A 90-year-old tortoise is going twice its normal speed after being fitted with a set of wheels.
一只90歲的烏龜裝上“車輪腿”后，爬行速度達到了原來的兩倍。

The animal, called Mrs T, was facing a grim future after a rat chewed off her two front legs while she was hibernating, but her owners glued the wheels from a model aircraft onto her shell.
這只烏龜名叫T夫人，她的一對前腿是在冬眠時被老鼠啃掉的，可能要面對悲慘的未來。所幸，主人給她在龜殼上安裝了飛機模型用的輪子。

"It was like fitting her with a turbo charger - she's going double the speed she used to," said owner Jude Ryder. "She uses her back legs to push herself along. She seems quite happy, but it's difficult to tell with a tortoise."
主人裘德?萊德說：“輪子就像渦輪增壓機，使她現在走路的速度比原來快了一倍。她爬行時靠后腿發力，而且看上去非常開心，只是作為一只烏龜，她沒法跟我們分享這種喜悅。”

The 56-year-old was horrified when she went to check on her ancient pet last month and found her front legs had been eaten in the rat attack.
萊德現年56歲，上個月，她去查看年邁的寵物龜時大吃一驚，發現兩條龜前腿已經被老鼠啃掉了。

Her local vet battled to save Mrs T, but feared she would not survive without being mobile. After running up a ￡1,000 vet bill, Mrs Ryder turned to her mechanical engineer son Dale, 37, for help.
當地獸醫對T夫人進行了全力救治，花去了萊德1000英鎊。但獸醫認為T夫人可能挺不過去，因為她再也不能活動了。萊德太太37歲的兒子戴爾是一位機械工程師，萊德于是來找兒子幫忙想辦法。

He designed the front wheels and used resin to attach them to the front of the shell.
戴爾設計了這副前腿，并用樹脂把它粘在T夫人龜殼的前面。

Mrs Ryder said: "She took to them straight away, but she has had to learn how to turn and stop. She can get a good speed up, much faster than before. Mrs T is still quite young for a tortoise. She could go on for another 50 years - all she needs is a new set of tyres every now and again."
萊德說：“她立刻就喜歡上了這副輪子，但她不得不重新開始學習轉彎和停下。她加速很快，比以前還快得多。作為一只烏龜，T夫人仍然很年輕，她很可能再活上50年——前提是有人時不時地為她更換輪胎。”

Mrs T was in her 60s when she was bought as a pet for Dale when he was eight. It has the run of Mrs Ryder's garden in Pembroke, West Wales, in the spring and summer before being tucked away in the garden shed to hibernate.
戴爾8歲時，T夫人被買來作為他的寵物，那時的T夫人60 多歲。萊德太太的家位于（英國）西威爾士的彭布羅克市。春夏時，T夫人在花園里玩，天氣轉涼后，她會被送到花園的棚屋里冬眠。

But a rat got in last month and chewed off both her front legs to the elbow joint.
但是上個月，一只老鼠闖進棚屋，咬掉了她的兩條前腿，傷口一直到肘關節。

Mrs Ryder said: "We were afraid she may have to be put down, but her new set of wheels have saved her life. She has the run of the garden again and we can always find her because she leaves very strange tracks behind wherever she goes."
萊德太太說：“我們擔心她會沒命，但她的‘車輪腿’幫她挺過來了。她又可以在花園里玩了。現在我們很容易就能找到她，因為她走過的地方都會留下非常奇怪的腳印。”

Rats attacking tortoises is not uncommon - in 2013 Britain's oldest tortoise died after a rat attack. Thomas the tortoise was 130 when he was bitten at his home in Guernsey.
烏龜遭老鼠咬并不罕見。2013年，英國最老的烏龜被老鼠襲擊身亡。那只名叫托馬斯的烏龜住在格恩西，他是在自己家里被咬的，死的時候130歲。

He spent five days on strong antibiotics, but the wound became so infected his owner had no choice but to have him put to sleep.
托馬斯連續五天被注射了強力抗生素，但由于傷口感染過于嚴重，最終他的主人別無選擇，只能接受給他安樂死。

Vocabulary:

hibernate：（動物）冬眠

turbo charger：渦輪增壓機

vet：獸醫

resin：樹脂；松香

garden shed：花園棚屋

tuck away：藏起來

antibiotics：抗生素

（中國日報網英語點津 杜娟）