牛津书虫系列《化学秘密》Chapter11 附中英双语文本

“是的，”约翰说。屋里传出嘈杂声。克里斯汀的附近有人气愤地喊着什么，一个女警察让他安静。约翰继续说：“当然我们把它们倒入水中，但不多，每天仅仅两三百公升，那不算多。而且我们一日三次一直检测河水。工厂附近水中通常只含百万分之二或更少的成分，下游就更少了。那不危险。”
'Not dangerous，Mr Duncan？'said the lawyer slowly．'Are you sure？'
“不危险吗，邓肯先生？”律师慢慢地说，“你敢肯定吗？”
'Yes，I am，'John said．He looked up，at the hundreds of eyes watching him．David Wilson's eyes，Christine's eyes，Simon's．
“是的，我敢肯定，”约翰说。他抬起头，望着几百双正在注视着他的眼睛。大卫·威尔逊的眼睛，克里斯汀的眼睛，西蒙的眼睛。
'I understand'，the lawyer said slowly，'that there has been an experiment with some rats．Some mother rats were given these chemicals in their drinking water，and some of their babies were born without legs．Is that right，Mr Duncan？'
“我知道，”律师缓慢地说，“曾经有一个用老鼠做的实验。一些母鼠喝了带有这些化学物品的水，它们的一些幼崽儿生出来没有腿，这是真的吗，邓肯先生？”
John looked at the lawyer for the first time．He was a small，uninteresting-looking man in grey clothes，with grey hair and a thin face．He looks like a rat himself，John thought．The man's eyes were small and bright，and for some strange reason he had a newspaper in his hand．John began to feel afraid of him．
约翰第一次看了一下律师。他个头矮小，貌不惊人，穿着灰色衣服，灰色头发，瘦长的脸。约翰认为他看上去自己就像一只老鼠。那人的眼睛很小，但敏锐，出于某种奇怪的原因，他手里拿着一份报纸，约翰开始对他产生畏惧。
'Yes，'he said．'That's right．But rats are much smaller than people，and they were given nearly five parts per million in their drinking water for ten days．That's very different．No one drinks the river water．It goes straight out to sea．'
“是的，”他说，“你说得对。但老鼠比人小得多，而且它们10天中一直喝含有将近百万分之五成分的水。这是绝对不同的。没人喝河水，河水直接流出去进入大海。”
He looked at the lawyer，and waited for the question about the seals．But it didn't come．Instead，the lawyer said：'So you won't be worried，Mr Duncan，if someone falls into the river by accident，and drinks a lot of river water．Your own daughter，for example．There's no danger in an accident like that—is that right？'
他望着律师，等着他问关于海豹的问题，但是律师没有问，而是说：“所以你就不担心，邓肯先生，假如有人意外地坠入河中并喝了许多河水，比如你自己的女儿。难道这样的意外没有危险吗？”
John looked at Christine across the room．How big her eyes look in that white face，he thought．It must be because of the baby．
约翰望着屋子另一边的克里斯停他在想，她那苍白脸上的眼睛显得那么的大，这一定是由于怀孕。
'No，'he said．'There's no danger at all．'
“没有，”他说，“根本就没有危险。”
There was the sound of voices in the room．The lawyer smiled a small，rat-like smile．He held his newspaper out to-wards John．
屋里开始有说话的声音，律师露出细微的老鼠般的笑容。他向约翰举出他的报纸。
'You've been away in Scotland，Mr Duncan，'he said．'Have you seen this？'
他说：“你去了苏格兰，邓肯先生，你看过这报道吗？”
As John read the newspaper，his hands began to shake，and he had to hold the side of the table．There was a picture of Christine，standing up in a boat near the factory，and another picture of her lying in an ambulance，with Simon beside her．The headline said：
当约翰读报纸时，他的手开始颤抖，他不得不抓住桌子的一边。上面有一张克里斯汀的照片，她站在工厂附近的一只船上，另一张照片是她躺在救护车里，西蒙在她身旁。标题是：
BIOLOGIST'S DAUGHTER NEARLY DROWNS IN RIVER
生物家的女儿险遭溺死
There was a long silence．He tried to read the newspaper carefully，but there was something wrong with his eyes．And his head was full of pictures of Christine in the river，drowning．And his wife，Rachel，drowning in the storm，long ago．
很长一段时间的寂静。他努力仔细读报纸，但他的眼前一片模糊，他满脑子都是克里斯汀在河中被淹的情景以及很久以前他妻子雷切尔在暴风雨中被淹的情景。
He shook his head quickly from side to side，then took his glasses off and cleaned them．
他很快地摇动着脑袋，然后摘掉眼镜，擦拭起来。