奇聞趣事

Porcupine(豪豬)， Python(巨蟒) Strut(昂首闊步地走) Catwalk for Russian Zoo

From AFP

Leggy(腿修長的) models shared the catwalk with a porcupine， a python and a yak(牦牛) recently at a fashion show to raise public awareness of animal welfare and Saint Petersburg’s zoo.

About a dozen animals in all—some on leashes(皮帶)， others in the models’ arms—strutted their stuff(大顯身手) for the zoo， one of the oldest in Europe but hard-pressed(經歷大困難或危機的) for funds.

“Casting(選派) the models was not easy，” Tatiana Fedorishenko， the zoo’s deputy director， told AFP， referring to the human kind. “The animals in the show are tame(馴服的)， but the models have to be without fear， and comfortable with them.”

“It was hard，” confided(吐露) one of the models， Natasha. “My fox was always trying to run away. I had trouble finishing my walk.”

The show was the idea of fashion designers in Russia’s second city， in solidarity with the 410 species and 2，000 animals at the zoo in Alexander Park(亞歷山大公園，位于圣彼得堡) that was founded in 1865.

“I’m taking part because of my compassion for animals，” said designer Vladislav Aksyonov. “I am flatly(堅決地) opposed to the use of natural fur and I also want to help our zoo.”

Spurned(被擯棄的) New Zealand Man Offers Ring in Treasure Hunt

From Reuters

A New Zealand man， spurned by the woman of his dreams， has come up with a novel(新奇的) way of disposing of the diamond engagement ring he bought her—a treasure hunt.

Anyone keen to pick up the ring， valued at 1，970 pounds， will need to be in Wellington(惠靈頓，新西蘭首都)， to join the hunt， the Dominion Post(《自治領郵報》，惠靈頓最大的英文日報) newspaper reported.

Clues to the ring’s whereabouts(下落) will start being posted on social networking site Twitter (http://twitter.com/donooglecom) at 8 a.m. local time on June 6.

Anthony Gardiner， a 29-year-old call-centre worker， says he will keep posting clues， and if the ring is not found by the end of the day， “my clues will suddenly change into directions.”

Having bought the ring in Hong Kong， he couldn’t return it， and didn’t want to sell it， so he hit upon(偶然想起) the treasure hunt.

“Obviously， it’s been a pretty unlucky ring for me，” Gardiner said， adding he hoped it would be found by somebody who has “found a cool(極好的) chick(少女或少婦) and who wants to give them something they normally wouldn’t be able to afford.”