-
A Question of Rights
Unfortunately , a
crime was
about
to
be committed but
at
that moment
Lesley
was unaware of the im
pending(
即将发生的
,
迫近的
) event , which would affect her
life so drastically(
极端地
,
彻底地
) for the next
years .
For the
moment at least, her holiday at the cottage had
been ideal. She had spent
many
idle
hours
relaxing
on
the
deck
,
reading
,eating
a
sandwich
when
she
was
hungry and in the
evening watching the sky turn from brilliant
orange to peach and
finally to pale
purple , eventually the light becoming dim . It
was about this time that
the
mist
would
begin
to
rise
from
the
cool
water
hiding
in
the
dense
forest
that
hugged(
环绕
,
拥抱
)
the
shoreline(
海岸线
).
Late
evening
dew(
露水
)
glistened(
闪耀
,
反光
) on every bush and soon the loons'
(
潜鸟
) call would resound
(
回响
) across the
water . She decided to take on last dip
in the lake. As the cool night air touched her
arms. She gave a little shiver and
decided it was time to move inside.
This
was
to
be
her
last
evening
alone
as
Jeff,
her
former
mate,
would
be
returning Zac to her early in the
morning. As the case in many marriages these days,
problems had arisen between Lesley and
Jeff, but they did not extend to Zac. He was
a good kid, just entering kindergarten.
The couple had come to a mutual agreement ,
as
dictated
by
the
legal
custody
(
监管
,
保管
)
agreement .It
stated
that
each
parent
would share Zac's care every second
weekend and this had been her weekend to be
alone.
一项权力问题
一项犯罪就要得逞了。而不幸的是，就在那时，莱斯利对即将
发生的事毫无察觉。这件事将彻底改变
她此后两年的生活。
至少在那个时候，她在小别墅的假
期还是很惬意的。她在平台上度过了很多闲适轻松的时光，读书、
饿了吃块三明治
;
晚上，看着天空由鲜橙色变为桃红色，然后变为淡紫色，最后光线终
于黯淡下来。就在这
时，薄雾开始从隐藏在环绕岸边的密林里的冷水中升起
;
再晚些，灌木上的露珠开始闪烁，不久，潜水鸟的
叫声就会在水面上回荡起来。她决定在湖里最后再泡一会儿。当她的手臂触到夜晚凉爽的空气时，不禁有
些发抖，于是她决定该是回到屋里去的时候了。
这是她在家中独处的最后一个晚上
，因为她的前夫杰夫会在早上把扎克送回来。与当时许多婚姻情况
一样，莱斯利和杰夫之
间出现了许多问题，但并未影响到扎克。他是个好孩子，刚刚上幼儿园。他们达成
了一个
依法监护的协议，协议规定双亲每两个周末轮换照顾孩子，这是她独处的周末。
Jeff
was
an
architect,
with
a
high-
profile
reputation,
who
worked
in
downtown
Toronto, a partner
in a private corporation which mostly did
consultant work for the
1
university. Lesley’s company had been
hired to advertise the new science complex in
order to raise corporate money for the
proposed building. She liked her work and she
harbored a secret ambition to manage
her division of the company some day.
After a whirlwind courtship and a
fairytale wedding the couple had settled down to
an
urban lifestyle. However, after
three years and one child the dreamlike marriage
came
smashing
down.
One
disadvantage
of
being
young
and
ambitious
was
that
both
of
them needed to devote untold hours to
their busy schedules. As a result of these late
hours, Lesley became suspicious of
Jeff’s after hours activities. She accused him of
making
her
part
of
a
love
triangle.
The
whole
miserable
scene
was
to
set
the
proceedings for an ugly divorce in
motion.
Daydreaming about those earlier
days would not help tonight. So with a shrug of
her
shoulders she tackled the
advertising assignment she needed to complete.
Tomorrow
would be a busy day with Zac
arriving home.
