尼日利亚海关截获塑料制成的大米

 　　Nigeria has confiscated¹ 2.5 tonnes of "plastic rice" smuggled² into the country by unscrupulous businessmen, the customs service says.

　　尼日利亚海关总署日前表示，他们没收了2.5吨由无良商家走私进入该国的“塑料大米”。

　　Lagos customs chief Haruna Mamudu said the fake rice was intended to be sold in markets during the festive³ season.

　　拉各斯海关主管哈鲁纳·马穆杜称，这些假的大米原计划在节日期间放到市场上出售。

　　He said the rice was very sticky after it was boiled and "only God knows what would have happened" if people ate it.

　　据他表示，这些米在煮后会变得很粘稠，如果人们吃了，“天知道会发生什么”。

　　尼日利亚海关截获塑料制成的大米

　　It is not clear where the seized sacks came from but rice made from plastic pellets was found in China last year.

　　目前尚不清楚缉获的麻袋来自何处，但去年在中国也发现了由塑料粒制成的米。

　　Rice is the most popular staple⁴ food in Nigeria. The BBC's Peter Okwoche says it is the only foodstuff⁵ that crosses cultural and ethnic⁶ lines across the country.

　　米是尼日利亚最受欢迎的主食。据BBC的彼得·奥库切表示，这是跨越全国各地文化和种族界限的唯一食品。

　　Investigations⁷ are under way to establish how much of the contraband⁸ has already been sold.

　　调查工作目前仍在进行，以此来确定有多少违禁大米已经出售了。

　　Mr Mamudu did not explain how the plastic rice was made but said it had been branded as "Best Tomato Rice".

　　马穆杜先生并没有解释这些塑料大米是怎么制成的，但称其是被包装成“最佳番茄米”。

1 confiscated   

没收，充公( confiscate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Their land was confiscated after the war. 他们的土地在战后被没收。
• The customs officer confiscated the smuggled goods. 海关官员没收了走私品。

2 smuggled   

水货

参考例句：

• The customs officer confiscated the smuggled goods. 海关官员没收了走私品。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Those smuggled goods have been detained by the port office. 那些走私货物被港务局扣押了。 来自互联网

3 festive   

adj.欢宴的，节日的

参考例句：

• It was Christmas and everyone was in festive mood.当时是圣诞节，每个人都沉浸在节日的欢乐中。
• We all wore festive costumes to the ball.我们都穿着节日的盛装前去参加舞会。

4 staple   

n.主要产物，常用品，主要要素，原料，订书钉，钩环；adj.主要的，重要的；vt.分类

参考例句：

• Tea is the staple crop here.本地产品以茶叶为大宗。
• Potatoes are the staple of their diet.土豆是他们的主要食品。

5 foodstuff   

n.食料，食品

参考例句：

• They handled groceries and foodstuff.他们经营食品杂货。
• Construct a international foodstuff promotion and exhibition trade center.建成国际食品会展经贸中心。

6 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。

7 investigations   

（正式的）调查( investigation的名词复数 )； 侦查； 科学研究； 学术研究

参考例句：

• His investigations were intensive and thorough but revealed nothing. 他进行了深入彻底的调查，但没有发现什么。
• He often sent them out to make investigations. 他常常派他们出去作调查。

8 contraband   

n.违禁品，走私品

参考例句：

• Most of the city markets were flooded with contraband goods.大多数的城市市场上都充斥着走私货。
• The customs officers rummaged the ship suspected to have contraband goods.海关人员仔细搜查了一艘有走私嫌疑的海轮。