每日英語跟讀 Ep.K508: About the US - Why are New York’s squirrels ‘splooting’?

People strolling through New York City’s parks may be stopped in their tracks this summer by a squirrel sprawled out, face down, limbs outstretched and lying still. Don’t be alarmed, says the city’s Department of Parks and Recreation. They’re just “splooting.”

民眾今夏漫步穿梭於（美國）紐約市的公園時，可能會因為（看到）松鼠懶散癱趴、面朝下、四肢伸展靜止不動而駐足。別緊張，該市公園休憩局說，牠們只是在「splooting」。

A tweet by the parks agency earlier this week went viral online, confusing and delighting people in equal measure, after it advised: “If you see a squirrel lying down like this, don’t worry; it’s just fine...on hot days, squirrels keep cool by splooting (stretching out) on cool surfaces to reduce body heat.”

該局本週稍早一篇在網路上瘋傳的推文，既令人困惑又覺得有趣，因為該文建議：「若你看到松鼠像這樣趴著，別擔心，沒事的…松鼠在大熱天為保持涼爽，會在涼爽表面splooting（伸展四肢）以降低體溫。」

That sparked a rush of queries about what splooting means. But the word, of unknown origin, has been swirling around the internet for some time, popular among pet owners delighted at the sight of their dog or cat stretching out their hind legs in an amusing posture.

該推文引發一股詢問splooting是什麼意思的熱潮。但此起源不明的字在網路上已流傳一段時間，是樂見愛犬或愛貓以逗趣姿勢伸展後肢的寵物飼主間的流行語。

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Arizona driver cited for carpooling with inflatable Grinch亞利桑那州駕駛因和充氣的鬼靈精共乘被傳訊

The Grinch came early for an Arizona driver who tried to pass off an inflatable figure of the Dr. Seuss character as a passenger.

一名試圖把蘇斯博士故事人物的充氣人偶拿來冒充乘客的亞利桑那州駕駛，一早迎來鬼靈精。

The Arizona Department of Public Safety says a state trooper last week noticed a car in a high-occupancy vehicle lane on Interstate 10 in Phoenix with a “Seusspicious-looking” green passenger.

亞利桑那州公共安全部說，一名州警上週注意到鳳凰城10號州際公路高乘載車道一輛汽車有一位「看起來很可疑」的綠色乘客。

While the gag may have caused the officer’s heart to grow, it did not stop the driver from getting cited for being in the HOV lane during a restricted time.

雖然這個惡作劇可能讓警官心跳加速，但未擋住這名駕駛因在限制時段上高乘載車道而被傳喚之路。

The agency, however, could not help but post a photo of the Grinch figure with the driver’s face blurred on its Twitter account.

不過，該單位忍不住在其推特帳戶發布了一張駕駛臉部模糊和鬼靈精人偶的照片。

They are urging motorists to follow traffic laws.

他們敦促駕車者遵守交通法規。Source article: https://features.ltn.com.tw/english/article/paper/1561180 ; https://features.ltn.com.tw/english/article/paper/1561359