發大了。