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没吃饱不用付账?盘点世界各国奇怪法律
As news comes out that it is now officially impossible to arrest a woman for wearing trousers in the French capital, we round up some more of the world's most bizarre and antiquated laws.
近日有新闻报道,在法国首都巴黎女性穿裤子不再是违法行为,于是我们这里收集了一些世界各国的奇怪法律。
From the author of 365 Reasons to be Cheerful, The Law is an Ass is Richard Happer’s latest book, which uncovers 250 of the world’s craziest laws. Published by Punk Publishing, here we pick out some of the most useful laws for travellers to bear in mind.
《365个快乐的理由》一书的作者理查德·哈伯最近又出了一本新书《蛋疼的法律》,该书涵盖了250个世界上最疯狂的法律。由朋克出版社出版,在这里我们挑选了一些对旅行者可能最有帮助的法律。
A location to die for
If you fancy a spot of eternal life, forget the Holy Grail: just go and live in the remote Arctic town of Longyearbyen, where dying is against the law. Actually, this is because it was found that bodies didn’t decompose in the permafrost. The graveyard stopped accepting newcomers 70 years ago; so if you fall gravely ill there now, you will be hastily dispatched by plane to the mainland, where you can end your days without getting arrested.
一个死都想去的地方
如果你想找一个永生的地方,忘了圣杯吧,你只需要去遥远的北极城镇朗伊尔城就够了,因为这里的法律禁止死亡。事实上,这是因为这里都是冻土,尸体永远也不会腐烂。那儿的墓地在70年前就已经不再接收任何新成员了;所以如果你现在在那儿又刚好病入膏肓的话,那么你将会被飞机遣送回大陆,而在大陆上你可以安全的度过你最后的日子而不用被逮捕。
I arrest chew in the name of the law
Ever thought that chewing gum could land you in jail? Well, in Singapore, it has been completely illegal since 1992. The only exception is nicotine gum, but even then smokers can only get it from a pharmacy with a prescription. Chewing gum is legal in New York, of course, but cinema owners there must chisel all gum off the undersides of their auditorium seats every month. Makes trodden-in popcorn seem positively pleasant.
以法律之名逮捕口香糖
你以前有没有想过吃口香糖也会让你进监狱?在新加坡,从1992年开始吃口香糖就是一种违法的行为了。唯一的例外是尼古丁口香糖,但是即使是吸烟者也只能凭处方才能从药店买到这种口香糖。而在纽约,吃口香糖当然是合法的,但是电影院的老板们每个月不得不从那些座椅下面清除掉那些粘在上面的口香糖。所以电影院老板肯定更愿意你吃爆米花。
The indelicate delicacy
The people of Brunei, Indonesia and Malaysia simply love the durian fruit, which looks a little like a cross between a pineapple and a porcupine. However, many local authorities have completely banned the consumption of this delicacy from buses, subways, hotels and airports. Is this yet another outrageous infringement of civil liberties? Well, since the durian is said to smell like a mixture of "pig-droppings, turpentine and onions", maybe not, on this occasion.
不雅的美味
来自文莱、印度尼西亚和马来西亚的人们都很喜欢吃榴莲,这种水果看起来很像菠萝和豪猪的结合体。但是当地政府都禁止人们在公交车上、地铁、酒店以及机场里食用这种水果。政府的这种行为是不是严重干涉了人们的自由?可是据说这种水果的味道有点像猪的粪便、松脂以及洋葱味道的结合体,所以从这个角度来看的话,政府的行为其实也不过分。
Where’s that dessert trolley
When dining at a restaurant in Denmark, you don’t have to pay for your food unless, by your own opinion, you are ‘full’ at the end of your meal. A wafer-thin mint, sir?
甜点餐车在哪里
在丹麦餐馆就餐的顾客不用付钱,除非顾客自己在用餐后确定已吃饱,才用付账。花钱少吧,先生?
Catch-22 customs
If you ever suffer at the rubber-gloved hands of a suspicious and painfully overzealous British customs officer, don’t be tempted to take him or her to court – no matter how innocent you are. Section 268 of the Customs Laws Consolidation Act 1876 rules that no action can be brought against such an official without one month’s notice. While Section 272 of the same Act insists that any action must be started within one month of the incident.
第22条军规
如果你被一名充满怀疑和过度热心的英国海关人员搜查过的话,那么请不要试图起诉他或她——无论你是多么的无辜。海关1876条例的第268章规定要提前一个月通知法院,你才有权利向法院提起诉讼的。而可笑的是,该条例的272章却规定必须在事件发生的一个月内向法院提起诉讼。
Fat fighters
You are forbidden to be fat in Japan. Although their country already has one of the world’s lowest obesity rates (less than 5 per cent, in contrast to the USA’s 35 per cent), that didn’t stop Japanese lawmakers from setting a maximum waistline size in 2009. Every man aged 40 and over must not have a waist measuring 80cm or above, every woman, 90cm or above. And this from the land that brought us sumo wrestling…
肥胖斗士
在日本,法律不允许人们肥胖。虽然日本这个国家已经是目前世界上肥胖率最低的国家(低于5%,而美国却达到了35%),虽然如此,日本的立法者还是在2009年的时候制定了一个最大腰围标准:40岁或者以上的男人其腰围不能超过80cm,而相应年龄的女人则不能超过90cm。而就是这个国家给我们带来了相扑表演......
Thai him up
Thailand may tolerate many exotic sexual shenanigans, but it is still illegal to leave your house there if you are not wearing underwear. And you can’t drive your car if you’re not wearing a shirt, not matter what’s going on in your trousers. Nor should you step on any of the nation’s currency. And don’t even think of insulting the king – you could get 15 years in jail.
不穿内裤犯法
泰国是一个可以容忍很多性恶作剧的国家,但是,如果你没有穿内裤就离开家的话,就会被认为是犯法的。而如果不穿衬衫的话,你是不能开车的,而你想穿什么裤子都没问题。你也不能用脚去踩泰国的货币。你更加不应该做的事情是侵犯国王——否则你会得到15年的刑期。
Barefaced Cheek
If you’re on a safari in Kenya and your guide suddenly removes all of his clothes before wandering off towards the wildlife, do resist the temptation to do the same. While it’s completely legal for Kenyan citizens to streak across the Masai Mara, it is illegal for foreigners to do so. It’s also deeply inadvisable for at least 147 other reasons.
厚颜无耻的行为
如果你在肯尼亚的大草原上旅行,这时候导游突然间全身脱光光,然后大摇大摆的朝野生动物们走去,看到此情此景,你千万要忍住,不要模仿导游的行为。对肯尼亚人来说,这种做法完全是合法的行为,他们可以全身赤裸的在马赛马拉大草原上晃荡,但是如果外国人也这么做的话,那就是违法的了。除此之外,还有147个理由可以阻止你这么做。