《中英對照讀新聞》Staring at seagulls can stop them stealing food, research shows 研究顯示，盯著海鷗看能阻止牠們偷走食物

澳洲雪梨港的海鷗搶走遊客食物。（法新社檔案照）

◎周虹汶

Britain’s seaside towns are at war with their seagulls, urging visitors not to feed the birds in an effort to stop them snatching titbits like potato chips from tourists’ hands.

英國濱海城鎮正與它們的海鷗交戰，強力要求遊客別餵這些鳥，努力阻止牠們從遊客手中搶走例如洋芋片這種好東西。

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Warning signs deck promenade railings from Scarborough to Broadstairs and beyond but now research from the University of Exeter has suggested an easy way for holidaymakers to deter the gulls - just stare at them.

從斯卡布羅到布羅德斯泰爾以外地帶的海濱步道欄杆佈有警告標誌，但現在艾希特大學的研究對度假者建議了一個簡單方法來嚇阻這些海鷗：就只要盯著牠們看。

The research showed that with a human staring at them, herring gulls took 21 seconds longer to approach a bag of chips.

該研究顯示，在有人盯著牠們看的情況下，黑脊鷗接近一包洋芋片多花了21秒。

"Gulls are often seen as aggressive and willing to take food from humans, so it was interesting to find that most wouldn’t even come near during our tests," said lead author Madeleine Goumas. （Reuters）

主要作者瑪德琳．古馬斯說，「海鷗通常被視為有攻擊性且樂意拿走人類食物，因此在我們的測試中發現牠們大多數甚至不靠近是很有趣的。」

（路透）

新聞辭典

snatch：名詞，指搶、一陣子、一下子工夫、很小的數量、誘拐；動詞，指搶奪、很快接受、及時救助、舉重。例句：He managed to snatch the gun.（他試圖奪槍。）

titbits：名詞，指少量的精美食品、趣聞、花邊新聞。例句：I cooked some titbits for my cats.（我為我的貓煮了些好料。）

deter：動詞，指嚇阻、使斷念。例句：Nothing will deter him.（什麼都嚇不倒他。）

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