Lesson 37

We have learnt to expect that trains will be punctual.
我们已经习惯于期待火车准时。
After years of conditioning, most of us have developed an unshakable faith in railway timetables.
经过多年的磨练，我们中的大多数人已经对铁路时刻表产生了一种不可动摇的信念。
Ships may be delayed by storms; flights may be cancelled because of bad weather; but trains must be on time.
船只可能因风暴延误，航班可能因恶劣天气取消，但列车必须准时。
Only an exceptionally heavy snowfall might temporarily dislocate railway services.
只有一场异常的大雪才可能暂时中断铁路服务。
It is all too easy to blame the railway authorities when something does go wrong.
当某些事情确实出错时，去指责铁路部门实在是太容易了
The truth is that when mistakes occur, they are more likely to be ours than theirs.
事实是，当错误发生时，它们更有可能是我们的而不是他们的。
After consulting my railway timetable, I noted with satisfaction that there was an express train to Westhaven.
在查阅了我的铁路时刻表后，我满意地发现有一班前往威斯特海文的快车。
It went direct from my local station and the journey lasted a mere hour and seventeen minutes.
它直接从我的当地车站出发，旅程仅仅持续了一小时十七分钟。
When I boarded the train, I could not help noticing that a great many local people got on as well.
当我登上火车时，我禁不住注意到有许多当地人也上车了。
At the time, this did not strike me as odd.
在当时，这并没有让我觉得奇怪。
I reflected that there must be a great many people besides myself who wished to take advantage of this excellent service.
我思考到，除了我之外，一定还有许多人也想利用这项优良的服务。
Neither was I surprised when the train stopped at Widley, a tiny station a few miles along the line.
当火车在维德利站（沿线几英里外的一个小站）停下时，我并不感到惊讶。
Even a mighty express train can be held up by signals.
甚至一列强大的特快列车也会被信号灯阻挡。
But when the train dawdled at station after station, I began to wonder.
但是当火车在一站又一站慢吞吞地移动时，我开始感到纳闷。
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.
我突然意识到，这列快车并不是以每小时九十英里的速度在铁轨上疾驰，而只是以三十英里的时速缓慢行驶。
One hour and seventeen minutes passed and we had not even covered half the distance.
一小时十七分钟过去了，我们甚至还没走完一半路程。
I asked a passenger if this was the Westhaven Express, but he had not even heard of it.
我询问一位乘客这是否是西黑文快车，但他甚至没听说过它。
I determined to lodge a complaint as soon as we arrived.
我决定一到达就提出投诉。
Two hours later, I was talking angrily to the station master at Westhaven.
两小时后，我正在西黑文火车站愤怒地同站长谈话。
When he denied the train's existence, I borrowed his copy of the timetable.
当他否认火车的存在时，我借了他的那份时刻表。
There was a note of triumph in my voice when I told him that it was there in black and white.
当我告诉他那上面白纸黑字写得清清楚楚时，我的语气中带着一丝得意。
Glancing at it briefly, he told me to look again.
粗略地看了一眼后，他叫我再看一遍。
A tiny asterisk conducted me to a footnote at the bottom of the page.
一个小小的星号引导我看到了页面底部的脚注。
It said: 'This service has been suspended.'
它说：“这项服务已经被暂停了。”