UNIT1 A Question of Rights.docx

1、UNIT1 A Question of RightsUNIT1 A Question of Rights Unfortunately , a crime was about to be committed but at that moment Lesley was unaware of the impending(即将发生的,迫近的) event , which would affect her life so drastically(极端地,彻底地) for the next years . 不幸的是一场罪行将要被付诸实施，而那时，雷斯利还没有意识到即将发生的事可能会彻底地影响她今后的生活。

2、 For the moment at least, her holiday at the cottage had been ideal. She had spent many idle hours relaxing on the deck , reading ,eating a sandwich when she was hungry and in the evening watching the sky turn from brilliant orange to peach and finally to pale purple , eventually the light becoming

3、dim（幽暗的）. It was about this time that the mist would begin to rise from the cool water hiding in the dense（稠密的）forest that hugged(环绕,拥抱) the shoreline(海岸线). Late evening dew(露水) glistened(闪耀,反光) on every bush and soon the loons (潜鸟) call would resound (回响) across the water . She decided to take on（从

4、事，呈现） last dip（浸泡）in the lake. As the cool night air touched her arms. She gave a little shiver and decidedit was time to move inside.至少目前，她暑假在小别墅的生活是理想的！她用休闲时间在甲板上休息，读书，吃三明治。看着天空从明亮的橙色变为桃色最后成为苍白的紫色直到天空变暗。就在这时，薄雾开始从冷水中升起，藏在环绕着海岸线的稠密森林中。夜晚的露水在每一棵灌木上闪闪反光，紧接着潜鸟的回声也穿过了喝水。她决定再到湖里面泡一下，冰冷的夜风吹着她的手臂。她打了个寒战进屋

5、了！This was to be her last evening alone as Jeff, her former mate,would be returning Zac to（把。还给） her early in the morning. As the case in many marriagesthese days, problems had arisen between Lesley and Jeff, butthey did not extend to Zac. Hewas a good kid, just entering kindergarten. The couplehad

6、come to a mutual（共同的） agreement, as dictated（口述的） by the legal custody(监管,保管) agreement.It stated（规定，陈述，说明） that each parent would share Zacs care every second weekend and this had been her weekend to be alone.今晚是她最后一人的夜晚，因为在早晨的早期她的前丈夫将会把扎克还给她。正如这些天的许多婚礼一样，雷斯利跟杰夫间的问题产生了，但是他们没有延伸到扎克身上。扎克是个还在幼儿园的孩子。夫妻

7、俩得出了共同被合法监管的口述协议。上面说明每个父母每个第二周就要分担扎克的抚养问题。所以说这周是她最后一个人的周末。Jeff was an architect, with a high-profile（知名度高的） reputation, who worked in downtown（市中心的）Toronto, a partner in a private（私人的） corporation（有限公司）which mostly did consultant （咨询者）work for the university. Lesleys company had been hired（租用） to ad

8、vertise the new science complex（复合体，综合设施） in order to raise corporate i(公司的) money for the proposed（提议，计划） building. She liked her work and she harbored（怀有）a secret ambition to manage her division（分割）the company some day.杰夫是一个非常有知名度的建筑师，在多伦多的市中心工作。他是一家有限公司的合伙人，公司大部分的咨询服务都是为大学生做的。雷斯利的公司被租用来为这个新的科学复合体

9、做广告。以便于为公司计划的构建筹集资金。她很喜欢她的工作并且怀有某天能成功的分割公司的野心。After a whirlwind(旋风般的) courtship(求爱,热恋) and a fairytale （童话般的）wedding the couple had settled down（安定下来）to an urban（城市的）lifestyle. However, after three years and one child the dreamlike marriage came smashing（猛烈地，极好的）down（预兆）. One disadvantage(不利条件) of b

10、eing young and ambitious(有抱负的) was that both of them needed to devote untold hours to their busy schedules. As a result of these late hours, Lesley became suspicious(猜疑的) of Jeffs after hours activities. She accused（职责，控告） him of making her part of a love triangle. The whole miserable（痛苦的） scene was

11、 to set the proceedings(过程,诉讼,诉讼程序) for an ugly(不愉快的) divorce in motion（在运动、运转中）.在旋风般的求爱后，一场童话般的婚礼，使这对新人在城市的生活中安定了下来。然而，三年后有了个孩子，他们梦幻般的婚姻出现了问题。一个不利因素是要年轻，他们都有野心，都需要奉献出不被告知的时间到他们繁忙的工作时间中。作为结果，最后的几个小时，她开始控告丈夫在利用她的部分展开三角恋。整个痛苦的场景在不愉快的离婚诉讼程序的不断运转中。Daydreaming(幻想,白日梦) about those earlier days would not h

