You can call me A.J., which is an abbreviation /?'briv?'e??n/ of my full name, Alexander Justice. I like to abbreviate my name because it's easier for people to remember. I work for a museum that collects aboriginal /??b?'r?d??nl/ artifacts.
我的名字叫亞歷山大朱迪斯，你也可以叫我A.J.。我喜歡用簡寫名，因為大家容易記住。我在一家博物館上班，那里收集了許多土著的史前古物。
I would like to tell you why I have abiding faith in the legal system. The story you're about to read has been abridged to reduce its length.
我要告訴你為何我對法律體系有堅定的信念。你讀到的故事是縮減版的。
I used to live in an area where criminals abounded and where the legal system seemed powerless. One day, my daughter was abducted /?b'd?kt/. Although I abided by the kidnapper's monetary demands, they refused to release her. I had no choice but to put my faith in the legal authorities. The police responded immediately and search the area. Despide their lack of success, they refused to abandon their search or to call an abort to their mission. They knew that any abortive action would surely result in my daughter's death.
我曾經住的地方有許多罪犯，而法律體系似乎很軟弱。有一天，我的女兒被綁架了。雖然我按綁匪的要求給了贖金，但他們并沒有釋放我的女兒。我沒有辦法，只能寄希望于警察。警察立即出警開展搜查工作。雖然他們以前很少成功，但他們沒有放棄搜尋或者說放棄任務。他們知道如果終止行動肯定會導致我女兒死亡。
The investigation eventually led the police to conduct an abrupt /?'br?pt/ search at the home of a local offial who has abashed when he learned of the search. My daughter was found in his basement. She had abrasions /?'bre??n/ to her wrists where the abrasive /?'bres?v/ rope had scraped her. The official was arrested along with his bodyguard who abetted him in the kidnapping.
經過調查，最終警察對一個當地官員的家突擊搜查。這位官員在得知警察開展搜查工作時心里已經很不安。警察在他的地下室找到了我女兒。捆扎她的粗繩子磨傷了她的手腕。那位官員和教唆他的保鏢都被逮捕了。
The official was forced to abdicate his position and was sent to prison for life. The judge told him that he was lucky that capital punishment had been abolished and that it was only due to his abolition that he would not be executed. The swift apprehension and strict punishment of these criminals helped to abate my lack of faith in the legal system. These days, I truly believe in "justice", and it's not because of my name!
那位官員被免職并且被判終身監禁。法官說他很幸運，因為死刑被廢止了，這是他沒有被行刑的唯一原因。這次迅捷的逮捕行動和嚴厲的判決消除了我對法律體系的不信任。現在，我真的相信“正義”，但不是因為我的名字。