杰夫是个建筑师，名声很大，在多伦多市区工作，是一家私人公司的合伙人，该公司主要为大学做咨询工
作。莱斯利的公司已经接下了为新的科学综合大楼做广告的工作，以便为计划中的大楼筹集合作基
金。她
喜欢她的工作，并且心怀抱负：有一天她要管理这个部门。
在一段旋风般的热恋和一个童
话式的婚礼之后，夫妻俩定居下来，过起了都市生活。然而，在过了三
年并有了孩子之后
，这段梦幻般的婚姻开始破裂了。年轻而又雄心勃勃的不利之处，就是两个人都要把数
不
清的时间花在忙不完的事业上。由于经常工作到很晚，莱斯利开始怀疑杰夫工作之余的活动，她指责他
让她成了三角爱情的一部分。事情发展到最痛苦的场面就是提出不愉快的离婚诉讼。
那些对最初美好时光的
回忆，对今夜也无济于事。于是，她耸了耸肩，着手处理她必须完成的广告业
务。明天扎
克到家后将会非常忙碌。
The
next day, as the morning wore on, Lesley became
more and more agitated(
烦躁
),
and her mood became apprehensive(
忧虑的
,
不安的
),
when Jeff did not appear. When
noon
hour arrived and he still had not appeared, she
started making some phone calls.
None
of their mutual friends had either seen or talked
with Jeff that day. Until today,
Jeff
had
always
been
very
punctual
about
returning
the
boy
at
the
appointed
time.
Lesley felt a knot
forming in her stomach as a crazy thought
persisted at the back of
her mind. She
was absolutely sure something was wrong.
Jeff
sat
with
his
head
bowed.
He
was
undecided
what
to
do.
The
domestic
arrangement with his former wife was
proving to be awkward. He was frustrated at
being
able
to
see
his
son
only
on
weekends
and
felt
he
was
always
making
2
concessions to
accommodate(
适应
,
迁就
) Lesley
’
s work
schedule. Every meeting was
turning
into a competition
for the
boy
’
s
affection.
His one desire was
to
take Zac
away
for
good.
The
enormous
decision
to
undertake
this
plan
appeared
to
be
presenting itself. Today
he would depart for a conference in California.
This appeared
to be a marvelous
opportunity to take the boy and leave the country
for good. He bet
that he could pack
sufficient baggage into his vehicle and then
disappears across the
border, gaining
entry the U.S.A. He gave little thought to
whatsoever of the fact this
act could
lead to his conviction if he was tracked down by
the cops.
Meanwhile,
for
Lesley
the
nightmare
continued
to
unfold(
展现
,
显露
)
as
the
reality of the situation
deepened. After 48 hours, the spokesman for the
district police
department
assured her they would investigate
Zac
’
s disappearance. Her
faith that
justice would be realized
was faint. The shock of the past two
days
’
events made
her
realize that possibly her son would
become one more statistic in the missing children
file. The police completed a
preliminary survey after asking hundreds of
detailed(
详
细的
)
questions. Hot lines proved
fruitless(
无结果的
).
第二天，随着上午的时间慢慢逝去，莱斯利越来越感到不安。杰夫没有出现，她变得焦躁
起来。到了中午，
他还没出现，于是她开始打电话。他们共同的朋友都说那天没看见他，
也没和他通过电话。以前，杰夫总
是非常准时地将孩子送回来。一种不祥的想法在下意识
地困扰着她，莱斯利感到恐惧。她绝对肯定是出事
了。
杰夫低头坐着，他不知该做些什么
。和前妻商定的对家庭的安排看来是蠢笨的，只能在周末看看儿子
令他沮丧极了。为了莱
斯利的工作安排，他觉得一直在迁就。每次相见都变成一场争夺“孩子到底爱谁”
的竞争
。他有一个心愿就是把扎克永远带走，现在就应做出实施这个计划的重大决定了。今天，他要前往
加利福尼亚参加一个会议，这显然是一个带走孩子，永远离开这个国家的绝好机会。他确信他能够把足够
多的行李装上车，然后跨过边境，进入美国后就消失掉。如果被警察抓住，这种行为是可
以构成犯罪的，
可他不再多想了。
与此同时，对于莱斯利，随着事件真相的不断深入，噩梦也在
继续显现。
48
小时后，地区警察部门发
言人向她保证，他们将对扎克的失踪展开调查。她对正义会得到伸张的信心减弱了。最近两天发生的事使
她认识到，
他的儿子很可能成为失踪儿童名单中增加的又一个新数字。
在询问了许许多多的细节问题之后，
警察完成了初步调查。热线
电话丝毫没有结果。
Meanwhile, over
the next year there were countless visits and
interviews at the police
station and
her home. The police appeared to be making no
progress in tracking Zac
’
s
whereabouts(
行踪
). As the days
passed, Lesley
’
s
frustration(
挫败
) mounted and
she
felt a sense of alarm. Eventually,
she decided to take the initiative in continuing
the
3
search and
she began to use well-established child find
agencies. At times, boosted by
hopes,
she appeared to be on the right trail with a sense
of disgust, but her hopes were
dashed
at the final moment. These obstacles hope. After
Zac
’
s picture was circulated
nationwide, telephone calls followed
from strangers reporting sightings(
被看见的
人
或事物
) of a Zac look alike.
