37 · 开往威斯特海温的快车
The Westhaven Express
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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 a 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 people besides myself who wished to take advantage of this excellent service. Neither was I surprised 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."
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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 a 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 people besides myself who wished to take advantage of this excellent service. Neither was I surprised 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."
我们已经习惯于认为，火车理应准点。经过多年的习惯养成，大多数人对铁路时刻表产生了一种不可动摇的信任。轮船可能因风暴延误，航班可能因恶劣天气取消，可火车必须准时。也只有特别严重的大雪，才可能暂时打乱铁路运行。一旦真出了问题，人们很容易就把责任推给铁路部门；可事实是，出错的往往更可能是我们自己，而不是他们。
查过列车时刻表后，我满意地发现，有一班快车开往威斯特海温。从我家附近的车站出发，可以直达，全程只要一小时十七分钟。上车时，我注意到也有不少当地人同行，当时并没觉得奇怪，心想，和我一样想享受这趟便利列车的人，想必大有人在。列车在几英里外的小站威德利停下时，我也不意外，毕竟再快的列车也可能要等信号。可接下来，它一站接一站地慢慢停，我开始犯嘀咕了。我突然明白，这班所谓的快车，并没有以每小时九十英里的速度飞驰，而是在以三十英里的速度慢吞吞地前进。一小时十七分钟过去了，连一半路程都没走完。我问一位乘客，这是不是开往威斯特海温的快车，他却连听都没听说过。我下定决心，一到站就投诉。两个小时后，我正气愤地和威斯特海温的站长理论。站长说，根本没有这样一班车，我便借来他的时刻表，带着几分得意告诉他，上面白纸黑字写得清清楚楚。他匆匆看了一眼，叫我再仔细看看。一个小小的星号，把我的目光引到页底的注释上，只见那里写着：“本次列车已停运。”
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译文依据整理稿，由本站按中文表达重新校订；解析据吴应时、何景霖整理资料及首轮审校稿；词伙与练习提示为本站学习设计。原PDF第122—124页，2022年2月第3版。