吹小号的天鹅 第102期:比林斯(5)

 "Call an ambulance!" screamed the lady.

“叫救护车！”那个女士尖叫。

"I'll have to take that money to the station house," said the policeman.

“我要把这些钱带到警察局去，”那个警察说，

"This is a complicated case. Anything that involves money is complex.

“这是一个复杂的案件。任何和钱有关的事情都是复杂的。

I'll take the money and keep it safe until the matter is decided¹."

在事情解决前我得把这笔钱拿走并保管好。”

"No, you won't!" said the game warden². "The money is mine."

“不，你不能这么干！”狩猎法执行官说，“这钱是我的。”

"Why?" asked the policeman.

“为什么？”警察问。

"Because," replied the warden.

“因为，”执法官回答。

"Because what?" asked the policeman.

“因为什么？”这个警察问。

"Because the law says the bird is in my custody³. The money was on the bird.

“因为法律上说鸟类在我的监管范围内。而钱是这只鸟身上的。

Therefore, the money goes to me until this is settled."

所以，在事情妥善解决前这笔钱该归我。”

"Oh, no, you don't!" said the storekeeper, angrily.

“噢，不，你不能拿它！”那个店主生气地说，

"The money is mine. It says so right here on this slate⁴.

“这钱该归我。石板上说得很清楚嘛。

The four thousand four hundred and twenty dollars and seventy-eight cents is mine.

这四千四百二十美元七十八美分都是我的。

Nobody's going to take it away from me."

没人能把它从我这里拿走！”

"Yes, they are!" said the policeman. "I am."

“对，说得对！”那个警察说，“只有我除外。”

"No, I am," said the game warden.

“不，只有我才除外。”那个狩猎法执行官说。

"Is there a lawyer in the crowd?" asked the storekeeper.

“这帮人里有没有律师？”那个店主问，

"We'll settle this matter right here and now."

“我们此时此地就该解决这件事。”

A tall man stepped forward. "I'm Judge Ricketts," he said.

一个高个子男人走上前来。“我是里基特法官，”他说，

"I'll decide this case. Now then, who saw the bird arrive?"

“我来断这个案子。首先，是谁看到这只鸟飞来的？”

"I did," said the salesman.

“我，”那个店员说。

"Call an ambulance!" screamed the lady.

“叫救护车！”那个女士尖叫。

"I saw the bird, too," said a small boy named Alfred Gore⁵.

“我也看到这只鸟儿了。”一个叫艾尔弗雷德·戈尔的小男孩说。

"O.k.," said the judge. "Describe what happened, exactly as you saw it."

“OK，”这个法官说，“描述一下刚才发生的事，就照你们见到的说。”

The salesman spoke⁶ first. "Well," he said,

那个店员先说起来。“好吧，”他说，

"I was looking out the window and saw a swan approaching. So I hollered.

“我正好从橱窗里往外看，看到有一只天鹅正向这里飞来。于是我就喊人了。

The boss got his gun and fired, and the bird fell to the sidewalk. There was a drop or two of blood."

老板拿起他的枪就开了火，然后这只鸟就掉到人行道上了。还流了一两滴血。”

"Did you notice anything special about the bird?" asked Judge Ricketts.

“你注意到这只鸟有什么特别之处吗？”里基特法官问。

"He carried money," replied the salesman.

“他带着钱，”这个店员回答，

"You don't often see any money on a bird, so I noticed it."

“你一般不会在鸟身上看到什么钱的，所以我发觉这很特别。”

"All right," said the judge.

“很好，”这个法官说，

"Now we'll let Alfred Gore tell it as he saw it. Describe what you saw, Alfred!"

“现在我们让艾尔弗雷德·戈尔把他所见到的叙述一遍。说说你刚才看到的，艾尔弗雷德！”

1 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

2 warden   

n.监察员，监狱长，看守人，监护人

参考例句：

• He is the warden of an old people's home.他是一家养老院的管理员。
• The warden of the prison signed the release.监狱长签发释放令。

3 custody   

n.监护，照看，羁押，拘留

参考例句：

• He spent a week in custody on remand awaiting sentence.等候判决期间他被还押候审一个星期。
• He was taken into custody immediately after the robbery.抢劫案发生后，他立即被押了起来。

4 slate   

n.板岩，石板，石片，石板色，候选人名单；adj.暗蓝灰色的，含板岩的；vt.用石板覆盖，痛打，提名，预订

参考例句：

• The nominating committee laid its slate before the board.提名委员会把候选人名单提交全体委员会讨论。
• What kind of job uses stained wood and slate? 什么工作会接触木头污浊和石板呢？

5 gore   

n.凝血，血污；v.（动物）用角撞伤，用牙刺破；缝以补裆；顶

参考例句：

• The fox lay dying in a pool of gore.狐狸倒在血泊中奄奄一息。
• Carruthers had been gored by a rhinoceros.卡拉瑟斯被犀牛顶伤了。

6 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。