商业周刊:火车模型劫持案(4)

When she learned of the robbery, Filley, who's 72, with sandy bangs and the steady determination of an Alpine¹ cog rail, immediately started calling GMMES members.

当得知发生抢劫事件时，现年72岁的费利，她留着浅棕色刘海，对阿尔派公司的小火车抱持着坚定的态度，她立刻开始召集格雷芬德海洋与工程模型协会的成员。

Arriving at the club with Alan in her Honda Jazz, she saw havoc²: The main clubhouse door was ripped off and lay on the ground.

她和艾伦爵士坐在本田爵士中一起来到协会时，看到了会所中一片混乱：会所休息室的门被砸开了，门板搁在地上。

Shelves were toppled and chairs flipped³. It looked as if a bomb had gone off. "We were gobsmacked," she says.

架子和椅子都被掀翻了，看上去就像是炸弹爆炸了。“我们目瞪口呆，”她说。

"I can't even remember cups of tea being made, because we were so in shock."

“我甚至忘记了正在沏茶，因为当时感到太震惊了。”

As other members arrived, they discovered that four locomotives were missing, two owned by the club and two owned by members:

当其他成员到达时，他们发现有四辆火车机车丢失，其中两辆归会所所有，还有两辆归会员所有。

the Mayflower, plus Simplex, Speedy, and the John Milton Metro⁴.

这四辆机车分别是：五月花号、新普莱克斯号，迅捷号和约翰·密尔顿捷运号。

One of the victims, shattered by the theft of his beloved Speedy, a stout⁵ black and forest-green engine, effectively resigned from the club.

其中一位受害者，因为心爱的迅捷号被劫，很快就辞职了会所的工作。迅捷号是一台坚固的黑绿色引擎。

Mayflower's owner, Dennis Oldershaw, who'd built his locomotive over 25 years and planned to bequeath her to his grandson, broke down in tears and bolted from the scene.

五月花号的所有者丹尼斯·奥尔德肖25年来一直在制造这台机车，并计划把它遗赠给自己的孙子。他在哭泣中崩溃，然后逃离现场。

Mysteriously, one loco, which had been sitting unprotected outside on a workbench, was untouched, raising the prospect⁶ that the robbers had targeted specific trains.

不可思议的是，一辆被放置在外面工作台上的火车机车，没有设置保护设施，但却未被触碰过。这提出了一种可能性，即劫匪瞄准的是特定的火车机车。

On the other hand, the thieves also took a lawn mower⁷, a petrol strimmer (aka a weed wacker), and around ￡35 ($44) from the club's cash box.

另外，窃贼还拿走一台割草机、一个汽油式草坪修剪器（它也叫做杂草挖除机），并从会所的现金箱里取走了大约35英镑（44美元）。

When Gregory Emmerson, a younger, bearded member of imposing⁸ stature⁹, crashed through the gate to the grounds, he lost it: "What the f---happened!?" he shouted. "F---ing hell!"

格雷戈里·埃默森是一位年轻的会员，他蓄着胡子，身材魁梧。他跌跌撞撞地走进大门，一脸迷惑地喊道：“该死的！出了什么事！”

Even before the police showed up, Filley and her cohorts were hunting for clues.

甚至在警察到来前，费利和她的同伴就在寻找线索。

She canvassed¹⁰ neighbors to find out if they'd heard or seen anything suspicious the previous night (they hadn't).

她向邻居们询问，想知道他们前一天晚上是否看到或听到任何可疑的人或声响，但邻居们表示没有看到、也没有听到。

She looked for area CCTV cameras, hoping they might have captured a glimpse of the rogues¹¹ (no dice).

她寻找该地区的闭路电视摄像机，希望它们可能捕捉到盗贼的掠影，但是没用。

She and her band of amateur detectives came across muddy scuff¹² marks on the road near the lamplight and now-limp wire fence.

