Lesson 43

Insurance companies are normally willing to insure anything.
保险公司通常愿意为任何事情投保。
Insuring public or private property is a standard practice in most countries in the world.
投保公共或私人财产是世界上大多数国家的标准做法。
If, however, you were holding an open air garden party or a fete it would be equally possible to insure yourself in the event of bad weather.
然而，如果你正在举办一场户外的游园会或义卖会，在恶劣天气的情况下为你自己投保也是同样可能的。
Needless to say, the bigger the risk an insurance company takes, the higher the premium you will have to pay.
不用说，保险公司承担的风险越大，你必须支付的保费就越高。
It is not uncommon to hear that a shipping company has made a claim for the cost of salvaging a sunken ship.
听说航运公司为打捞沉船的费用提出索赔，这并不少见。
But the claim made by a local authority to recover the cost of salvaging a sunken pie dish must surely be unique.
但是，地方当局为追回打捞一个沉没馅饼盘的成本而提出的索赔要求，肯定确实是绝无仅有的。
Admittedly it was an unusual pie dish, for it was eighteen feet long and six feet wide.
诚然，那是一个不寻常的派盘，因为它有十八英尺长，六英尺宽。
It had been purchased by a local authority so that an enormous pie could be baked for an annual fair.
它已被当地政府买下，以便在年度集市上烘烤出一个巨大的派。
The pie committee decided that the best way to transport the dish would be by canal, so they insured it for the trip.
派委员会决定运输这道菜最好的方式是通过运河，所以他们为这次行程投保了。
Shortly after it was launched, the pie committee went to a local inn to celebrate.
就在发起后不久，馅饼委员会前往一家当地旅馆庆祝。
At the same time, a number of teenagers climbed on to the dish and held a little party of their own.
与此同时，一些青少年爬上了大圆盘，并举行了他们自己的一个小聚会。
Dancing proved to be more than the dish could bear, for during the party it capsized and sank in seven feet of water.
跳舞被证明是这只大盘子所无法承受的，因为在聚会期间，它在七英尺深的水中倾覆并沉没了。
The pie committee telephoned a local garage owner who arrived in a recovery truck to salvage the pie dish.
派委员会致电了一位当地修理厂主，他开着一辆救援卡车赶来打捞那个派盘。
Shivering in their wet clothes, the teenagers looked on while three men dived repeatedly into the water to locate the dish.
青少年们穿着湿衣服瑟瑟发抖地在旁观，而三个男人反复潜入水中寻找那个盘子。
They had little difficulty in finding it, but hauling it out of the water proved to be a serious problem.
他们毫不费力地找到了它，但把它从水里拖出来被证明是一个严重的问题。
The sides of the dish were so smooth that it was almost impossible to attach hawsers and chains to the rim without damaging it.
盘子的侧面是如此光滑，以至于几乎不可能在不损坏它的情况下将钢缆和链条系在边缘上。
Eventually chains were fixed to one end of the dish and a powerful winch was put into operation.
最终，链条被固定在碟形天线的一端，一台大功率绞车开始工作。
The dish rose to the surface and was gently drawn towards the canal bank.
这个盘状物浮出水面，被轻轻地引向运河岸边。
For one agonizing moment, the dish was perched precariously on the bank of the canal, but it suddenly overbalanced and slid back into the water.
在某一个痛苦的时刻，盘子摇摇欲坠地搁置在运河岸边，但它突然失去平衡并滑落回水中。
The men were now obliged to try once more.
这些男人现在不得不再次尝试。
This time they fixed heavy metal clamps to both sides of the dish so that they could fasten the chains.
这一次，他们把重金属夹具固定在碟子的两侧，以便能系紧链条。
The dish now had to be lifted vertically because one edge was resting against the side of the canal.
由于天线的一个边缘正靠在运河的侧面，现在不得不将其垂直抬起。
The winch was again put into operation and one of the men started up the truck.
绞车再次投入运行，其中一个人发动了卡车。
Several minutes later, the dish was successfully hauled above the surface of the water.
几分钟后，这盘菜被成功地拉出了水面。
Water streamed in torrents over its sides with such force that it set up a huge wave in the canal.
水从侧面如激流般倾泻而下，力量如此之大，以至于在运河中激起了一个巨浪。
There was a danger that the wave would rebound off the other side of the bank and send the dish plunging into the water again.
当时存在一种危险，即波浪会从河岸的另一侧反弹，并使盘子再次坠入水中。
By working at tremendous speed, the men managed to get the dish on to dry land before the wave returned.
通过以极快的速度工作，这些男人设法在海浪返回之前将那个碟形天线弄到了干地上。