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8 The wedding day
8 婚礼
The disease among the seals got worse．Three more baby seals died，and one was born without a tail．Scientists came from London to look at them，and there were long articles in the newspapers，but no one was sure what the reasons were．Some people said that it was a disease that was always in the water；some people said the seals were eating diseased fish；and some people said that it was the paint factory near the river．
海豹的疾病日趋严重。又有3只幼豹死亡，有一只生出来就没有尾巴。从伦敦来的科学家们察看了它们，报纸上也登载了长篇文章，但是没有人能肯定是什么原因。有些人说水中本来就有这种疾病。有些人说海豹是吃了有病的鱼。还有些人说是河附近的油漆厂。
There was a sewage works near the river too．The sewage from another small town came to it．One day，in the factory，John Duncan found two young chemists testing samples of water from the river．The water came from two kilometres up-stream，near the sewage works．
河附近还有一个污水处理厂。污水来自另一个小镇。一天，在工厂里，约翰·邓肯发现两名年青的化学师在测试从河里提取的水样。水来自两公里以外的上游，靠近污水处理厂。
'Why are you doing that？'he asked，surprised．
“你们为什么做这事？”他惊奇地问。
'It's a special experiment，'one of them answered．'David Wilson asked us to do it himself．Didn't he tell you，sir？'
“这是一项特殊实验。”其中一个答道。“是大卫·威尔逊亲自让我们做的，他没告诉你吗，先生？”
John didn't answer．He watched them quietly for several minutes．'What are the results？'he asked．
约翰没有回答。他静静地望着他们有几分钟。“结果怎样？”他问。
'They're bad，sir，'said the young man．But he didn't look worried；he looked pleased，proud of himself．
“非常糟糕，先生，”年青人说。但他看上去并不担忧。他显得很高兴，很自豪。
'That sewage works is putting a lot of nasty things into the river，you know．I think the newspapers will be very interested．'
“那个污水处理厂正在往河里放一些脏东西，你知道。我想报纸对此会非常感兴趣。”
'The newspapers？'John asked．The young man smiled．
“报纸吗？”约翰问。年青人笑了。
'Yes，Mr Duncan，of course．Our company cares about the environment，doesn't it？That's why we're doing this．We want to help those poor seals，if we can．'
“是的，邓肯先生，当然。我们公司关心环境，是吧？这就是我们为什么要做实验。如果能够的话，我们想帮助那些可怜的海豹。”
As John walked away，he listened for the sound of quiet laughter behind him．But he heard nothing．Perhaps the young man really believed what he said．
当约翰走开时，他等着听背后轻轻的笑声。但是他什么也没听到。也许年青人真的相信他所说的。
Christine and Simon were married on a fine day in June．When they came back from the church，they had a party in the garden at John's house．Everyone seemed very happy．John liked Simon's parents，and talked to them a lot．
克里斯汀和西蒙在6月一个明媚的日子里结了婚。当他们从教堂回来后，在约翰家的花园里举行了宴会。每个人好像都很快乐。约翰喜欢西蒙的父母，跟他们聊了很多。