她和一群业余侦探在路灯附近的路面上看到一些拖脚行走的泥脚印，和已经弄破的铁丝网。

Williams also found breadcrumbs of evidence—footprints, wheelbarrow tracks, an abandoned walkie-talkie, broken-off locomotive parts—along the farm route the thieves took to the club's fences.

威廉姆斯还在窃贼走向会所围栏的农场路上发现了许多蛛丝马迹，比如脚印、独轮车的车辙、一个废弃的对讲机，以及从火车机车上掉落的部件。

1 alpine   

adj.高山的；n.高山植物

参考例句：

• Alpine flowers are abundant there.那里有很多高山地带的花。
• Its main attractions are alpine lakes and waterfalls .它以高山湖泊和瀑布群为主要特色。

2 havoc   

n.大破坏，浩劫，大混乱，大杂乱

参考例句：

• The earthquake wreaked havoc on the city.地震对这个城市造成了大破坏。
• This concentration of airborne firepower wrought havoc with the enemy forces.这次机载火力的集中攻击给敌军造成很大破坏。

3 flipped   

轻弹( flip的过去式和过去分词 )； 按（开关）； 快速翻转； 急挥

参考例句：

• The plane flipped and crashed. 飞机猛地翻转，撞毁了。
• The carter flipped at the horse with his whip. 赶大车的人扬鞭朝着马轻轻地抽打。

4 metro   

n.地铁；adj.大都市的；(METRO)麦德隆(财富500强公司之一总部所在地德国，主要经营零售)

参考例句：

• Can you reach the park by metro?你可以乘地铁到达那个公园吗？
• The metro flood gate system is a disaster prevention equipment.地铁防淹门系统是一种防灾设备。

5 stout   

adj.强壮的，粗大的，结实的，勇猛的，矮胖的

参考例句：

• He cut a stout stick to help him walk.他砍了一根结实的枝条用来拄着走路。
• The stout old man waddled across the road.那肥胖的老人一跩一跩地穿过马路。

6 prospect   

n.前景，前途；景色，视野

参考例句：

• This state of things holds out a cheerful prospect.事态呈现出可喜的前景。
• The prospect became more evident.前景变得更加明朗了。

7 mower   

n.割草机

参考例句：

• We need a lawn mower to cut the grass.我们需要一台草坪修剪机来割草。
• Your big lawn mower is just the job for the high grass.割高草时正需要你的大割草机。

8 imposing   

adj.使人难忘的，壮丽的，堂皇的，雄伟的

参考例句：

• The fortress is an imposing building.这座城堡是一座宏伟的建筑。
• He has lost his imposing appearance.他已失去堂堂仪表。

9 stature   

n.（高度）水平，（高度）境界，身高，身材

参考例句：

• He is five feet five inches in stature.他身高5英尺5英寸。
• The dress models are tall of stature.时装模特儿的身材都较高。

10 canvassed   

v.（在政治方面）游说( canvass的过去式和过去分词 )；调查（如选举前选民的）意见；为讨论而提出（意见等）；详细检查

参考例句：

• He canvassed the papers, hunting for notices of jobs. 他仔细查阅报纸，寻找招工广告。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• The stirring event was well canvassed. 那桩惊人的事情已经是满城风雨。 来自英汉文学 - 汤姆历险

11 rogues   

n.流氓( rogue的名词复数 )；无赖；调皮捣蛋的人；离群的野兽

参考例句：

• 'I'll show these rogues that I'm an honest woman,'said my mother. “我要让那些恶棍知道，我是个诚实的女人。” 来自英汉文学 - 金银岛
• The rogues looked at each other, but swallowed the home-thrust in silence. 那些恶棍面面相觑，但只好默默咽下这正中要害的话。 来自英汉文学 - 金银岛

12 scuff   

v. 拖着脚走；磨损

参考例句：

• Polly,bewildered and embarrassed,dropped her head and scuffed her feet.波莉既困惑又尴尬，低下头拖着脚走开了。
• Constant wheelchair use will scuff almost any floor surface.任何地板上经常有轮椅走动几乎都会有所磨损。