张祖平

Have you ever heard of a rattlesnake1？ It is a poisonous2 American snake. When it is angry or afraid， it makes a noise like a rattle3 with its tail. Its very scary. But Heather Ramirez and her husband， from California， the United States， make a living in an unusual way. They are self-employed snake catchers！They catch snakes， especially rattlesnakes which have gone indoors， and return them to the wild.

你聽说过响尾蛇吗？ 它是一种有毒的美洲蛇。当它生气或害怕的时候，会用尾巴发出一阵类似拨浪鼓的声音，非常可怕。但是，来自美国加利福尼亚州的希瑟·拉米雷斯和她的丈夫以一种不同寻常的方式谋生。他们是个体经营的捕蛇者！他们捕捉蛇类，尤其是已经进入室内的响尾蛇，然后把它们放回野外。

Heather describes her work as“protecting people from rattlesnakes—and protecting rattlesnakes from people！” In the area where they live， rattlesnakes often come face to face with people. They are found in stores， offices， houses and gardens. Heather explains that its not the snakes that are moving into places where people live， but its the other way round. The snakes lived in these places first and then the people built houses.

希瑟将她的工作描述为“保护人们免受响尾蛇的伤害——保护响尾蛇免受人们的伤害！”在响尾蛇生活的地方，它们经常与人面对面碰到。它们出现在商店、办公室、房屋和花园中。希瑟解释说，并不是蛇进入了人们居住的地方，恰恰相反，是蛇首先生活在这些地方，然后人们才在那里建造房屋。

Most people who see a rattlesnake are feared. If you keep your distance， however， the snake wont bite you. In twelve years as a snake catcher， Heather has never touched a snake. She doesnt take the risk. She picks up the snakes with a special tool. This doesnt hurt them， but it keeps them at a safe distance so that they cant bite her.

大多数看到响尾蛇的人都很害怕。然而，如果你保持距离，蛇就不会咬你。在十二年的捕蛇生涯中，希瑟从未碰过一条蛇，她不冒这个险。她用一种特殊的工具捡起蛇。这不会伤害它们，但会让它们跟自己保持一个安全的距离，这样它们就不会咬她。

Heather and her husband are very busy because they are never off duty. Catching snakes is a full-time job and they dont often have a day off. People can get to them at any time of the day or night. Not everyone can do this job， but Heather doesnt want to do anything else.

希瑟和她的丈夫很忙，因为他们从来不下班。捕蛇是一份全职工作，他们经常多日无休。人们可以在白天或晚上的任何时候请到他们。不是每个人都能做这份工作，但希瑟不想做别的工作。

“I just love my job，” she says.

“我就是喜欢我的工作，”她说。

Notes

1. rattlesnake [     ] n. [脊椎] 响尾蛇

2. poisonous [     ] adj. 有毒的

3. rattle [     ] n. 拨浪鼓;嘎嘎声