Fully insured
原文
Lesson 43
Fully insured
Who owned the pie dish and why?
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.
译文
第43课
全面投保
谁拥有那个派盘，为什么？
保险公司通常愿意为任何物品提供保险服务。
在世界上大多数国家，为公共或私人财产投保都是常规做法。
不过，如果你在户外举办花园派对或游园会，也可以为可能发生的恶劣天气情况购买保险。
不用说，保险公司承担的风险越大，你需要支付的保费也就越高。
显然，保险公司承担的风险越大，你需要支付的保费也就越高。
但是，一个地方政府为打捞一个沉没的派盘而提出的索赔，肯定是非常独特的。
这个派盘确实很不寻常——它的长度为18英尺，宽度为6英尺。
它是被当地政府购买的，用于为年度集市制作一个巨大的派。
派委员会认为通过运河运输派盘的最佳方式，因此他们为这次行程购买了保险。
派盘下水后不久，派委员会成员们便前往一家当地酒馆庆祝。
与此同时，一些青少年爬上了那个盘子，并在那里举办了一场属于自己的小型聚会。
跳舞的震动超出了派盘所能承受的范围，
因为在派对期间，派盘翻了，沉入了七英尺深的水中。
派委员会给当地一家修车厂老板打了电话，他开着一辆救援卡车前来打捞派盘。
那些青少年穿着湿衣服瑟瑟发抖地看着，三个男人一次又一次地潜入水中寻找派盘。
他们找到它并不费什么劲，但将其从水中拖出来却成了一个严重的问题。
这个盘子的边缘非常光滑，几乎不可能在不损坏它的情况下将缆绳或链条固定在盘子的边缘上。
最终，那些链条被固定在盘子的一端；随后，一台强大的绞车也被启动了起来。
派盘浮到水面，被缓缓地拉向运河岸边。
在令人揪心的一瞬间，派盘摇摇晃晃地停在运河岸边，
但它突然失去了平衡，又滑回了水中。
这些人现在不得不再次尝试。
这次，他们在盘子的两侧安装了沉重的金属夹具，以便固定链条。
由于盘子的一边紧贴着运河的侧壁，因此必须将其垂直抬起。
绞车再次被启动，其中一名男子启动了卡车。
几分钟后，盘子终于被成功吊到了水面上方。
水从派盘边缘倾泻而下，水流如此之猛，在运河里掀起了一阵巨浪。
有危险的是，这股浪可能会从对岸反弹回来，把派盘重新冲回水里。
以极快的速度工作，这些人总算在浪头返回前把派盘弄上了岸。