商业周刊:火车模型劫持案(1)

The Great Model Train Robbery

火车模型抢劫案

In the heart of Gravesend, in Kent, England, a hedged lane runs alongside a retired¹ Royal Air Force field,

在英格兰肯特郡格雷芬德市中心，一条绿篱小巷与一个停用的皇家空军基地并排，

now occupied by the Cascades² Leisure Centre, a recreation facility with a gym and a pool.

现在由卡斯卡德休闲中心占据，这是一个带有健身房和游泳池的娱乐设施。

Under a cloudy moon this past Valentine's Day, a van rolled into a mini-roundabout near the Leisure Centre, stopping opposite a row of brick homes.

就在今年情人节时，一轮明月被云朵遮挡，一辆面包车驶入休闲中心附近的一个小型环形交叉路口，停在一排砖房对面。

The van doors opened, and several shadows crept out, moving toward a high-tensile wire fence.

面包车的门打开了，几个人影悄悄走出来，朝着一个拉伸度极强的铁丝网走去。

Loosening one post and pressing the long strands³ down, they slipped over the fence into an expansive plowed⁴ field behind the recreation center.

他们把一根柱子弄松动，把长长的金属线压下去，翻过铁丝网来到娱乐中心后面一片宽敞的耕地上。

They walked past tree branches and dead shrubs⁵, their boots sinking into the damp soil.

他们走过树枝和枯死的灌木，靴子陷进潮湿的土壤里。

After a few hundred meters, they turned right, where two parallel chain-link fences separated the farm from the center's grounds.

他们走了几百米后右转，两个平行的链式栅栏把农场和娱乐中心区隔开。

They clipped both, climbed over a waist-high wood railing, and landed at their destination: a high-security shipping⁶ container.

他们把两个栅栏都剪断了，爬上齐腰高的木栏杆，到达他们的目的地：一个安全性能很高的集装箱。

They carved a small rectangle into the back of the container and peeked⁷ through, looking for the bounty⁸ hidden inside.

他们在集装箱的背面刻了一个小矩形，然后向里面偷看，寻找里面藏着的好东西。

They used angle grinders to slice the container's hinges,

他们用角磨机切割集装箱的铰链，

until its door swung backward, hanging only by the anvil-size lock that had been designed to resist this very kind of robbery.

直到它的门能向后摆动，锁只有铁砧大小，就靠它来抵御这种抢劫了。

Then they got into a second shipping container the same way.

然后，他们用同样的方法进到第二个集装箱里面。

Inside one of the containers, they cut the padlock off a cupboard door, and there she was: an exquisite⁹ steam-powered model locomotive named Mayflower,

他们在一个集装箱里，切断了橱柜门上的挂锁，他们要找的好物就在那里了：一辆精心制作的名为五月花的蒸汽动力机车模型，

her green boiler¹⁰ and brass¹¹ engine bands glistening¹² under the bandits' flashlights. They chopped into another cupboard housing a second locomotive.

它那绿色锅炉和黄铜发动机带箍在盗贼的手电筒下闪闪发光。他们砍开另一个装着第二辆机车的柜子。

Discovering a key for a third shipping container, they popped its doors open and spotted¹³ two more choo-choos for the taking.

发现了第三个集装箱的钥匙，他们打开集装箱的门，又发现了两辆要拿走的火车。

1 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

2 cascades   

倾泻( cascade的名词复数 )； 小瀑布（尤指一连串瀑布中的一支）； 瀑布状物； 倾泻（或涌出）的东西

参考例句：

• The river fell in a series of cascades down towards the lake. 河形成阶梯状瀑布泻入湖中。
• Turning into the sun, he began the long, winding drive through the Cascades. 现在他朝着太阳驶去，开始了穿越喀斯喀特山脉的漫长而曲折的路程。 来自英汉文学 - 廊桥遗梦

3 strands   

n.（线、绳、金属线、毛发等的）股( strand的名词复数 )；缕；海洋、湖或河的)岸；（观点、计划、故事等的）部份v.使滞留，使搁浅( strand的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Twist a length of rope from strands of hemp. 用几股麻搓成了一段绳子。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• She laced strands into a braid. 她把几股线编织成一根穗带。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 plowed   

v.耕( plow的过去式和过去分词 )；犁耕；费力穿过

参考例句：

• They plowed nearly 100,000 acres of virgin moorland. 他们犁了将近10万英亩未开垦的高沼地。 来自辞典例句
• He plowed the land and then sowed the seeds. 他先翻土，然后播种。 来自辞典例句

5 shrubs   

灌木( shrub的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The gardener spent a complete morning in trimming those two shrubs. 园丁花了整个上午的时间修剪那两处灌木林。
• These shrubs will need more light to produce flowering shoots. 这些灌木需要更多的光照才能抽出开花的新枝。

6 shipping   

n.船运（发货，运输，乘船）

参考例句：

• We struck a bargain with an American shipping firm.我们和一家美国船运公司谈成了一笔生意。
• There's a shipping charge of ￡5 added to the price.价格之外另加五英镑运输费。

7 peeked   

v.很快地看( peek的过去式和过去分词 )；偷看；窥视；微露出

参考例句：

• She peeked over the top of her menu. 她从菜单上往外偷看。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• On two occasions she had peeked at him through a crack in the wall. 她曾两次透过墙缝窥视他。 来自辞典例句

8 bounty   

n.慷慨的赠予物，奖金；慷慨，大方；施与

参考例句：

• He is famous for his bounty to the poor.他因对穷人慷慨相助而出名。
• We received a bounty from the government.我们收到政府给予的一笔补助金。

9 exquisite   

adj.精美的；敏锐的；剧烈的，感觉强烈的

参考例句：

• I was admiring the exquisite workmanship in the mosaic.我当时正在欣赏镶嵌画的精致做工。
• I still remember the exquisite pleasure I experienced in Bali.我依然记得在巴厘岛所经历的那种剧烈的快感。

10 boiler   

n.锅炉；煮器(壶，锅等)

参考例句：

• That boiler will not hold up under pressure.那种锅炉受不住压力。
• This new boiler generates more heat than the old one.这个新锅炉产生的热量比旧锅炉多。

11 brass   

n.黄铜；黄铜器，铜管乐器

参考例句：

• Many of the workers play in the factory's brass band.许多工人都在工厂铜管乐队中演奏。
• Brass is formed by the fusion of copper and zinc.黄铜是通过铜和锌的熔合而成的。

12 glistening   

adj.闪耀的，反光的v.湿物闪耀，闪亮( glisten的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Her eyes were glistening with tears. 她眼里闪着晶莹的泪花。
• Her eyes were glistening with tears. 她眼睛中的泪水闪着柔和的光。 来自《用法词典》

13 spotted   

adj.有斑点的，斑纹的，弄污了的

参考例句：

• The milkman selected the spotted cows,from among a herd of two hundred.牛奶商从一群200头牛中选出有斑点的牛。
• Sam's shop stocks short spotted socks.山姆的商店屯积了有斑点的短袜。