It is not unusual for a pet1 to be sent by air cargo2 from Columbia to New York, but last December's shipment of a 4-year-old sheep dog caught a New York Kennedy Airport Customs inspector's eye3. The dog looked to be on its last legs4, and there was an unusual lump on the side of its body. An X-ray and emergency surgery revealed the presence of 10 condoms tightly packed with five pounds of cocaine that had been surgically implanted in the dog's abdomen一yet another first for' Customs in the war on drugs5.
When it comes to transporting drugs, the methods used are only as limited as a smuggler's imagination6. Kilo bricks of cocaine7 are routinely concealed beneath false bottoms8 of containers that hold poisonous snakes."You've got snakes that are 12 feet long," says a United States Fish and Wildlife Service agent一and sometimes the drug is in the snake. "Who's going to pull it out and feel it?"
In 1994, United States Customs seized 204,391 pounds of cocaine,559,286 pounds of marijuana9 and 2,577 pounds of heroin10. Just how much actually flows into the country is anyone's guess. Some Customs officials estimate that only 10 percent of the drugs coming into the country are ever seized. In Miami, the District Attorney won't even prosecute small fry. "It's got to be over five kilos of cocaine, above a kilo of heroin and more than 5,000 pounds of marijuana or it's not something that we're going to stop the presses on11,"says Tom Cash, a retired agent.
Given this deluge12, one can only wonder if agents are ever confounded by some of the smuggling methods."There are things we haven't seen before,"says John McGhee, a Miami Customs special agent, "but nothing really surprises us."
詞匯：
emergency /i'mə: dʒənsi/ n.緊急情況
surgery /'sə:dʒəri/n.外科手術(shù)，外科;手術(shù)室，診所
condom /'kəndəm/n.避孕套
surgically /'sə:dʒəri/adv.以外科手術(shù)的方式，通過外科手術(shù)
implant /im'pla:nt/vt.植人，插人，嵌人;灌輸，牢固樹立;移植
abdomen /'æbdəmen/n.腹部
kilo /'kiləu/n.千克;千米
attorney /ə'tə:ni/n.檢察長，檢察官;律師，代理人
prosecute / 'prɔsikju: t/vt.起訴，告發(fā)
deluge / 'delju:dʒ/n.洪水般的泛濫;洪水;大雨，暴雨
confound /kən'faund/vt.使吃驚，使驚惶失措;混淆，使(思想等)混亂
注釋：
1. pet：愛畜，寵物
2. air cargo：空運(yùn)貨物，空運(yùn)郵件
3. …caught a New York Kennedy Airport Customs inspector's eye.……引起了紐約肯尼迪海關(guān)一位檢查員的注意。catch somebody's eye：被人看到，引起某人注意。又如：The dress in the window caught her eye when she passed the store.當(dāng)她經(jīng)過店鋪時(shí)，櫥窗里的那件連衣裙引起了她的注意。
4. The dog looked to be on its last legs.那只狗看上去奄奄一息。be on one's last legs：瀕于死亡。又如：By the mid-1980s, the copper industry in the U. S. was on its last legs.到了20世紀(jì)80年代中期，美國的銅業(yè)已經(jīng)衰落了。
5. ...yet another first for Customs in the war on drugs.……這是反毒戰(zhàn)爭中該海關(guān)創(chuàng)下的又一個(gè)第一。
6. When it comes to transporting drugs, the methods used are only as limited as a smuggler's imagination.說到運(yùn)輸毒品，走私者所使用的方法只要他們想得到的都用。when it comes to用于引入另一個(gè)話題或同一個(gè)話題的不同方面。又如：Most of us know that we should cut down on fat. But knowing such things isn't much help when it comes to shopping and eating.我們中的大多數(shù)人都知道應(yīng)該少吃肥肉，不過一到買東西和吃飯的時(shí)候，這些道理也就顧不上了。
7. cocaine：可卡因
8. false bottoms：夾層的假底板，活板
9. marijuana：大麻毒品
10. heroin：海洛因
11. …or it's not something that we're going to stop the presses on...：……或者說這個(gè)數(shù)量應(yīng)是新聞界感興趣的。
12. Given this deluge：考慮到走私毒品的數(shù)量如此之大。given something：考慮到，把……考慮進(jìn)去。
