读者文摘:失去我一生挚爱的那天(6)

Even a month later, after the New York Times published my thank-you letter,

即使一个月后，在《纽约时报》刊登了我的感谢信后，

no one had said a word to me about Laura being outside that door. And maybe they never would have.

没人跟我说过一句关于劳拉待在那扇门外面的事情。或许他们永远都不会说。

But the circumstances surrounding Laura’s death deeply bothered her uncle, Robert Levis.

但是罗拉死亡的遭遇深深困扰了她的叔叔，罗伯特·里维斯。

Uncle Bob called the Somerville Police to ask whether there was a police report that could help explain what happened.

鲍勃叔叔打给 萨默维尔市警方，询问是否有一份阐明情况的警方报告。

I’d been told that there would be no report, as officers didn’t write up medical calls.

他们告诉我不会有什么报告，因为警官没有写医学报告。

But Detective Michael Perrone and his fellow officers were so deeply moved by Laura’s death that they broke protocol¹.

但是迈克尔·佩隆侦探和他的同事们被劳拉的死深深触动了，他们打破了常规。

They interviewed the firefighters who had found Laura and one of the guards on duty that night

他们采访了发现劳拉的消防员，还有那晚执勤的一位警卫，

and viewed surveillance footage from the hospital’s cameras, describing all they observed in writing, in case that footage was ever erased².

查看了医院的监控录像，记录下了他们看到的一切，以防这些录像被删除。

Uncle Bob shared the report with Laura’s dad, Dr. William Levis, a former officer with the U.S. Public Health Service.

鲍勃叔叔给劳拉父亲威廉·李维斯博士看了这份报告，他是一名前美国公共卫生服务部官员。

I will never forget my father-in-law’s voice cracking apart when he called me.

我永远不会忘记我岳父打电话给我时声音碎裂的样子。

“Pete, I have the most terrible thing to tell you,” he said. “They killed Laura.”

“皮特，我有一件最可怕的事情要告诉你，”他说。“是他们杀死了劳拉。”

Through numerous letters and phone calls, I obtained the grainy, horrible surveillance video showing Laura outside the hospital.

通过无数的信件和电话，我获得了劳拉在医院外的模糊可怕的监控录像。

I obtained from the state police the shattering³ recording⁴ of Laura’s 911 call.

我从州警察那里得到了劳拉与911通话的令人震惊的录音。

I sought out every document I could find: police and fire reports, ambulance reports, state investigators’ reports,

我找了我能找到的任何一个文件：警察和火灾报告，救护车报告，州调查报告，

field notes from hospital inspections⁵, and internal hospital documents, which I requested through the Freedom of Information Act.

医院检查的现场记录和医院内部文件，这是我通过《信息自由法》要求获取的。

And I spoke⁶ with lawyers at the largest medical malpractice firm in Boston,

我也和波士顿最大的医疗事故公司的律师进行了交谈，

Suing⁷ Somerville Hospital would not give Laura the chance to live her life, to be a mother, to grow old with me.

起诉萨默维尔医院不给劳拉活下去的机会，成为一名母亲，和我一起慢慢变老。

Still, if its owner, Cambridge Health Alliance⁸, was made to pay millions in damages,

尽管如此，如果该医院的所有者剑桥健康联盟被要求支付数百万美元的赔偿金，

it would potentially send a message to hospitals across the country to reevaluate their emergency room procedures.

这可能会给全国各地的医院传递一个信息，让他们重新评估其急诊室就诊程序。

1 protocol   

n.议定书，草约，会谈记录，外交礼节

参考例句：

• We must observe the correct protocol.我们必须遵守应有的礼仪。
• The statesmen signed a protocol.那些政治家签了议定书。

2 erased   

v.擦掉( erase的过去式和过去分词 )；抹去；清除

参考例句：

• He erased the wrong answer and wrote in the right one. 他擦去了错误答案，写上了正确答案。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He removed the dogmatism from politics; he erased the party line. 他根除了政治中的教条主义，消除了政党界限。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 shattering   

“shatter”的派生

参考例句：

• The news of his death came as a shattering blow. 他的死讯让人惊愕不已。
• No tempest is capable of shattering his firm determination. 任何惊涛骇浪都不能动摇他坚如磐石的决心。

4 recording   

n.录音，记录

参考例句：

• How long will the recording of the song take?录下这首歌得花多少时间？
• I want to play you a recording of the rehearsal.我想给你放一下彩排的录像。

5 inspections   

n.检查( inspection的名词复数 )；检验；视察；检阅

参考例句：

• Regular inspections are carried out at the prison. 经常有人来视察这座监狱。
• Government inspections ensure a high degree of uniformity in the standard of service. 政府检查确保了在服务标准方面的高度一致。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

7 suing   

v.（为要求赔偿损失而）起诉( sue的现在分词 )；控告；请求；要求（尤用于法庭）

参考例句：

• Dr. Bach is now suing the company for slander. 巴赫博士目前正以诽谤罪起诉该公司。 来自辞典例句
• He showed / exercised considerable restraint in not suing for a divorce. 他极力克制自己，不提出离婚诉讼。 来自辞典例句

8 alliance   

n.同盟，同盟国，结盟，联姻

参考例句：

• China will not enter into alliance with any big power.中国不同任何大国结盟。
• The new alliance was very much in evidence.新的联盟上星期很引人注目。