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We have learnt to expect that trains will be punctual.
我们已经习惯于相信火车总是准点的
After years of conditioning,
经过多年的适应
most of us have developed an unshakable faith in railway timetables.
大多数人对火车时刻表产生了一种不可动摇的信念
Ships may be delayed by storms;
轮船船期可能因风暴而推延
flights may be cancelled because of bad weather,
飞机航班可能因恶劣天气而取消
but trains must be on time.
唯有火车必然是准点的
Only an exceptionally heavy snowfall might temporarily dislocate railway services.
只有非同寻常的大雪才可能暂时打乱铁路运行
It is all too easy to blame the railway authorities
因此 一旦铁路上真出了问题
when something does go wrong.
人们便不加思索地责备铁路当局
The truth is that when mistakes occur,
事实上 差错很可能是我们自己
they are more likely to be ours than theirs.
而不是铁路当局的
After consulting my railway timetable,
我查看了列车时刻表
I noted with satisfaction that there was an express train to Westhaven.
满意地了解到有一趟去威斯特海温的快车
It went direct from my local station
这是趟直达车
and the journey lasted a mere hour and 17 minutes.
旅途总共才需1小时17分钟
When I boarded the train,
上车后
I could not help noticing that a great many local people got on as well.
我不禁注意到许多当地人也上了车
At the time, this did not strike me as odd.
一开始 我并不感到奇怪
I reflected that there must be a great many people besides myself
我想除我之外
who wished to take advantage of this excellent service.
想利用快车之便的也一定大有人在
Neither was I surprised when the train stopped at Widley,
火车开出几英里即在一个小站威德里停了下来
a tiny station a few miles along the line.
对此 我不觉得奇怪
Even a mighty express train can be held up by signals.
因为即便是特别快车也可能被信号拦住
But when the train dawdled at station after station, I began to wonder.
但是 当火车一站接着一站往前蠕动时 我便产生了怀疑
It suddenly dawned on me
我突然感到
that this express was not roaring down the line at 90 miles an hour,
这趟快车并没以时速90英里的速度呼啸前进
but barely chugging along at 30.
而是卟哧卟哧地向前爬行 时速仅30英里
One hour and 17 minutes passed and we had not even covered half the distance.
1小时17分过去了 走了还不到一半路程
I asked a passenger if this was the Westhaven Express,
我问一位乘客 这是不是开往威斯特海温的那趟快车
but he had not even heard of it.
他说从未听说过有这么一趟快车
I determined to lodge a complaint as soon as we arrived.
我决定到目的地就给铁路部门提意见
Two hours later, I was talking angrily to the station master at Westhaven.
两小时后 我气呼呼地同威斯特海温站站长说起此事
When he denied the train's existence,
他说根本没有这趟车
I borrowed his copy of the timetable.
于是我借他本人的列车时刻表
There was a note of triumph in my voice when I told him
我带着一种胜利者的调子告诉他
that it was there in black and white.
那趟车白纸黑字明明白白印在时刻表上
Glancing at it briefly, he told me to look again.
他迅速地扫视了一眼 让我再看一遍
A tiny asterisk conducted me to a footnote at the bottom of the page.
一个小小的星形符号把我的目光引到了那页底部一个说明上
It said: 'This service has been suspended.'
上面写着 此趟列车暂停运行
