【明報專訊】At the Grand Hyatt Cannes Hotel Martinez (康城馬丁尼茲君悅酒店) in Cannes, France (法國康城), feathered security guards have been deployed to keep seagulls and pigeons away from its outdoor dining areas. Five hawks have been trained to scare away birds that always try to steal food from dining tables.

This year the Cannes Film Festival took place between May 11 and May 22. Many people, including many celebrities, visited the hotel. According to Christophe Puzin, the hotel's falconer, a seagull weighs a kilogram and, if any of them lands on a table, it may knock over glasses and spill drinks on celebrities' dresses. ''If a drink spills on a dress, it's all over,'' he said.

''We have seen a gull trying to take a guest's steak, and others come to get peanuts or other things,'' Alessandro Cresta, general manger of the hotel, said. In addition, he pointed out it was part of the guests' fault as they fed the birds regularly, which allowed them to get used to humans' presence.(sources: Ming Pao, AFP)

■(see the Photo)

Tsunga, a five-year-old Harris's Hawk (栗翅鷹), is among the ''security guards'' at the hotel. It is ready to help scare away sneaky birds!

■Words

hawk 鷹

falconer 訓練獵鷹者

■Quiz

Choose the correct answers.

(answers on next text)

1. Which of the following birds are not mentioned in the article?

a. pigeons

b. gulls

c. sparrows

2. According to Christophe Puzin, what may happen if a seagull lands on a table?

a. Celebrities would feed it.

b. It may knock over glasses.

c. It may take glasses away.

3. According to paragraph three, what food have gulls tried to take?

a. bread

b. steak

c. fish

4. Which of the following words can replace ''regularly'' in paragraph three?

a. often

b. generally

c. steadily

■Glossary

deploy (v) 部署

seagull / gull (n) 海鷗

spill (v) 溢出；打翻

fault (n) 過錯