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Editors of newspapers and magazines often go to extremes
报刊杂志的编辑
to provide their readers with unimportant facts and statistics.
常常为了向读者提供一些无关紧要的事实和统计数字而走向极端
Last year a journalist had been instructed by a well-known magazine
去年 一位记者受一家有名的杂志的委托
to write an article on the president's palace in a new African republic.
写一篇关于非洲某个新成立共和国总统府的文章
When the article arrived, the editor read the first sentence
稿子寄来后 编辑看第一句话
and then refused to publish it.
就拒绝予以发表
The article began: 'Hundreds of steps lead to the high wall
文章的开头是这样的 几百级台阶
which surrounds the president's palace.'
通向环绕总统的高墙
The editor at once sent the journalist a fax
编辑立即给那位记者发去传真
instructing him to find out the exact number of steps
要求他核实一下台阶的确切数字
and the height of the wall.
和围墙的高度
The journalist immediately set out to obtain these important facts,
记者立即出发去核实这些重要的事实
but he took a long time to send them.
但过了好长时间不见他把数字寄来
Meanwhile, the editor was getting impatient,
在此期间 编辑等得不耐烦了
for the magazine would soon go to press.
因为杂志马上要付印
He sent the journalist two more faxes,
他给记者先后发去两份传真
but received no reply.
但对方毫无反应
He sent yet another fax informing the journalist
于是他又发了一份传真 通知那位记者说
that if he did not reply soon he would be fired.
若再不迅速答复 将被解雇
When the journalist again failed to reply,
但记者还是没有回复
the editor reluctantly published the article
编辑无奈
as it had originally been written.
勉强按原样发稿了
A week later,
一周之后
the editor at last received a fax from the journalist.
编辑终于接到记者的传真
Not only had the poor man been arrested,
那个可怜的记者不仅被捕了
but he had been sent to prison as well.
而且还被送进了监狱
However, he had at last been allowed to send a fax
不过 他终于获准发回了一份传真
in which he informed the editor
在传真中他告诉编辑
that he had been arrested while counting the 1084 steps
就在他数通向15英尺高的总统府围墙的1，084级台阶时
leading to the 15-foot wall which surrounded the president's palace.
被抓了起来
