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'Not dangerous, Mr. Duncan? 'said the lawyer slowly. 'Are you sure? '
“不危险吗，邓肯先生？”律师慢慢地说，“你敢肯定吗？”
'Yes, I am, 'John said. He looked up, at the hundreds of eyes watching him. David Wilson's eyes, Christine's eyes, Simon's.
“是的，我敢肯定，”约翰说。他抬起头，望着几百双正在注视着他的眼睛。大卫·威尔逊的眼睛，克里斯汀的眼睛，西蒙的眼睛。
'I understand', the lawyer said slowly, 'that there has been an experiment with some rats. Some mother rats were given these chemicals in their drinking water, and some of their babies were born without legs. Is that right, Mr. Duncan? '
“我知道，”律师缓慢地说，“曾经有一个用老鼠做的实验。一些母鼠喝了带有这些化学物品的水，它们的一些幼崽儿生出来没有腿，这是真的吗，邓肯先生？”
John looked at the lawyer for the first time. He was a small, uninteresting looking man in grey clothes, with grey hair and a thin face. He looks like a rat himself, John thought. The man's eyes were small and bright, and for some strange reason he had a newspaper in his hand. John began to feel afraid of him.
约翰第一次看了一下律师。他个头矮小，貌不惊人，穿着灰色衣服，灰色头发，瘦长的脸。约翰认为他看上去自己就像一只老鼠。那人的眼睛很小，但敏锐，出于某种奇怪的原因，他手里拿着一份报纸，约翰开始对他产生畏惧。
'Yes, 'he said. 'That's right. But rats are much smaller than people, and they were given nearly five parts per million in their drinking water for ten days. That's very different. No one drinks the river water. It goes straight out to sea. '
“是的，”他说，“你说得对。但老鼠比人小得多，而且它们10天中一直喝含有将近百万分之五成分的水。这是绝对不同的。没人喝河水，河水直接流出去进入大海。”
He looked at the lawyer, and waited for the question about the seals. But it didn't come. Instead, the lawyer said：'So you won't be worried, Mr. Duncan, if someone falls into the river by accident, and drinks a lot of river water. Your own daughter, for example. There's no danger in an accident like that—is that right? '
他望着律师，等着他问关于海豹的问题，但是律师没有问，而是说：“所以你就不担心，邓肯先生，假如有人意外地坠入河中并喝了许多河水，比如你自己的女儿。难道这样的意外没有危险吗？”