12、elp tonight. So with a shrug（耸肩）of her shoulders she tackled（处理，抓住，固定）the advertising assignment（广告业务）（分配，任务）she needed to complete. Tomorrow would be a busy day with Zac arriving home.早期的白日梦在今晚起不了任何的作用。所以，她耸肩处理她需要完成的广告业务。明天扎克回到家后将会是繁忙的一天。The next day, as the morning wore on（消逝）, Lesley became more

13、and more agitated(烦躁), and her mood became appre hensive(忧虑的,不安的), when Jeff did not appear. When noon hour arrived and he still had not appeared, she started making some phone calls. None of their mutual （共同的）friends had either seen or talked with Jeff that day. Until today, Jeff had always been ve

14、ry punctual （准时的）about returning the boy at the appointed（约定的） time. Lesley felt a knot （打结）forming（大街成型） in her stomach as a crazy thought persisted（持续的） at the back of（在。背后）her mind. She was absolutely sure something was wrong.第二天，随着白天的消逝，雷斯利变得越来越烦躁，当杰夫没出现的时候，她的情绪变得忧虑不安。午餐时间到了，他还是没有出现。她开始打电话。但是那天他

15、们共同的朋友没有一个见过或者跟他说过话。直到今天，杰夫一直是很准时的在约定的时间把孩子送回来。雷斯利胃部一阵抽搐，在这时，一个疯狂的想法持续的在他脑海中出现。她坚信有什么事情不对了。Jeff sat with his head bowed（弯如弓形的）. He was undecided what to do. The domestic（家庭的，国内的）arrangement with his former wife was proving to be awkward（不合适的）. He was frustrated（挫败的，泄气的） at being able to see his son

16、only on weekends and felt he was always making concessions（让步） to accommodate(适应,迁就) Lesleys work schedule. Every meeting was turning into a competition for the boys affection（ 感情）. His one desire（要求） was to take Zac away for good. The enormous（庞大的，巨大的）decision to undertake（承担，从事）this plan appeared

17、to be presenting（ 呈现，展示） itself. Today he would depart（ 离开，出发）for a conference in California. This appeared to be a marvelous（ 了不起的，令人惊异的，不平常的）opportunity to take the boy and leave the country for good. He bet（打赌）that he could pack sufficient（足够的，充分的）baggage into his vehicle and then disappears acro

18、ss the border, gaining（单相开糟）entry the U.S.A. He gave little thought to whatsoever（无论什么）of the fact this act could lead to his conviction（定罪，证明。有罪） if he was tracked down（查获） by the cops（警察）. 杰夫坐着，眉弓起来。他还没决定做什么。跟他前妻的国内协议证实是不合适的。每周只见一次儿子让他感到挫败的。他认为自己总是在为迁就雷斯利的工作时间表做让步。每次见面对孩子的感情来说都是一场竞赛。他的一个要求就是最好带着扎克

19、离开。这个巨大的决定开始实施了并且呈现出来了。今天，他就要离开去加拿大参加一个会议，这个看起来是个不平常的机会带走孩子，离开这个城市。他打赌可以收拾足够的包裹放在他的车子里然后越过边境消失，单向开凿进入美国。他没考虑过事实是无论他做什么都能导致他有罪一旦他被警察查获。 Meanwhile, for Lesley the nightmare continued to unfold(展现,显露) as the reality of the situation deepened. After 48 hours, the spokesman for the district police depart

20、ment assured her they would investigate Zacs disappearance. Her faith that justice would be realized was faint. The shock of the past two days events made her realize that possibly her son would become one more statistic in the missing children file. The police completed a preliminary survey after a

21、sking hundreds of detailed(详细的) questions. Hot lines proved fruitless(无结果的). 与此同时，对于莱斯利，随着事件真相的不断深入，噩梦也在继续显现。48小时后，地区警察部门发言人向她保证，他们将对扎克的失踪展开调查。她对正义会得到伸张的信心减弱了。最近两天发生的事使她认识到，他的儿子很可能成为失踪儿童名单中增加的又一个新数字。在询问了许许多多的细节问题之后，警察完成了初步调查。热线电话丝毫没有结果。 Meanwhile, over the next year there were countless visits and i

22、nterviews at the police station and her home. The police appeared to be making no progress in tracking Zacs whereabouts(行踪). As the days passed, Lesleys frustration(挫败) mounted and she felt a sense of alarm. Eventually, she decided to take the initiative in continuing the search and she began to use

