【明報專訊】Two American women, aged 21 and 25, have been arrested for carving their initials on a wall with a coin in Rome's Colosseum (羅馬鬥獸場). They may now go in front of a judge and face a penalty.

The two letters "J" and "N" that the pair carved were about eight inches long. They took a selfie of themselves with their handiwork. The act was spotted and reported to security by other tourists.

Defacing a wall is strictly forbidden in the Colosseum, as pointed out on signs in both English and Italian. In November 2014, a Russian tourist was fined 20,000 euro (about HK$168,000) for carving his name in the famed landmark.

Some visitors are not aware of the importance of preserving this ancient site. "There's a difference in perception. Museums are treated like churches, sacred places where there are things of great value, whereas the Colosseum is an incomplete building which has already been robbed," a spokesman for the Special Superintendency for the Archaeological Heritage of Rome (羅馬考古遺產特別監管局) said. (source: MingPao, CNN, The Guardian)

■Words

carve 刻

initials 姓名的首字母

penalty 懲罰

ancient 古代的

■Quiz

Choose the correct answers.

1. Which country is the Colosseum in?

A. France

B. Italy

C. Germany

2. What did the two American women do in the Colosseum?

A. They took a selfie against the spectacular view.

B. They drew their initials.

C. They took a selfie with their carving.

3. What does "spotted" in paragraph 2 mean?

A. noticed

B. blamed

C. arrested

4. In paragraph 4, "a difference in perception" refers to:

A. People thinking the Colosseum's value is as high as churches and sacred places.

B. People thinking it is not important to preserve things in museums.

C. People thinking the Colosseum has lower value than museums.

■Glossary

handiwork (n) 手工

deface (v) 塗污

forbid (v) 禁止

famed (adj) 著名的