Tourists are once again getting into trouble in Italy, with two American women caught carving their names into Rome's Colosseum.
遊客們在義大利又惹事了。2名美國女性遊客日前在義大利的羅馬鬥獸場上刻字，被抓現行。
The Californians, aged 21 and 25, snuck away from their tour group on Saturday and began scratching their initials into the amphitheatre with a coin. They managed a 「J」 and an 「N」 around 8cm high, before taking a selfie with their handiwork.
這兩人來自加州，分別為21歲和25歲。3月7日隨團參觀鬥獸場的時候，她們脫離團隊，用硬幣在鬥獸場的牆體上刻下各自名字的首位字母，高約8釐米，分別是「J」和「N」。接著，兩人饒有興致地玩起了自拍，還不忘把自己的「作品」照進去。
Police were quick to catch the two Americans and report them for damaging the ancient site. The women may now go in front of a judge and face a penalty.
這兩名美國人在義大利破壞古代遺蹟，很快就被當地警方抓了現行，即將受到法官的審判和相應的懲罰。
Defacing the walls is strictly forbidden, as pointed out on signs in both English and Italian. But some visitors think little of breaking the rules as they view the crumbling monument differently from other top sites such as the Vatican, said a spokesman for the Special Superintendency for the Archaeological Heritage of Rome.
景點所在地用英語和義大利語明確警示，嚴厲禁止汙損牆體。但是一些遊客對此並不在意，羅馬考古遺產特別監管局發言人表示，遊客對待這些破敗牆體的態度與對待其他梵蒂岡等知名景點的態度截然不同。
「There's a difference in perception. Museums are treated like churches, sacred places where there are things of great value. Whereas the Colosseum is an incomplete building which has already been robbed,」 the spokesman said.
發言人說：「大家的態度不一樣，覺得博物館就像教堂，裡面的東西很值錢；不過鬥獸場好像是個破損的建築，被人洗劫過一樣。」
The Colosseum fell into disrepair after its heyday of hosting 73,000 spectators, watching gladiator fights to the death, and was at one point quarried for its stone. While the amphitheatre was completed in AD80, the section defaced on Saturday dates to the 1800s when the pope initiated restoration work.
鬥獸場於公元80年完工，全盛時期能容納7.3萬名觀眾。角鬥士在場內廝殺，供人取樂。鬥獸場破敗之後，有關方面曾進行修復。這次兩位美國遊客刻字的牆體就是19世紀修補上去的。
「It’s not an original wall but it’s nevertheless antique,」 the spokesman said.
發言人說：「它不是最原始的那堵牆，但它還是文物啊。」
But the two unruly tourists are an incredibly small minority of around six million people who visit the Colosseum and Roman Forum each year. The sheer number of visitors to the Colosseum, coupled with staffing cuts, makes it increasingly challenging to catch tourists behaving badly. Security was upped at the Colosseum and other sites last month, following threats against Rome by Islamic State, but the focus is on stopping terrorists not rule-breaking tourists.
鬥獸場每年接待600萬名遊客，這兩位美國女士可謂滄海一粟。龐大的遊客人數，再加上管理部門裁員，保護工作難度很大，遊客不文明行為防不勝防。恐怖集團伊斯蘭國（IS）2月還揚言要襲擊羅馬，當局因此加強人力進行保護。當然，防範對象不是遊客，而是恐怖分子。
「The security is not inadequate from the point of view of terrorism, but the shortage of personnel and the great mass of tourists is a problem, also for other sites,」 the Superintendency said.
發言人說：「從反恐角度來看，這些安保措施並不過分，但和其他地方一樣，人手短缺和遊客過量倒是個問題。」
The Californians』 lawbreaking comes little over three months after a Russian tourist was caught carving a 25cm letter into the Colosseum. The 42-year-old was given a four-month suspended prison sentence and a €20,000 fine, although owing to a lack of funds he has not paid the penalty.
約3個月前，一名42歲的俄羅斯遊客曾在鬥獸場的牆上刻字，長達25釐米，被罰2萬歐元，並處4個月的有期徒刑，緩期執行，同時因為他沒錢，也未曾上繳罰金。
The Russian was the fifth person to be stopped for defacing the ancient monument last year, with others hailing from Australia, Brazil and Canada.
另外，鬥獸場管理人員2014年還發現另外4名遊客損毀牆體，他們分別來自澳大利亞、巴西和加拿大。
Vocabulary:
initial:首字母
deface:汙損
crumbling:破敗的
heyday:全盛時期
antique:古董
（中國日報網英語點津 Helen）