读者文摘:失去我一生挚爱的那天(3)

Laura was an amazing communicator—a journalist—and, with her life on the line, she didn't waste a single word.

劳拉是个很棒的沟通者，一位记者，在她命悬一线时，没有说一句废话。

If only she had been talking to the right person. Laura's cell phone call was routed to a regional 911 operator.

要是合适的人接了她的电话就好了。劳拉的电话被转到了一个区域911接线员那里。

The operator, sitting in a Massachusetts State Police operations center some 18 miles away, was merely a call screener who couldn't send help.

这位接线员位于18英里外的马萨诸塞州警察行动中心，他只是一个无法提供帮助的电话筛查员。

When Laura finished speaking, the operator told her to stay on the line as she connected Laura to the local police.

劳拉讲完后，接线员让她不要挂断电话，她让劳拉和当地警察连线。

When the police picked up, a new operator asked her to explain all over again what her emergency was.

警察接通电话后，一位新的接线员让她再描述一下她的紧急状况。

But by then, she could barely speak. "She's outside of the Somerville Hospital," said the regional operator, jumping in. "She's having an asthma¹ attack.

但是到那时，她已经基本说不出话了。“她在萨默维尔医院外面，”当地接线员接着说。“她哮喘发作了。

She can't get into the hospital." It should have been so easy for the two operators to locate Laura, since both had her cell number.

她进不去医院。”两位接线员本来应该很容易找到劳拉，因为他们都有她的手机号码。

A satellite ping of her GPS coordinates² provided by her carrier would make Laura a digital dot on their computer-screen street maps.

由劳拉的载波提供的GPS坐标的卫星声脉冲将使她成为一个小点，出现在他们电脑屏幕上的街道地图上。

But, as can be the case with cell phone 911 calls, her location on their screens was wrong.

但是，比如在拨打911电话时，屏幕上显示的她的位置是错误的。

When you use an app involving your location, your phone constantly transmits where you are, like a homing beacon³.

当你使用一个与你的位置有关的应用程序时，你的手机会不断发送你的位置信息，就像一个归航信号一样。

But when you make a 911 call, that doesn't happen.

但是当你打911电话时，它不会发送你的位置信息。

Instead, a satellite must be pinged, and that information is integrated with other bits of data to trace where you're calling from, a more complex and often inexact process.

相反，必须对卫星发送声脉冲，并将这些信息与其他数据进行整合，才能追踪你的通话位置，这是一个更为复杂且常常不精确的过程。

Laura's ping registered at 68 Tower Street, a street corner some 200 feet from the hospital's front door.

劳拉的声脉冲显示的位置是塔街68号，一个距离医院前门约200英尺的街角。

Somerville's police dispatcher asked Laura to clarify where she was.

萨默维尔的警察调度员要求劳拉澄清她的位置。

"Ma'am, where are you located there? You're the one— you're at 230 Highland⁴ Avenue, right?"

女士，你在哪里？你就是那个——你在高地大道230号，对吧？”

That's the hospital's official mailing address, on a completely different side of the building.

那是医院的官方通讯地址，在大楼的另一边。

But it was the only address the dispatcher had.

但这是调度员唯一能获取的地址。

It would have been the perfect moment for the original 911 operator to have relayed more information,

这本来是一开始那个911接线员传递更多信息的绝佳时机，

such as the fact that Laura twice said she was outside the emergency room, or that she twice said she was dying.

比如劳拉两次说她在急诊室外面，或者两次说她快死了。

But that operator had already hung up. In the 911 tape, you hear Laura's voice again.

但是接线员已经把电话挂了。在911的录音带中，可以再听到劳拉的声音。

"I'm outside," she starts to say, before struggling to make another sound.

她开始说，“我在外面。”然后就再奋力发出声音。

It is 4:25 a.m. and 36 seconds. It is the last time Laura speaks. It was the moment her life hinged upon.

那是凌晨4点25分36秒。劳拉最后一次说话。那是她的生命的转折点。

Within a minute or so, her heart would stop beating, and oxygen would stop going to her brain.

在大约一分钟内，她的心脏停止跳动，氧气也停止进入她的大脑。

On the surveillance video, about 30 seconds later, Laura slumps⁵ on the stone bench, her arms falling to her sides.

在监控录像中，大约30秒后，劳拉瘫倒在石凳上，双臂垂在身体两侧。

1 asthma   

n.气喘病，哮喘病

参考例句：

• I think he's having an asthma attack.我想他现在是哮喘病发作了。
• Its presence in allergic asthma is well known.它在过敏性气喘中的存在是大家很熟悉的。

2 coordinates   

n.相配之衣物；坐标( coordinate的名词复数 )；（颜色协调的）配套服装；[复数]女套服；同等重要的人（或物）v.使协调，使调和( coordinate的第三人称单数 )；协调；协同；成为同等

参考例句：

• The town coordinates on this map are 695037. 该镇在这幅地图上的坐标是695037。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, headed by the Emergency Relief Coordinator, coordinates all UN emergency relief. 联合国人道主义事务协调厅在紧急救济协调员领导下，负责协调联合国的所有紧急救济工作。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 beacon   

n.烽火，（警告用的）闪火灯，灯塔

参考例句：

• The blink of beacon could be seen for miles.灯塔的光亮在数英里之外都能看见。
• The only light over the deep black sea was the blink shone from the beacon.黑黢黢的海面上唯一的光明就只有灯塔上闪现的亮光了。

4 highland   

n.(pl.)高地，山地

参考例句：

• The highland game is part of Scotland's cultural heritage.苏格兰高地游戏是苏格兰文化遗产的一部分。
• The highland forests where few hunters venture have long been the bear's sanctuary.这片只有少数猎人涉险的高山森林，一直都是黑熊的避难所。

5 slumps   

萧条期( slump的名词复数 )； （个人、球队等的）低潮状态； （销售量、价格、价值等的）骤降； 猛跌

参考例句：

• Deflation could emerge from simultaneous slumps in the world's three major economies. 如果世界经济三大主体同时衰退，通货紧缩就会出现。
• This is the cycle of economic booms and slumps. 这是经济繁荣和经济萧条的周期变化。