Month by month her plan evolved into a campaign
equal
to a full-scale battle plan. She
paid an exceedingly high fee for specialized help,
such
as the services
of
an attorney.
Lesley became
determined to
target
every
major city
where
Jeff
normally
contracted
business.
As
the
months
slopped
by,
Lesley’s
exhaustion became noticeable in her
eyes. Her cheeks became hollow pits. Most days
she
felt
as
though
she
did
not
have
an
ounce
of
energy
left
because
proof
of
Zac’s
existence
seemed impossible to find.
Another
year
passed
and
her
hopes
dimmed.
Unexpectedly,
late
in
August
a
promising lead brought her to Los
Angeles.
在接下来的一年多时间里，她在警察局和
家中接受了无数次的访问和会见。在寻找礼物的下落上，警察似
乎并没有取得什么进展。
时间一天天地过去，莱斯利感到日益失望，她有一种恐慌的感觉。终于，她决定
要争取主
动，继续找寻，她开始求助于专门的儿童寻找机构。有时，尽管感到有些厌烦，由于希望的驱使，
她还是加入到搜寻线索的行列，但她的希望都在最后时刻破灭了。这些挫折只会令她更坚定不放弃寻找或
不丧失希望的决心。扎克的照片在全国传阅，不断有陌生人打来电话，报告说看见了像扎
克模样了人。一
月又一月，她参与活动的计划安排相当于一场大规模的战役部署。她出高
薪请专家帮忙，例如聘请代理人
为她服务。莱斯利开始决定在杰夫平日联系生意的每一个
主要城市去寻找目标。几个月过去了，从莱斯利
的眼里，可以明显感觉到她的确精疲力竭
了。她的脸颊深深地凹了下去。大多数日子里，她觉得好像一点
儿精力也没有了，因为证
明扎克还在的证据看来是不可能找到了。
又一年过去了，她的希望变得更加渺茫。但出乎意料，八月底
，一个很有希望的线索把她带到了洛杉
矶。
The interior of the bar was dark. Her
quest to locate Jeff and Zac had taken two years.
She
had
paid
private
investigators
in
American
currency
to
help
her
locate
her
ex-husband. In her handbag she carried
the necessary proof that would identify her to
the authorities if she was successful
in being able to bring Zac home again, to Canada.
She
had
been
impatient
for
this
moment
to
arrive
for
so
long
and
yet
now
she
just
wanted to secure her son with a minimum
of fuss. Now, right on cue, a tall stranger
slipped
into
the
bar
and
sat
down.
One
glimpse
told
her
it
was
Jeff.
He
looked
weary(
疲劳的
) and
older but definitely familiar. A chill ran up her
spine(
脊椎
,
脊柱
).
Close
to
success,
she
refused
to
concede
defeat.
It
was
the
time
to
remedy
the
4
enormous sadness. This time she wanted
a guarantee of success. She stared straight
ahead with a vacant look, trying to
grasp the important moment. Vivid scenes, from
the pass two
years
’
search,
flashed(
思想等的闪现
) through her
mind.
The following day, happily for
Lesley, the headline of the local paper read,
“Father
turns over child, Mother slams
system.”
Lesley and
Zac
’
s subsequent life could
now resume some form of
normalcy(
正常状
态
),
however, the stress and strain of the past two
years would always remain as a part
of
this renewed relationship in the memory.
酒吧里面很暗。追寻杰夫和扎克和下落已经花了她现年时间。
她付费给在美国的私家侦察机构，帮她查找
前夫的下落。在她的手提包里，有可以向当局
证明的必要材料，一旦成功，她就可以将扎克带回家，回到
加拿大。
她焦急地等待着这一刻的到来已经很久了，
而现在她只想找回她的儿子，
发行量不要出什么乱子。
就在这个时候，一个高个的陌生人溜进酒吧坐下来
。她一眼就认出那是杰夫。他看起来很疲惫，显得更苍
老了，但还是相当熟悉。一阵寒气
掠过她的背脊。马上就要成功了！她拒绝承认失败，这正是治疗巨大伤
痛的时刻。这次，
她要确保成功。她带着迷茫的神情凝视着前方，努力要抓住这重要的时刻。过去两年的
搜
寻情景，一幕幕清晰地在她的脑海中闪现。
翌日，使莱斯利感
到高兴的是当地报纸的头条新闻：
“父亲将孩子送回，母亲猛烈抨击体制”
。
至于莱斯利和扎克后来的生活，现在可能恢复到
某种正常状态了。然而，过去两年的压力和紧张将成为这
种重新恢复起来的关系中的一部
分，永远留在记忆里。
In
port,
the
sailing
ship,
Hannah,
under
the
command
of
Captain
Mitchell
lay
at
anchor. The adventure of crossing the
Atlantic Ocean bound for Philadelphia would
take two to three months. Passengers
were assured there would be the best provisions
and
plenty
of
barrels
of
fresh
water.
