A "dirty dozen" bomb-sniffing dogs whose canine nature makes them taboo in the Arab world is helping to win over Iraqis to the idea dogs are man’s best friend -- especially when the animal saves your life.
犬類的天性使其成為阿拉伯世界的禁忌，但十多隻「骯髒」的嗅彈犬現正協助說服伊拉克人， 狗兒其實是人類最好的朋友，尤其是當這種動物能夠救你一命時。
At Baghdad’s police training college, some of the 12 Alsatians and other breeds now deployed as bomb sniffers in the capital speak to the cultural aversion that has likely cost lives in the fight against a still potent insurgency.
在巴格達的警 察訓練學校中，12隻分屬德國狼犬與其他品種的狗兒已被部署為首都的嗅彈犬，這反映出當地文化對狗的排斥，但這種文化排斥在對付勢力依舊強大的叛軍時卻可 能奪走人命。
The names of the dogs -- Tom, Pieter, Benny and Shirley, all four donated from Europe -- are often a mouthful for their Iraqi handlers, but they haven’t been changed.
這些嗅彈犬的名字包括湯姆、彼特、班尼和雪莉，這4 隻狗都是由歐洲捐贈的，伊拉克的照顧人員叫起來經常很頭大，但他們卻沒有替狗兒改名。
If they had been altered, "I might get offended if a dog has the same name as me," laughed a veterinary official at the college, adding： "English names are good."
假 如牠們被改了名字，「如果狗的名字跟我一樣，我恐怕會覺得很不舒服，」警犬學校的獸醫官笑說，「用英文名字比較好。」
Dogs are viewed as unclean by many Muslims because of Islamic teachings that say they put their snouts everywhere. Guard dogs, kept outside of houses, are permissible but many Iraqis shudder at the thought of a dog nosing through personal items in their bags or in their cars.
許多穆斯林認為狗不乾 淨，因為伊斯蘭教誨中指稱，狗會把鼻子伸進任何地方。養在屋外的守衛犬可被接受，但許多伊拉克人一想到讓狗把鼻子探進自己的袋子或車裡搜尋個人物品，就會 渾身不自在。
新聞辭典
win sb over/round：動詞片語，指說服某人支持或同意某事，如They’ve won over a lot of the electorate since she’s been leader of the party.（自從她當上黨魁之後，他們已爭取到許多選民支持。）
speak to something：指出或顯示某事，如Your present state of employment speaks to your need for a better education.（你目前的就業狀態，反映出你需要接受更好的教育。）
mouthful：名詞， 非正式用語，指冗長而難念的字詞或句子，如That Russian name is really a mouthful.（那個俄文名字真是拗口。）
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