你知道白蚁之害吗？一座大厦如果有了白蚁，不加防治，不到十年时间，里面的地板壁板，都会蛀蚀一空。一般的房屋受了严重的蚁害，有的还会突然倒塌下来，伤了性命。电杆被白蚁蛀蚀，一般两三年就要换一次。船只有了白蚁，轻的会将货物蛀烂，重的会使船沉没。铁路枕木如果受白蚁侵蚀，火车就有出轨的危险。白蚁这种害虫，实在是相当可恶的。在我们的社会里，则有另一种“白蚁”。前些日子报载吉林省外贸局副局长王震利用职权，大慷国家之慨，吃喝玩乐，请客送礼，浪费惊人，不也是一种“白蚁”之害吗？
Do you know how destructive termites are? Suppose a tall building is infested with termites and nothing is done about it, the floor and the wooden paneling inside it will have been eaten in less than ten years. If seriously affected, houses of the ordinary kind might suddenly crumble, causing loss of lives. Termite-eaten electric posts should, as a rule, be replaced every two or three years. Termite-ridden ships will find their cargo eaten and those seriously affected might sink. Trains running on termite-eaten sleepers are running the risk of going off the rails. What a curse termites are! “Termites” of a different kind exist in our society. According to recent press reports, Wang Zhen, the ex-deputy head of Foreign Trade Bureau of Jilin Province abused his powers and wasted a horrifying amount of public property. Generous at the expense of the state, he wined and dined, held dinner parties, gave gifts, and sought all other kinds of pleasures. Aren’t such people “termites” too?
