What was the mistake the author made?
We have learnt to expect that trains will be punctual. After years of conditioning, most of us have developed an unshakable faith in railway timetables. Ships may be delayed by storms; flights may be cancelled because of bad weather, but trains must be on time. Only an exceptionally heavy snowfall might temporarily dislocate railway services. It is all too easy to blame the railway authorities when something does go wrong. The truth is that when mistakes occur, they are more likely to be ours than theirs.
After consulting my railway timetable, I noted with satisfaction that there was an express train to Westhaven. It went direct from my local station and the journey lasted mere hour and seventeen minutes. When I boarded the train, I could not help noticing that a great many local people got on as well. At the time, this did not strike me as odd. I reflected that there must be a great many local people besides myself who wished to take advantage of this excellent service. Neither was I surprise when the train stopped at Widley, a tiny station a few miles along the line. Even a mighty express train can be held up by signals. But when the train dawdled at station after station, I began to wonder, It suddenly dawned on me that this express was not roaring down the line at ninety miles an hour, but barely chugging along at thirty. One hour and seventeen minutes passed and we had not even covered half the distance. I asked a passenger if this was the Westhaven Express, but he had not even heard of it. I determined to lodge a complaint as soon as we arrived. Two hours later, I was talking angrily to the station master at Westhaven. When he denied the train's existence, I borrowed his copy of the timetable. There was a note of triumph in my voice when I told him that it was there in black and white. Glancing at it briefly, he told me to look again. A tiny asterisk conducted me to a footnote at the bottom of the page. It said: 'This service has been suspended.'
我们已经习惯于相信火车总是准点的。经过多年的适应,大多数人对火车时刻表产生了一种不可动摇的信念。轮船船期可能因风暴而推延,飞机航班可能因恶劣天气而取消,唯有火车必然是准点的。只有非同寻常的大雪才可能暂时打乱铁路运行。因此,一旦铁路上真出了问题,人们便不加思索地责备铁路当局。事实上,差错很可能是我们自己,而不是铁路当局的。
我查看了列车时刻表,满意地了解到有一趟去威斯特海温的快车。这是趟直达车,旅途总共才需1小时17分钟。上车后,我不禁注意到许多当地人也上了车。一开 始,我并不感到奇怪,我想除我之外,想利用快车之便的也一定大有人在。火车开出几英里即在一个小站威德里停了下来。对此,我不觉得奇怪,因为即便是特别快车也可能被信号拦住。但是,当火车一站接着一站往前蠕动时,我便产生了怀疑。我突然感到这趟快车并没以时速90英里的速度呼啸前进,而是卟哧卟哧地向前爬行,时速仅30英里。1小时17分过去了,走了还不到一半路程。我问一位乘客,这是不是开往威斯特海温的那趟快车,他说从未听说过有这么一趟快车。我决定到目的地就给铁路部门提意见。两小时后,我气呼呼地同威斯特海温站站长说起此事。他说根本没有这趟车。于是我借他本人的列车时刻表,我带着一种胜利者的调 子告诉他那趟车白纸黑字。明明白白印在时刻表上。他迅速地扫视了一眼,让我再看一遍。一个小小的星形符号把我的目光引到了那页底部一个说明上。上面写着: “此趟列车暂停运行。”
express n. 快车;adj. 高速的
punctual adj. 准时的
condition v. 使习惯于
unshakable adj. 不可动摇的
faith n. 信任
cancel v. 取消
exceptionally adv. 例外地
dislocate v. 打乱(计划等)
blame v. 责怪
consult v. 请教,查阅
direct adv. 径直地
odd adj. 奇怪的,异常的
reflect v. 细想
advantage n. 优势
mighty adj. 强大的,有力的
dawdle v. 慢吞吞地动或做
chug v. 咔嚓咔嚓地响
lodge v. 提出
complaint n. 抱怨
triumph n. 胜利
asterisk n. 星号(*)
conduct v. 引向,引导
1 they are more likely to be ours than theirs,这些错误往往是我们而不是铁路当局造成的。
they指mistakes; ours, theirs此处用斜体字表示强调,应该重读。
2 I could not help noticing that…,我不禁注意到...,can't help doing是“禁不住...”的意思。
3 strike me as odd,使我感到奇怪。
4 take advantage of,利用。
5 Neither was I surprised,这是以neither 开头的句子,要用倒装语序。
6 It suddenly dawned on me ...,我突然明白了,……。
7 a note of triumph,胜利者的调子。
8 in black and white,白纸黑字。
______________________________
平凡之路 (朴树)
徘徊着的 在路上的
你要走吗 Via Via
易碎的 骄傲着
那也曾是我的模样
沸腾着的 不安着的
你要去哪 Via Via
谜一样的 沉默着的
故事你真的在听吗
我曾经跨过山和大海
也穿过人山人海
我曾经拥有着的一切
转眼都飘散如烟
我曾经失落失望失掉所有方向
直到看见平凡才是唯一的答案
当你仍然 还在幻想
你的明天 Via Via
她会好吗 还是更烂
对我而言是另一天
我曾经毁了我的一切
只想永远地离开
我曾经堕入无边黑暗
想挣扎无法自拔
我曾经像你像他像那野草野花
绝望着 也渴望着
也哭也笑平凡着
向前走 就这么走
就算你被给过什么
向前走 就这么走
就算你被夺走什么
向前走 就这么走
就算你会错过什么
向前走 就这么走
就算你会
我曾经跨过山和大海
也穿过人山人海
我曾经拥有着的一切
转眼都飘散如烟
我曾经失落失望失掉所有方向
直到看见平凡才是唯一的答案
我曾经毁了我的一切
只想永远地离开
想挣扎无法自拔
我曾经像你像他像那野草野花
绝望着 也渴望着
也哭也笑平凡着
我曾经跨过山和大海
也穿过人山人海
我曾经问遍整个世界
从来没得到答案
我不过像你像他像那野草野花
冥冥中这是我 唯一要走的路啊
时间无言 如此这般
明天已在 Hia Hia
风吹过的 路依然远
你的故事讲到了哪
我曾经堕入无边黑暗