VOA标准英语2011--Do You Keep a Horse in a Bathtub?

If you're planning a trip to the United States, be very careful. You could easily break one of our laws and not know it. We're not talking about obvious illegal behavior, like punching your taxi driver or throwing a chair through your hotel window. No, there are other, more obscure offenses² that could get you in trouble.
According to a law still on the books in Glendale, Arizona, for instance, you can get arrested for driving in reverse!
And be warned: you may not sleep in a cheese factory in South Dakota. Can't legally set a mousetrap in California without a hunting license³, either. Tease a skunk⁴ in Minnesota, or gargle in public in New Orleans, Louisiana, and they can haul you off to jail.
iceplee, Flickr Creative Commons
This lad's OK. He's blowing his nose out of public view.
If you have business in the western state of Utah, be especially vigilant⁵. In particular, don't go whale-hunting there. It's illegal. Doesn't matter that Utah is 1,500 kilometers from the nearest ocean!
And be aware while you're in Utah that you cannot legally fish from horseback, refuse to drink milk, detonate a nuclear weapon, or cause a catastrophe⁶. Of course, setting off a nuclear weapon most likely would BE a catastrophe.
These are OLD, OLD laws that probably that had some reason behind them that makes no sense today. But nobody ever bothered to take them off the books.
aaron_anderer, Flickr Creative Commons
Is this legal?
Why not? Well, suppose you're on the council in a town that has an ordinance⁷ that makes it illegal to blow your nose in public. If you stood up and proclaimed that it's high time to do away such an arcane⁸ law, the voters would toss you out of office for wasting time on frivolous⁹ matters.
And since a lot of these old laws have to do with sex, religious beliefs, and cuddly¹⁰ animals, some interest group would probably take offense¹ and make you sorry you opened your mouth. So laws like one in Indiana that makes it illegal for monkeys to smoke stay on the books because people are simply too embarrassed to bring them up.

1 offense   

n.犯规，违法行为；冒犯，得罪

参考例句：

• I hope you will not take any offense at my words. 对我讲的话请别见怪。
• His words gave great offense to everybody present.他的发言冲犯了在场的所有人。

2 offenses   

n.进攻( offense的名词复数 )；（球队的）前锋；进攻方法；攻势

参考例句：

• It's wrong of you to take the child to task for such trifling offenses. 因这类小毛病责备那孩子是你的不对。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Thus, Congress cannot remove an executive official except for impeachable offenses. 因此，除非有可弹劾的行为，否则国会不能罢免行政官员。 来自英汉非文学 - 行政法

3 license   

n.执照，许可证，特许；v.许可，特许

参考例句：

• The foreign guest has a license on the person.这个外国客人随身携带执照。
• The driver was arrested for having false license plates on his car.司机由于使用假车牌而被捕。

4 skunk   

n.臭鼬，黄鼠狼；v.使惨败，使得零分；烂醉如泥

参考例句：

• That was a rotten thing to do, you skunk!那种事做得太缺德了，你这卑鄙的家伙！
• The skunk gives off an unpleasant smell when attacked.受到攻击时臭鼬会发出一种难闻的气味。

5 vigilant   

adj.警觉的，警戒的，警惕的

参考例句：

• He has to learn how to remain vigilant through these long nights.他得学会如何在这漫长的黑夜里保持警觉。
• The dog kept a vigilant guard over the house.这只狗警醒地守护着这所房屋。

6 catastrophe   

n.大灾难，大祸

参考例句：

• I owe it to you that I survived the catastrophe.亏得你我才大难不死。
• This is a catastrophe beyond human control.这是一场人类无法控制的灾难。

7 ordinance   

n.法令；条令；条例

参考例句：

• The Ordinance of 1785 provided the first land grants for educational purposes.1785年法案为教育目的提供了第一批土地。
• The city passed an ordinance compelling all outdoor lighting to be switched off at 9.00 PM.该市通过一条法令强令晚上九点关闭一切室外照明。

8 arcane   

adj.神秘的，秘密的

参考例句：

• The technique at one time was arcane in the minds of most chemists.这种技术在大多数化学家心目中一度是神秘的。
• Until a few months ago few people outside the arcane world of contemporary music had heard of Gorecki.直至几个月前，在现代音乐神秘殿堂之外很少有人听说了戈莱斯基。

9 frivolous   

adj.轻薄的；轻率的

参考例句：

• This is a frivolous way of attacking the problem.这是一种轻率敷衍的处理问题的方式。
• He spent a lot of his money on frivolous things.他在一些无聊的事上花了好多钱。

10 cuddly   

adj.抱着很舒服的，可爱的

参考例句：

• The beautiful crib from Mom and Dad is so cuddly.爸爸妈妈送的漂亮婴儿床真舒服。
• You can't call a hedgehog cuddly.你不能说刺猬逗人喜爱。