43_Fully_Insured

43 Fully Insured

原文译文

Insurance companies are normally willing to insure anything. Insuring public or private property is a standard practice in most countries in the world. 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. Needless to say, the bigger the risk an insurance company takes, the higher the premium you will have to pay. It is not uncommon to hear that a shipping company has made a claim for the cost of salvaging a sunken ship. But the claim made by a local authority to recover the cost of salvaging a sunken pie dish must surely be unique.

Admittedly it was an unusual pie dish, for it was eighteen feet long and six feet wide. It had been purchased by a local authority so that an enormous pie could be baked for an annual fair. The pie committee decided that the best way to transport the dish would be by canal so they insured it for the trip. Shortly after it was launched, the pie committee went to a local inn to celebrate. At the same time, a number of teenagers climbed on to the dish and held a little party of their own. Dancing proved to be more than the dish could bear, for during the party it capsized and sank in seven feet of water.

The pie committee telephoned a local garage owner who arrived in a recovery truck to salvage the pie dish. Shivering in their wet clothes, the teenagers looked on while three men dived repeatedly into the water to locate the dish. They had little difficulty in finding it, but hauling it out of the water proved to be a serious problem. The sides of the dish were so smooth that it was almost impossible to attach hawsers and chains to the rim without damaging it. Eventually chains were fixed to one end of the dish and a powerful winch was put into operation. The dish rose to the surface and was gently drawn towards the canal bank. 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. The men were now obliged to try once more. This time they fixed heavy metal clamps to both sides of the dish so that they could fasten the chains. The dish now had to be lifted vertically because one edge was resting against the side of the canal. The winch was again put into operation and one of the men started up the truck. Several minutes later, the dish was successfully hauled above the surface of the water. Water streamed in torrents over its sides with such force that it set up a huge wave in the canal. 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. By working at tremendous speed, the men managed to get the dish on to dry land before the wave returned.

保险公司一般说来愿意承保一切东西。承办公共财产或私人财产保险是世界上大部分国家的正常业务。如果你要举办一次露天游园会或盛宴，为避免碰上坏天气而遭受损失也同样可以保险，不用说，保险公司承担风险越大，你付的保险费也就越高。航运公司为打捞沉船而提出索赔，这是常有的事，但某地当局为打捞一只焙制馅饼的盘子提出索赔，倒是件新鲜的事儿。

诚然，这只馅饼盘子是不寻常的，因为它长18英尺，宽6英尺。某地当局买下它用来焙制一个巨大的馅饼，为一年一度的大型盛会助兴。馅饼委员会确认运输这只盘子的最佳方案是通过运河水运。于是，他们对这只盘子的运输安全投了保。盘子下水后不久，馅饼委员会成员们来到当地一家小酒店庆贺。就在这个时候，许多十几岁的孩子爬进盘子举行他们自己的集会。他们跳舞，盘子难以承受。舞会进行过程中，盘子倾覆，沉入了7英尺深的水中。

馅饼委员会给当地汽车修理库老板打电话，他闻讯后开着一辆急修车前来打捞盘子。那些孩子们穿着湿衣服哆嗦，看着3个工人轮番潜入水中去确定盘子的位置。他们没费多大事就找到了盘子，可是把盘子拽出水面却是一大难题。盘子四边十分光滑，要在盘边拴上绳索或链条而同时又不损坏它，谈何容易。不过，他们终于将链条固定在盘子的一端，一台大功率的绞车开动起来。盘子慢慢浮出水面，被轻轻地拽向运河岸边。在令人忐忑不安的瞬间，盘子晃晃悠悠地上了岸，但它突然失去了平衡，又跌回水中。工人们只得再来一次。这次，他们用沉重的金属夹子把盘子夹住，以便往盘子上安装铁链。这次，盘子必须垂直吊出水面，因为盘子的一边紧靠着运河河岸。绞盘机再次启动，一位工人发动了急修车的引擎。几分钟后，盘子被成功地拽出了水面。波浪从盘子两侧急涌而出，在运河里掀起一股大浪。但是当波浪从河对岸折回来时，就有再次把盘子拖进水里去的危险。工人们动作迅速，终于赶在那股大浪返回之前把盘子拽到了岸上。

