CANBERRA （Reuters） - When is a fish not a fish？ When it is a giant killer reptile（爬行動(dòng)物）with four legs and sharp teeth.
Politicians in Australia have been pondering（沉思）the meaning of "fish" and have passed new laws making it clear crocodiles should be fish too.
The decision is at odds（爭執(zhí)不一）with the arbiter（仲裁者）of the Australian English language， the Macquarie Dictionary， which rules that fish are "completely aquatic（水棲的）vertebrates（脊椎動(dòng)物）， having gills（腮）， commonly fins（鰭）， and typically an elongated（伸長的）body usually covered with scales（鱗片）。"
The answer to the Australian meaning of "fish" is contained in the new Agriculture， Fisheries and Forestry Legislation Amendment （Export Control and Quarantine（檢疫）） Bill 2006， which was endorsed by Australia's parliament Thursday.
Australia's junior minister for agriculture Susan Ley told parliament the new definition was needed to ensure Australia had the right to enforce export controls on a wider range of fish， including crocodile products， shellfish and prawns.
For the record， Australia's Macquarie Dictionary defines a crocodile as a reptile.
Note：
澳大利亞為了擴(kuò)大對(duì)魚類產(chǎn)品的出口限制，在新的法條中規(guī)定鱷魚也是魚。而《澳大利亞麥夸里字典》明確說明鱷魚屬于爬行類動(dòng)物，而并非魚類。
Politicians in Australia have been pondering（沉思）the meaning of "fish" and have passed new laws making it clear crocodiles should be fish too.
The decision is at odds（爭執(zhí)不一）with the arbiter（仲裁者）of the Australian English language， the Macquarie Dictionary， which rules that fish are "completely aquatic（水棲的）vertebrates（脊椎動(dòng)物）， having gills（腮）， commonly fins（鰭）， and typically an elongated（伸長的）body usually covered with scales（鱗片）。"
The answer to the Australian meaning of "fish" is contained in the new Agriculture， Fisheries and Forestry Legislation Amendment （Export Control and Quarantine（檢疫）） Bill 2006， which was endorsed by Australia's parliament Thursday.
Australia's junior minister for agriculture Susan Ley told parliament the new definition was needed to ensure Australia had the right to enforce export controls on a wider range of fish， including crocodile products， shellfish and prawns.
For the record， Australia's Macquarie Dictionary defines a crocodile as a reptile.
Note：
澳大利亞為了擴(kuò)大對(duì)魚類產(chǎn)品的出口限制，在新的法條中規(guī)定鱷魚也是魚。而《澳大利亞麥夸里字典》明確說明鱷魚屬于爬行類動(dòng)物，而并非魚類。