Not an eye witness 不是亲眼所见

Visiting the National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, D.C., I was admiring a beautiful tribal elder headdress decorated with eagle feathers. A man came up to me and identified himself as Native American. “Do you know how warriors got those?” the man asked, pointing to the feathers. “They covered a hole with brush, tied a live rabbit on top of it and hid underneath. When an eagle swooped down for the kill, they would grab its wing or tail.” “Fascinating,” I said. “Did you see it yourself?” “Actually, no,” the man confessed. “I saw it on the Discovery Channel.”

在华盛顿参观美国印第安人博物馆的时候，我非常欣赏一件漂亮的用老鹰羽毛装饰的部落长老头饰。一个男子走上前来，说他是美国的原住民。他指着羽毛问我：“你知道勇士们是怎么得到这些羽毛的吗?他们在一个洞上面盖上树枝，在树枝上拴一个活兔子，而他们自己藏在洞里面。当老鹰俯冲下来的时候，他们就抓住它的翅膀或者尾巴。”我说：“真带劲。你是亲眼看见的吗?”那个男子承认：“其实不是。我是从电视节目Discovery里看到的。”