Words

• Insurance /ˌɪnˈʃʊrəns/ 保险
• fete /fet/ n. 游园会
  1. It's beyond me how she managed to squeeze through the tight crowd and make her way to the front of the stage at the fete.（L41&L42）
• premium /ˈprimiəm/ n. 保险费
  1. If you want all the benefits of full insurance, you need to be prepared to pay the premium.
  2. Only those who are willing to pay the premium can have the privilege of obtaining full membership benefits.
• claim /klem/ 索赔
• recover /rɪˈkʌvɚ/ v. 弥补
  1. The contract [that you will help to recover the cost of the stolen properties] is written in black and white.
  2. The CEO seemed perturbed by the expenses they faced to recover the cost of the project.
• Admittedly /ædˈmɪtɪdli/ adv. 公认地
  1. Admittedly, I can tolerate a certain level of noise for your convenience, but it becomes unbearable when it’s late at night.
• purchased /ˈpɝtʃəst/ v. 买
  1. As a special treat, I decided to purchase tickets to a Broadway show for my parents' anniversary.
  2. I feel bewildered by the number of options available when purchasing a new car.（L38）
• annual /ˈænjuəl/ adj. 一年一度地
  1. The annual meeting, which was held yesterday, provided an opportunity for the company's executives to discuss future strategies.
  2. I look forward to attending the annual music festival and going into raptures when my favorite band performs.（N2L37）
  3. The annual performance review provides an opportunity for employees to reflect on their achievements and set goals for the future.
• capsized /ˈkæpˌsaɪzd/ v. 翻
  1. To their horror, the boat capsized in the middle of the lake.
  2. As the boat hit a large wave, the terrified child let out a cry when it began to capsize.
• Shivering /ˈʃɪvərɪŋ/ v. 打颤
  1. It astounded her that he could stand in the freezing water without shivering.
  2. It was not until she entered the haunted house that she began to shiver.
• dived /daɪvd/ v. 跳水
  1. In order to keep his word to his friend, he dove into the deep waters to find the lost treasure.
  2. She dove into the pool, complaining bitterly about the cold water temperature.
  3. Born and bred in a family of athletes, he had a natural talent for diving.
• hauling /ˈhɔlɪŋ/ v. 拖拽
  1. In the dim light, the movers found it hard to haul the piano onto the moving truck.（L22&L29）
  2. He insisted that we should haul the old sofa out of the living room.
• hawsers /ˈhɔzɚz/ n. 粗缆绳
  1. As the storm grew stronger, the sailors had the impulse to secure the hawser tightly to prevent the ship from drifting away.（L23）
  2. The old hawser was replaced by a new one to ensure the safety of the ship.
  3. The experienced captain took possession of the hawser, skillfully guiding the ship into the harbor.
• rim /rɪm/ n. 外沿
  1. The initials [engraved on the silver rim of the wine glass] indicated that it belonged to the royal family.（L38&L28）
• winch /wɪntʃ/ n. 绞车
• agonizing /ˈæɡənaɪzɪŋ/ adj. 精神紧张的
  1. For one agonizing moment, the teacher reprimanded the student for cheating on the test.
  2. For one agonizing moment, the cyclist lost control and collided with a tree.
• perched /pɝtʃt/ v. 处于
  1. He is bent on catching the bird which is perched on the lemon tree.
  2. He described to me how he successfully caught the bird perched on the edge of the roof.
• precariously /prɪˈkɛriəsli/ adv. 危险地
  1. Only then did she realized that the ladder was placed precariously against the wall.
  2. It is silly to lean precariously out of the window.
• vertically /ˈvɝtɪkli/ adv. 垂直的
  1. The students were puzzled by the vertically arranged numbers on the board.
  2. It's silly of her to think she can balance a cup of coffee vertically on her head without spilling.
• torrents /ˈtɔrənts/ n. 激流
  1. He attempted to wade through the raging torrent.（L8&L42）
  2. The suspect was put under arrest after the police discovered a torrent of evidence linking him to the crime.
  3. It has always been a mystery to me why a torrent of emotions descend upon me whenever I heard that particular song.（L40&L41）
• rebound /riˈbaʊnd/ v. 弹回
  1. Oddly enough, the ball rebounded off the wall and landed perfectly in the player's hands.
  2. He received an electric shock, which caused him to rebound off the wire.

Expressions

• insure (something/somebody) 给（某物/某人）投保
• against loss/damage/theft/sickness 防止...
• pay the premium 付保险费
• recover the cost of 收回…的成本
• haul something off/onto/out of something 把某物拖走/拖上/拖出
• for one agonizing moment 在令人忐忑不安的瞬间
• be perched on sth. 坐在…上
• a torrent of 一股洪流
• rebound off 反弹
• doing sth…is a standard practice =it’s a standard practice to do sth. 做某事是惯例
• in the event of 万一
  1. She underestimated how challenging a marathon can be in the event of extreme weather conditions.
  2. In the event of heavy rain, the outdoor concert will be moved to an indoor location.
  3. In the event of a fire, please leave the building immediately.
  4. It is not uncommon to hear that…
  5. It is not uncommon to hear that some people condition themselves to wake up early by setting multiple alarms.
  6. It is not uncommon to hear that customers lodge a complaint when they receive poor service or faulty products.
  7. It is not uncommon to hear that some people obtain money by deception.
• It is not uncommon to hear that … 听到这种事并不罕见
• make a claim for 要求得到...
  1. They made a claim for compensation and blamed the airline for the delay in their flight.
  2. The construction workers made a claim for additional funds to tunnel a course through the rocky mountain.
  3. I had to make a claim for compensation after my luggage was lost during the flight.
• at the same time 同时
  1. She was talking to her friends while at the same time switching on the light.
  2. The carpenter rigged up the shelf and listened to a book at the same time.
  3. It is outrageous that she was texting her friend while at the same time listening to the lecture in class.
• look on 旁观
  1. The children just looked on as their father charged at the shallow pool of water ahead of them.
  2. We just looked on as the divers plunged into the river in front of us.
  3. She looked on as the children, who were playing in the park, laughed and ran around.
• put sth. into operation 使某物投入运行
• was drawn towards 被吸引到……
• x a. to b./be fixed to 把 A 固定在 B 上
• rest against 靠在……上休息
  1. From the footprints in the sand, we can deduce that someone had stopped to rest against the tree.
  2. The painting seems to have been carefully placed to rest against the wall.
  3. I decided to take a video of the beautiful sunset as it seems to rest against the horizon.
• start up 发动；启动
  1. Sooner or later, she will start up the computer to begin her work.
  2. My father had the foresight to start up the engine to check for any issues before going out on the journey.
  3. He started up his motorcycle and roared down the hill.
• set up 激起
• send a. doing 使 A 做……
  1. I’ll never forget the time when the strong wind sent the umbrella flying down the street.
  2. However carefully he tried, he still made a loud noise which sent the birds flying out of the tree.
  3. The loud music sent the crowd dancing, as they couldn’t resist it.