“beware of the boa constructor； 讀《紐約時報》

今讀Sir Ernst Hans Josef Gombrich, OM, CBE (30 March 1909 – 3 November 2001) 訪談錄。談到著名的藝術史名家Erwin "Pan" Panofsky (March 30, 1892 in Hannover – March 14, 1968 in Princeton, New Jersey) 推論經常過份利用證據，所以" Beware of boa constrictor."
Beware boa constrictor 是平常用的字眼，可是譯者過份"意譯"成 (待確定)："小心莽蛇" (又有不要強行引用證據之意。---譯者注) (取自《藝術與科學》浙江攝影出版社，1998，頁119。)

以上是憑記憶，正式說法為：

Icon by Ernst Gombrich | The New York Review of Bookswww.nybooks.com/articles/archives/1996/feb/15/icon/Feb 15, 1996 - by Erwin Panofsky, edited by Irving Lavin, with a memoir by William S. ... notorious quip that we must “beware of the boa constructor,” he was  ...

Thus the art historian embarking on such a demonstration had to be familiar with most of the other historical disciplines to adduce parallels from philosophy, poetry, and all the other aspects of the past. It was here that Panofsky excelled. He enjoyed the game of finding links between individual works of art and stylistic developments in other fields, and despite his notorious quip that we must “beware of the boa constructor,” he was firmly convinced that such links must always be there to be found—indeed, I have described elsewhere with what emphasis he asserted his creed in …

《中英對照讀新聞》Boa constrictor on the loose in UK suburb 英國郊區紅尾蚺逃脫◎羅彥傑

boa constrictor 不一定是"紅尾"。

boa constrictor
n.ブラジルボア(boa constrictor)（中南米・西インド諸島産）.
A large boa (Boa constrictor) of tropical America that has brown markings and kills its prey by constriction.

Definition of boa constrictor in English:

noun

A large snake, typically with bold markings, that kills by coiling around its prey and asphyxiating it, native to tropical America.

• Boa constrictor, family Boidae

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讀這篇可學英文標題的寫法以及中譯避諱 (毛澤東不可隨便說)。
第2點是學習"底氣"的用法。

http://hcasia.blogspot.tw/2015/06/chinese-security-laws-elevate-party-and.html

Chinese Security Laws Elevate the Party and Stifle Dissent. Mao Would Approve.

By EDWARD WONG June 01, 2015

中國國家安全法草案強化意識形態控制

黃安偉 2015年06月01日

China University of Political Science and Law. “But I don’t agree with some of the wordings in the draft — for example the phrases ‘ideological security’ and ‘cultural security.’ ”
Ideology and culture are not threats to national security, Mr. Tong added.
民權律師張雪忠則表示，這部法律「註定會被濫用」。有了它的規定，「那些想要遏制言論自由或限制外國出版物進口的執法人員，在做這些事的時候就會更有底氣，」他說。

或許因為有了這樣的結果，一個小時之後李克強出現在人民大會堂金色大廳與中外記者見 面，也顯得比去年輕鬆、自信許多，回答問題時底氣也足了許多。有趣的是，兩個小時記者會上有機會提問的外國記者、港台記者也顯得特別客氣，似乎找不出什麼 特別問題能夠當面為難中國總理；就連三月一日昆明恐怖襲擊，或者當前烏克蘭危局，都沒有記者提及。莫非今天中國的種種變化，已經超出了許多外國媒體的理解 能力？


底气. 基本解释：. 1.说、唱时由胸腔腹腔共鸣产生的力气。2.基本的信心和力量。如：以我的能力和水平来干这件事,感到有点底气不足。



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