Storms
could
be
fierce
and
living
conditions
below
deck
would
be
primitive.
John
joined
the
long
queue
and
eventually
after
a
lengthy
wait,
reached
the
revenue
table.
He
affixed(
签署名字
)
his
signature
to
the
contract promising to
pay five pounds per person for
berths(
卧铺
) aboard ship. The
clerk returned the receipt to John
indicating that the sum of money had been paid.
Once
under
sail
the
three
hundred
passengers
found
themselves
crowded
into
miserable conditions.
The smell of so many people crowded together was
offensive.
The breadth of the vessel
was narrow and the headroom(
净空
,
头上空间
) below deck
minimal.
As the tiny craft sailed out
of Lough Foyle, and entered the
Atlantic Ocean,
it
started
to roll ominously(
不吉利的
) and
those aboard wondered if they would survive
5
the long
voyage ahead or be swallowed up by the enormous
waves. Seasickness(
晕船
)
was everywhere and people had no
appetite. The food, instead of being of high
quality
as promised, was too often
rotten and the water was
brackish(
有咸味的
).
在港口，那艘帆船“汉纳”号，在米切尔船长的指挥下，正抛锚停泊。跨越大西洋前往费
城的冒险要花两
到三个月。乘客们被许诺有最好的食品供应和充足的淡水。暴风雨可能很
猛烈，甲板下面的生活条件将是
很单调的。约翰加入到了那长长的队列里，等了很久以后
，终于来到付款台前。他在合同上签了字，按要
求为乘坐那艘船的每个人付
5
英镑。办事员为约翰开了收据，表示钱已付清。
可是一上船，三百名乘客发现船上
非常拥挤，条件很恶劣。这么多人挤在一起，气味简直让人受不了。
船舱狭窄又很低矮。
小船驶
离洛夫福伊进入大西洋的时候，就开始不祥地摇晃起来，船上的人担心他们是否能够安全完成
航程还是会被巨浪吞噬。到处都是晕船的，人们没有食欲。伙食没有承诺的那么好，还常常是腐烂的，水
也有咸味。
Eventually,
the
winds
lessened
and
the
Captain
was
able
to
set
his
sights
towards
America
and
become
ably
steering
the
ship
on
an
even
course(
航线
).
Eight
weeks
later,
plus
on
day,
the
Hannah
made
landfall(
着
陆
)
and
the
Love
family
disembarked(
离船上岸
)
in
America
and
became
American
newest
immigrants.
Gazing at the mainland after so many
days of sailing was indeed a glorious sight. The
difficult
days
aboard
ship
seemed
worthwhile.
Porters
hurried
along
the
docks
pushing
baggage.
Little
girls
with
ribbons
in
their
hair
scanned
the
ship’s
decks
hoping
to
get
a
first
glimpse
of
their
father
arriving.
It
seemed
to
Lily
that
it
took
forever to register and to pass through
immigration.
John said that he would go ahead to
scout out some land in the far west of the
state. He would push on to the frontier
with a bunch of other Irish chaps. Lily and the
children
could
follow
more
slowly,
harnessing
the
horse
and
cart
to
convey
their
scanty(
贫乏的<
/p>
,
少的
) possessions.
The stuff in the cart would include a kettle,
dishes,
blankets, a chair, a bucket and
an axe.
There
was a perception by the government at this time
that the feisty(
易怒的
,
< br>好
斗的
)
Irish
would resist
any hostile natives
refusing to
retreat
and thus
maintaining
the
western
boundary.
The
Irish,
too,
were
pleased
to
settle
as
far
away
from
the
government as possible. Instead of
purchasing land, they would
“
squat(
占据
)
”
on
the property
erecting only a temporary, humble shelter to stave
off(
遮挡
) the weather.
Once
their
families
arrived,
they
would
inspire
the
men
to
build
proper
cabins.
6
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
上一篇：英语四级重点词汇
下一篇：英语四级词汇表带音标(免费下载)