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A Preface to Murder
谋杀端倪
Sometimes truth is stranger than fiction. Sometimes life deals a bad hand. Sometimes it is hard to go on. Sometimes evil triumphs over good.
有时，事实比小说还离奇。生活有时候使人无助，有时又让人难以为继。有时，邪恶还战胜了正义。
Nancy sighed heavily as she pulled her daughter's diary from the drawer. She leaned forward to examine the familiar writing.
南希深深地叹了口气，从抽屉里取出女儿的日记。她身体前倾，仔细地看着那熟悉的笔迹。
A postcard with a colored sketch fell onto the floor from the book the drawing was a picture of a long curved sandy beach on a tropical island; of course it would be Montserrat.
一张彩色素描明信片从杯子里掉落下来，画面上是一个热带岛屿上一处蜿蜒的沙滩美景，自然，那就是蒙特塞拉特岛。
She felt clumsy as she knelt to retrieve the picture. Under no circumstances could she forgive or forget the criminals who tortured her beautiful Megan.
在她屈膝去拣明信片时，她感到手脚有些不听使唤了。她决不会饶恕或忘记那些残害她美丽的梅根的凶手。
It was difficult not to feel bitter about the events of the preceding year. She had shed so many tears in the past year since her daughter's murder.
一想到一年前发生的不幸，南希就禁不住感到痛苦。女儿被害后的这一年中，她不知道流了多少眼泪。
Nancy recognized that she was suffering from psychological problems and had really become indifferent to the events in her daily life.
南希知道自己患上了心理障碍，她确实变得对日常生活中的事情漠不关心了。
She began to shake and then to weep. When would there be an answer to this damn nightmare?
她身体开始颤抖，接着抽泣起来。这该死的噩梦何时才会一个答案呢？
Megan had attended secondary school at a private girls' school five hundred kilometers from home. In junior school she had been a straight A student.
梅根在离家500公里的一所私立学校上中学。她读小学时就一直是最优秀的学生。
Now in high school she continued to study hard, play sports, join the school orchestra, plus a variety of school clubs.
现在进了中学，她还是继续努力学习，热爱运动，参加学校的管弦乐队，还加入了学校的各种俱乐部。
As a joke, her friends labeled her a genius, often just to make her angry. As well as being a high academic achiever she had a great capacity for fun.
朋友们在开玩笑时称她为天才，这常常只会使她生气。她不但学习成绩好，也很有情趣。
She thrived on an active social life. Slender, pretty and vivacious, she was the apple of her parents' eye.
她在丰富的社会活动中茁壮成长。她苗条美丽、活泼大方，是父母的掌上明珠。
Every year in accordance with school policy, a student candidate was chosen to travel and live in another commonwealth country for six months.
按照学校的规定，每年要挑选一名学生到另一个英联邦国家去旅行和生活六个月。
As Megan had an interest in a diplomatic career after completing university, she figure she would be considered a prime applicant if she applied for the position.
因为梅根的计划是在读完她上的大学后从事外交工作，她认为如果提出申请，自己将是被考虑的一个主要人选。
A detailed essay was necessary to provide the committee with a clear idea of her intention.
这需要向委员会提交一篇文章，明确阐明她的意图。
The selection committee would spend a fortnight reviewing the applications in an attempt to identify the ideal student.
选拔委员会要花两个星期对申请人进行评定，以确定人选。
Megan also needed to undergo a rigorous personal interview, which would validate her academic background and evaluate her general behavior.
梅根还要接受严格的单独面试，以验证她的学业水平并评估她的综合素质。
The interview preceded well, Megan taking the initiative to underline her strengths.
面试进行得很顺利，梅根积极主动地展示了她的实力。
After school some of her friends gathered for coffee in the café near the school.
放学后，她与一些朋友聚在学校附近的咖啡馆一块喝咖啡。
They confessed to Megan that they were rather envious of the opportunity she might have to live in another country. They enquired about the details of the interview.
她们对梅根很坦承对她要在另一个国家生活相当嫉妒。她们还询问了面试的细节。
Two weeks later Megan received a phone call notifying her of the successful results of the interview.
两个星期后，梅根接到电话，通知她成功地通过了面试。
Her parents were slightly nervous experiencing some negative feelings about Megan leaving the safety of home to live in another country.
对于梅根要离开安全的家到另一个国家去生活，她的父母略感不安，有一些不祥的感觉。
They knew the experience would broaden her horizons however, her destination, Montserrat, within the past year had a huge volcano erupt, disrupting people's lives.
不过，他们知道，这次经历将会拓宽她的视野，她的目的地蒙特塞拉特，去年发生了一次巨大的火山爆发，使人民的生活陷于混乱之中。
Unstable conditions, loss of homes and fear of more eruptions all tended to breed trouble among the poor of the island. Her parents' concerns were for Megan's safety.
局势动荡、无家可归和对火山再次爆发的恐惧都在困扰这个岛国的穷人。她父母担心梅根的安全。
Departure day dawned clear and bright. Farewells were made to family and friends and she was off for the adventure of a lifetime.
出发的那天清早，天气晴朗。在与家人和朋友们告别后，她踏上了她的冒险旅途。
Megan's arrival on Montserrat was both welcoming and initially uneventful.
梅根到蒙特塞拉特后受到欢迎，最初也平安无事。
The island family where she was to live for the next six months, made her feels right at home.
她要在岛上住六个月的那个家庭，让她觉得就像在自己家一样。
As the pace of life on the island was more relaxed that at home, she was very happy.
岛上的生活节奏比在家里更轻松，她感到很高兴。
Her new schoolmates included her in their lives and she adapted quickly.
她的新同学们接纳了她，把她当作他们当中的一员，她很快便适应了。
Swimming in the warm ocean water, and sitting underneath waving palm trees in a mild climate, was a pleasant change from the cold northern winters.
能够在温暖的海水里畅游，在生长于温和气候带、摇曳的棕榈树下闲坐，与寒冷的北方冬天相比，这种改变令人心旷神怡。
