牛津书虫系列《化学秘密》Chapter11 附中英双语文本

11 The Public Enquiry
11 公众听证会
Two days later，the Enquiry began．Scientists came from London to ask questions about the disease that was killing the seals．Before he had gone to Scotland，John had been to see David Wilson about the Enquiry．David Wilson had asked John to speak for the company．
两天后，听证会开始。来自伦敦的科学家就海豹死亡的病因提了问题。约翰在去苏格兰之前曾为听证会见了大卫·威尔逊。大卫·威尔逊要约翰代表公司说话。
'You're our chief biologist，John，'he said．'You're an im-portant man．They'll believe you．'
“你是我们的主管生物学家，约翰，”他说。“你是一个重要人物，他们会相信你。”
John said nothing．He didn't want to speak at the Enquiry，but he knew he had to．David Wilson smiled．Or at least，his mouth smiled．But his eyes watched John carefully，all the time，like the cold eyes of a fish．
约翰什么也没说。他不想在听证会上讲话，但他知道他必须讲。大卫·威尔逊笑了，至少他的嘴是在笑。但他的眼睛像冰冷的鱼眼自始至终小心地望着约翰。
'Think carefully about what you say，John．If you say the wrong thing next week，hundreds of people will lose their jobs．And the first person to lose his job will be you，John．I promise you that．'
“仔细想想你要说的，约翰。如果下周你说错了，几百人将失去工作，而第一个失业的将是你，约翰，我敢向你保证这一点。”
The Enquiry room was crowded．There were a lot of journal-ists and photographers there，and a lot of people from the town and the factory too．John's train was late，and he caught a taxi from the station．When he came into the room，he saw Simon，sitting with the journalists．Christine was near him，with Andrew and some young people from Greenworld．John smiled at her，but she didn't smile back．She looks very white and ill，he thought．It's probably the baby．He remembered how ill his wife Rachel had been in the mornings，before Christine was born，and he smiled sadly to himself．
听证会大厅挤满了人，有很多记者和摄影师，还有许多从镇上和工厂来的人。约翰的火车误点，他从车站搭了一辆出租车。当他进屋时，看见了西蒙与记者们坐在一起。克里斯汀在他附近，还有安德鲁及绿色世界的一些年青人。约翰冲她微笑，但她没有理他。她看上去非常苍白虚弱，他这样想。也许是因为孩子。他记得他的妻子雷切尔在生克里斯汀前的那些早晨也很虚弱，他自己苦笑着。
'Mr John Duncan，please！'
“约翰·邓肯先生，请！”
He walked to the front of the room．As he sat down，he saw David Wilson's cold，grey eyes watching him from the other side of the room．That man should be up here instead，he thought．He should tell his own lies．
他走到大厅前面。当他要坐下时，他看到大卫·威尔逊那双冷酷、灰暗的眼睛正从屋子的另一边望着他。那个人本应在此，他想，他应该讲述他自己的谎言。
A lawyer began to ask him questions．At first it was easy．John explained how long he had worked for the company，and how much paint the factory produced．Then the lawyer asked about the waste products．
一个律师开始向他提问。一开始很容易，约翰解释了他在公司工作多久，工厂生产多少油漆。然后律师问到废料。
'These are very dangerous chemicals，aren't they？'the lawyer said．
“这是非常危险的化学物质，是吗？”律师问道。
'Well yes，of course，'John answered．'Most chemicals are dangerous if people aren't careful with them．But we're very careful with them in our factory．Everyone wears special cloth-ing．We haven't had a single serious accident in three years．'
“是的，当然，”约翰答道。“如果人们不小心谨慎，大部分化学制品都有危险。但是在我们工厂我们对它们非常谨慎。每个人都穿特制的服装，3年里我们没发生一件重大事故。”
'I'm pleased to hear it，'said the lawyer．'But what hap-pens outside the factory？Do you really put these very danger-ous chemicals into the river？'
“听你这么说我非常满意，”律师说。“但是在工厂外发生了什么？你们真的往河里倒了这些非常危险的化学制品吗？”
'Yes，we do，'said John．There was a noise in the room．Someone near Christine shouted something angrily，and a po-licewoman told him to be quiet．John went on．'Of course we put these chemicals in the river，but we don't put a lot in．Only two or three hundred litres every day．That's not much．And we check the river all the time—three times every day．There are usually only two parts per million，or less，in the water near the factory，and there is much less downstream．That's not dangerous．'