【经济学人】狗与邮递员|2017.04.20|总第881期

CHISELLED in granite on a post office in Manhattan is the United States Postal Service’s unofficial motto: “Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds.” Dogs sometimes do, though. The number of canine attacks on postal workers has climbed from 5,581 in 2013 to 6,755 in 2016. Most attacks occur in cities, where postal workers often walk to make deliveries. Los Angeles has the worst record, with 80 dog attacks last year, followed by Houston with 62.

曼哈顿邮局前的花岗岩上刻着美国邮政局的非官方宣言：“无论鹅毛大雪，还是倾盆大雨；无论炎炎烈日，还是昏暗夜色，都无法阻止邮差用飞快的速度完成他们所指定的任务。”然而有时候狗却能阻止他们。犬类攻击邮递员的案件数量从2013的5581件增至2016年的6755件。大部分的攻击行为发生在城市，因为在城市邮递员往往步行去送货。旧金山的情况最严重，在去年有80条犬类攻击的记录，休斯顿以62条的记录位居其次。

• Chiselled：adj.凿过的

• Granite：n.花岗岩

• Canine：adj.犬的，类犬的

Thanks to e-mail, online banking and the like, the postal service delivers many fewer letters than it used to. The volume of first-class mail it handles has dropped from 91bn items in 2008 to 61bn in 2016. But internet shopping has led to a jump in parcel deliveries—up from 3.3bn to 5.2bn in the same period. Posties with parcels often knock on doors, which gives the dogs an opportunity.

由于电子邮件、网上银行等类似事物的出现，邮政服务派送的信件比以往要少得多。一等信件的处理数量已经从2008年的九百一十亿件下降至2016年的六百一十亿件。但是网上购物使得包裹递送的数量激增——在同一时期内从三十三亿件增长到五十二亿件。携带包裹的邮递员常常要上门送货，这给他们带来了被狗袭击的危险。

• Posties 邮递员（英澳非正式）

Following a rise in canine attacks in 2015, the post office launched an app on postal workers’ hand-held scanners that warns of dogs at certain houses. Owners of repeat offenders are told to pick up post at a nearby post office. If a loose dog plagues a postman, delivery to an entire neighbourhood can be suspended.（读者试译句）