Having Faith

You can call me A.J., which is an abbreviation /ə'brivɪ'eʃən/ 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 /ˌæbə'rɪdʒənl/ artifacts.

我的名字叫亚历山大朱迪斯，你也可以叫我A.J.。我喜欢用简写名，因为大家容易记住。我在一家博物馆上班，那里收集了许多土著的史前古物。

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.

我要告诉你为何我对法律体系有坚定的信念。你读到的故事是缩减版的。

I used to live in an area where criminals abounded and where the legal system seemed powerless. One day, my daughter was abducted /æb'dʌkt/. 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.

我曾经住的地方有许多罪犯，而法律体系似乎很软弱。有一天，我的女儿被绑架了。虽然我按绑匪的要求给了赎金，但他们并没有释放我的女儿。我没有办法，只能寄希望于警察。警察立即出警开展搜查工作。虽然他们以前很少成功，但他们没有放弃搜寻或者说放弃任务。他们知道如果终止行动肯定会导致我女儿死亡。

The investigation eventually led the police to conduct an abrupt /ə'brʌpt/ 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 /ə'breʒən/ to her wrists where the abrasive /ə'bresɪv/ rope had scraped her. The official was arrested along with his bodyguard who abetted him in the kidnapping.

经过调查，最终警察对一个当地官员的家突击搜查。这位官员在得知警察开展搜查工作时心里已经很不安。警察在他的地下室找到了我女儿。捆扎她的粗绳子磨伤了她的手腕。那位官员和教唆他的保镖都被逮捕了。

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!

那位官员被免职并且被判终身监禁。法官说他很幸运，因为死刑被废止了，这是他没有被行刑的唯一原因。这次迅捷的逮捕行动和严厉的判决消除了我对法律体系的不信任。现在，我真的相信“正义”，但不是因为我的名字。