23、 well-established child find agencies. At times, boosted by hopes, she appeared to be on the right trail with a sense of disgust, but her hopes were dashed at the final moment. These obstacles hope. After Zacs picture was circulated nationwide, telephone calls followed from strangers reporting sight

24、ings(被看见的人或事物) of a Zac look alike. Month by month her plan evolved into a campaign equal to a full-scale battle plan. She paid an exceedingly high fee for specialized help, such as the services of an attorney. Lesley became determined to target every major city where Jeff normally contracted busine

25、ss. As the months slopped by, Lesleys exhaustion became noticeable in her eyes. Her cheeks became hollow pits. Most days she felt as though she did not have an ounce of energy left because proof of Zacs existence seemed impossible to find. 在接下来的一年多时间里，她在警察局和家中接受了无数次的访问和会见。在寻找礼物的下落上，警察似乎并没有取得什么进展。时间一

26、天天地过去，莱斯利感到日益失望，她有一种恐慌的感觉。终于，她决定要争取主动，继续找寻，她开始求助于专门的儿童寻找机构。有时，尽管感到有些厌烦，由于希望的驱使，她还是加入到搜寻线索的行列，但她的希望都在最后时刻破灭了。这些挫折只会令她更坚定不放弃寻找或不丧失希望的决心。扎克的照片在全国传阅，不断有陌生人打来电话，报告说看见了像扎克模样了人。一月又一月，她参与活动的计划安排相当于一场大规模的战役部署。她出高薪请专家帮忙，例如聘请代理人为她服务。莱斯利开始决定在杰夫平日联系生意的每一个主要城市去寻找目标。几个月过去了，从莱斯利的眼里，可以明显感觉到她的确精疲力竭了。她的脸颊深深地凹了下去。大多数日子

27、里，她觉得好像一点儿精力也没有了，因为证明扎克还在的证据看来是不可能找到了。 Another year passed and her hopes dimmed. Unexpectedly, late in August a promising lead brought her to Los Angeles.The interior of the bar was dark. Her quest to locate Jeff and Zac had taken two years. She had paid private investigators in American currency to

28、 help her locate her ex-husband. In her handbag she carried the necessary proof that would identify her to the authorities if she was successful in being able to bring Zac home again, to Canada. She had been impatient for this moment to arrive for so long and yet now she just wanted to secure her so

29、n with a minimum of fuss. Now, right on cue, a tall stranger slipped into the bar and sat down. One glimpse told her it was Jeff. He looked weary(疲劳的) and older but definitely familiar. A chill ran up her spine(脊椎,脊柱). Close to success, she refused to concede defeat. It was the time to remedy the en

30、ormous sadness. This time she wanted a guarantee of success. She stared straight ahead with a vacant look, trying to grasp the important moment. Vivid scenes, from the pass two years search, flashed(思想等的闪现) through her mind. 又一年过去了，她的希望变得更加渺茫。但出乎意料，八月底，一个很有希望的线索把她带到了洛杉矶。 酒吧里面很暗。追寻杰夫和扎克和下落已经花了她现年时间。她

31、付费给在美国的私家侦察机构，帮她查找前夫的下落。在她的手提包里，有可以向当局证明的必要材料，一旦成功，她就可以将扎克带回家，回到加拿大。她焦急地等待着这一刻的到来已经很久了，而现在她只想找回她的儿子，发行量不要出什么乱子。就在这个时候，一个高个的陌生人溜进酒吧坐下来。她一眼就认出那是杰夫。他看起来很疲惫，显得更苍老了，但还是相当熟悉。一阵寒气掠过她的背脊。马上就要成功了！她拒绝承认失败，这正是治疗巨大伤痛的时刻。这次，她要确保成功。她带着迷茫的神情凝视着前方，努力要抓住这重要的时刻。过去两年的搜寻情景，一幕幕清晰地在她的脑海中闪现。 The following day, happily for

32、 Lesley, the headline of the local paper read, “Father turns over child, Mother slams system.”Lesley and Zacs subsequent life could now resume some form of normalcy(正常状态), however, the stress and strain of the past two years would always remain as a part of this renewed relationship in the memory.翌日，使莱斯利感到高兴的是当地报纸的头条新闻：“父亲将孩子送回，母亲猛烈抨击体制”。 至于莱斯利和扎克后来的生活，现在可能恢复到某种正常状态了。然而，过去两年的压力和紧张将成为这种重新恢复起来的关系中的一部分，永远留在记忆里。